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Government makes public its plans for state-owned banks

Following last week's successful auction of state-run Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd's (彰化銀行) stake in Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控), the government yesterday announced plans to deal with another three state-owned financial institutions before the end of the year.

The Ministry of Finance has privatized its stakes in two other state-run banking institutions by selling Taiwan Development & Trust Corp (台開信託) to Jih Sun Financial Holdings Co (日盛金控) in January and those of Bank of Overseas Chinese (華僑銀行) to Polaris Financial Group (寶來集團) in March.

According to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) financial-reform pledge, the number of government-owned financial institutions will be halved by the year's end to six.

The remaining three state-run banks that will be privatized are the Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), the Central Trust of China (中央信託局) and the Farmers Bank of China (農民銀行).

"Now financial consultants are in talks with various financial holding companies to look for bidders interested in Taiwan Business Bank. The bidding process will be held at the end of September to decide who will take over Taiwan Business Bank," Liu Teng-cheng (劉燈城), director general of the National Treasury Agency, said yesterday.

The ministry currently controls 34.58 percent of the stake in Taiwan Business Bank, including the shares it holds through the government-owned Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) and Lank Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行).

The 100 percent state-owned Central Trust of China will be sold at the end of November after the legislature passes its privatization plan in the next legislative session starting in September, Liu said. But he appeared evasive about the Farmers Bank, refusing to give a timetable and methods to privatize the institution.

Meanwhile, the board directors of Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co (華南金控) has agreed to support chairman Lin Ming-cheng's (林明成) bid to seek merger and acquisition opportunities, according to a company statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange late on Monday. Hua Nan is reportedly interested in buying an unspecific number of shares of First Financial Holding Corp (第一金控), another state-controlled financial institution.
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