Shares of Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) weakened yesterday after reports Shanghai-based First Sino Bank (
Mega Financial shares slid 0.41 percent to close at NT$24.10 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
"We haven't heard that and aren't worried" Joseph Shieh (謝劍平), spokesman of the nation's third-largest financial group, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Shieh said he didn't think employees would be willing to give up the seniority and favorable retirement plan they have at such a profitable bank.
Mega Financial runs Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), the nation's third-largest lender by assets. Mega International was formed in August after the merger of International Commercial bank of China (ICBC, 中國國際商銀) and Chiao Tung Bank (交通銀行).
The Chinese-language Commercial Times said yesterday that First Sino has decided to hire a former manager at ICBC, Steve Hsieh (謝泓源), to be the bank's president. The appointment is pending the approval of China's financial regulator.
The newspaper said Hsieh was recruiting Mega International staff, especially the information technology team, and some of the 300 employees who left the bank in September to take advantage of a retirement offer.
Banks' expatriates usually enjoy double pay and extra benefits, ICBC Industrial Union's president Tsai Chiu-fa (蔡秋發) said.
Headhunters must offer better compensation packages to persuade banking professionals to leave their home to work in China, Tsai said.
He said the union was not aware of any headhunting attempt but would keep a close eye on the issue.
First Sino, established in 1997, is the first joint-venture bank funded by the bank in China and Taiwanese investors, the bank said on its Web site.
The founding shareholders were Shanghai PuDong Development Bank (上海浦東發展銀行) and the Hong Kong-based Lotus Worldwide Ltd, which was invested by Taiwanese businesses including Pou Chen Group (寶成集團).
Pou Chen is the world's largest contracted sneakers maker and the major supplier to Nike and Adidas.
China is scheduled to open up its financial market to foreign banks next week to honor its WTO admission commitments.
The government bars Taiwanese lenders from expanding in China due to national security concerns. Representative offices set up by seven Taiwanese banks in China are restricted from upgrading into branches by the lack of a bilateral financial supervisory agreement and reciprocal treatment that would allow Chinese lenders to set up in Taiwan.
Critics claim the restrictions hinders local financial institutions while benefiting Taiwanese investors with no financial expertise who can bypass the ban.
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