The Ministry of Finance yesterday denied a report that state-run Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) might be taken over by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控).
The ministry holds a greater than 40 percent stockholding in Taiwan Cooperative, which commands a significant market share of about 10 percent in both lending and savings markets.
"Any merger deal or share sale in state banks must be approved by the legislature first. The government presently has no such policy considerations," Deputy Minister of Finance Liu Teng-cheng (劉燈城) told reporters yesterday.
The share sale plans of state banks must be carried out in an open and transparent way, he said.
Despite the ministerial denial, shares of Taiwan Cooperative shot up by close to the 7 percent daily limit to close at NT$27.45 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, while Cathay Financial shares were down by 1.52 percent to NT$90.6.
While the rumor captured the attention of investors, both lenders yesterday rebutted the reports and said no merger plan was under way.
"This is purely a rumor," Cathay Financial chief strategy officer Lee Chang-ken (
"Our holding in Taiwan Cooperative by the insurance unit is a financial investment only," he said.
Through Cathay Life Insurance Co (
Stepping up the holding in future would depend on the investment team's professional judgment, Lee said.
The executive remained tight-lipped, however, about the company's acquisition strategy and declined to comment if it intended to bid for The Chinese Bank (
Cathay United Bank (
Taiwan Cooperative president Chen An-hsiung (陳安雄) also denied the rumor.
"Cathay Financial invested in Taiwan Cooperative because the bank is capable of delivering a nice investment return in both share price and dividend policy," Chen said by telephone.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Cooperative said there was a very good chance that it would take over the debt-ridden Great Chinese Bill Finance Corp (力華票券), a firm that is now under the management of the bank and other rivals including Cathay United, after the parent Rebar Group collapsed in January.
Downplaying the potential impact on profitability, Chen said the bank should be able to receive compensation in cash for the takeover.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
RSS