Taiwan's Ministry of Finance has made a preliminary decision to force any financial conglomerate with assets exceeding NT$150 billion to transform into a financial holding company, Chinese-language media reported yesterday.
If the conglomerate opts not to go the road of a financial holding company, it will be required to reduce its stake in subsidiary financial holdings to 25 percent or below over a nine-year period, the paper reported.
The paper quoted a finance ministry official as saying the NT$150-billion threshold is preliminary and authorities are considering whether to further raise it to enable financial conglomerates to have more options.
The official said the rule on forced transformation is designed to produce a greater level of transparency under a financial holding company framework.
Lawmakers passed the Financial Holding Company Law late last month, paving the way for more mergers and takeovers in the overpopulated lender market.
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