Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) hopes to complete a share swap with Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) by the end of this year, as the rapid expansion of foreign buyers in the local market through mergers and acquisitions has made it a pressing matter, company executives said yesterday.
The financial group expects to move ahead with the merger plan by completing a share swap with Chang Hwa by the end of the year, Taishin Financial chief operating officer Greg Gibb said on the sidelines of a media briefing yesterday.
"Our objective remains the same and this merger is important work for us," company president Lin Keh-hsiao (林克孝) said. "The new platform will make us more powerful."
Local lenders have been feeling the pressure as foreign rivals like Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank have begun developing a local network through takeovers and combination of their platforms in China, Lin said.
The company plans to hire renowned financial advisers and proceed with the merger with transparency to prevent controversies, as the Ministry of Finance guaranteed its promise to exit from the banking sector, he added.
Taishin Financial controls 25 percent of state-controlled Chang Hwa and has a majority of board seats.
Taishin Financial shares closed unchanged at NT$16.55 in the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Chang Hwa's dropped NT$0.1 to NT$19.7.
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