Fubon Bank (China) Co (富邦華一), a subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金), yesterday opened two branches, one in Beijing and the other in Nanjing, as part of its efforts to deepen its presence in the massive Chinese market.
The opening of the branch in Beijing marked the first time a Chinese bank with a Taiwanese shareholder has gained a foothold in the Chinese capital.
Along with the two newly opened branches, the bank now has 22 branches, including in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Suzhou and Tianjin, where many Taiwanese investors operate their businesses.
Photo: CNA
The bank said the Beijing branch would team up with its branch and sub-branch in Tianjin to explore the financial market in the Bohai Rim area of northern China.
The Beijing branch is expected to help Fubon Financial move closer to the political and economic center of China through its geographic advantage, the bank said.
The bank said the Nanjing branch is part of its strategy to provide better services to Taiwanese investors based in the booming area of Jiangsu Province.
Nanjing has become one of the most important venues for Taiwan’s high-tech firms, the bank said, adding that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, which is building a 12-inch wafer fab in the city, is among the Taiwanese firms in the cluster.
Fubon Financial in 2014 acquired an 80 percent stake in China-based First Sino Bank for 5.65 billion yuan (US$861.5 million at the current exchange rate) and then changed its name.
Under the acquisition’s structure, Fubon Financial holds a 29 percent stake in the bank, while Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦), Fubon’s domestic banking arm, holds a 51 percent stake.
Earlier this month, Fubon Financial announced that it has secured approval from the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange to acquire the remaining 20 percent stake in Fubon Bank (China) at a cost of 2.13 billion yuan to bring the Chinese subsidiary fully under its corporate umbrella.
Fubon Bank (China) said it is planning to open at least three more branches or sub-branches, including offices in Chengdu and Shanghai’s Tongcheng district.
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