Several financial holding companies yesterday approved various capital enhancement proposals at their annual shareholders’ meetings to boost their operational flexibility and strengthen their financial structure.
Fubon Financial Holding Co’s (富邦金控) shareholders approved a plan to raise up to NT$30 billion (US$912 million), which the company will use to fund long-term operating needs, the company said in a statement.
Fubon Financial chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) said its board of directors had been authorized to finalize the fund-raising plan via various means in accordance with the company’s capital needs and market conditions, the statement showed.
That will include the issuance of euro-convertible bonds (ECBs), global depositary receipts or common shares; cash injection; or private placements, the statement said.
SHIN KONG
At Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控), shareholders endorsed a proposal to help the company strengthen its capital structure by issuing less than 200 million global depositary receipts (GDRs) in the second half of this year.
Shin Kong Financial’s board was authorized to finalize the actual amount and timing of its GDR issuance plan, the company said in a press statement.
The financial holding company added that its life insurance arm had decided to suspend a plan to securitize two office buildings in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), its stock exchange filing showed.
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co’s (新光人壽) board of directors decided to suspend the securitization of Hannover Building (漢諾威科技大樓) and Sunshine Building (陽光科技大樓) on expectations of a further rise in real-estate prices in Neihu after the launch of the new MRT service.
CATHAY FINANCIAL
Cathay Financial Holding Co’s (國泰金控) shareholders gave the green light to a plan to increase its “authorized capital” — or registered capital — by NT$60 billion to NT$180 billion.
Cathay Financial said the move would enable the company to “meet long-term capital needs and prepare for future mergers and acquisitions,” said an aide to company president Chen Tsu-pei (陳祖培), who declined to be named.
At the smaller Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行), shareholders agreed to a plan to reduce the lender’s capital by NT$19.3 billion after suffering NT$21.5 billion in losses as of the end of last year. The bank also appointed its incumbent chief executive, Paul Lo (盧正昕), to the board, it said in an exchange filing yesterday.
Chen Mu-tsai (陳木在), chairman of China Development Financial Holding Co (中華開發金控), apologized to shareholders for the company’s NT$7 billion loss last year.
Meanwhile, Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) reshuffled its 15-member board, including three independent directors. Representatives nominated by the Ministry of Finance grabbed a majority — 11 seats — in Mega’s new board, while the bank’s union got one seat, the company statement said.
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