The acquisition of The Chinese Bank (中華銀行) is expected to raise HSBC Holdings Plc's local market share from 1.2 percent to 1.6 percent, Citigroup analysts Bradford Ti (鄭溫煌) and Janet Lu said in a note to investors yesterday.
The analysts' remark came after HSBC won a government auction to take over the financially troubled lender in return for a subsidy of NT$47.488 billion from the Central Deposit Insurance Corp.
The deal is also likely to cost the London-based bank NT$8 billion in total, or NT$204 million per branch, the Citigroup analysts estimated, after taking into account the government subsidy, The Chinese Bank's negative book value of NT$30 billion and an estimated US$300 million to US$400 million capital injection by HSBC.
The Citigroup analysts said their rival's latest acquisition was proof of the sector's "long-term attractiveness" and "could introduce a more rational competitive environment" in Taiwan.
In June, ABN Amro Bank won an auction to acquire Taitung Business Bank (台東企銀), boosting its number of local branches from five to 37. In April, Citibank announced it would take over the Bank of the Overseas Chinese (華僑銀行), expanding its local network to 66 branches. In October last year, Standard Chartered Bank absorbed Hsinchu International Bank (新竹國際商銀), boosting its a nationwide network to 86 branches.
"However, we anticipate it also raises the level of competition within an already fragmented space, especially in wealth management -- which has been a growth area for banks over recent years," the analysts said.
As so many foreign banks have now acquired local lenders, the analysts said domestic players could emerge as the driving force behind future consolidation.
“While consolidation in Taiwan has moved at a frustrating pace, we are hopeful that improved politics post Legislative Yuan and presidential elections next year could usher in a better reform environment for the banks,” they said.
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
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China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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