The four securities companies tipped to be in mega-merger have each issued denials of the rumor.
Local media reports have said that President Securities (
But some of the firms involved claimed to be unaware of the proposal. "I'm surprised to hear that news," said Ann Wang (
Analysts say Jih Sun Securities and Capital Securities -- both among the top five brokerages -- are bound to feel pressure to find merger partners following the merger last year of Taiwan's leading securities firm, Yuanta (
The combined Yuanta-Core Pacific firm is expected to command nearly 10 percent of Taiwan's securities market, with net assets of NT$38 billion.
Polaris Securities (
The company expects its share of the brokerage market to grow to 4.5 percent from 3.2 percent after the merger.
"It will be difficult for small securities houses to survive in the future as more and more securities houses are merging together," said Lin Tzong-Yeong (
Jih Sun's Wang agrees with that sentiment.
"Despite Taiwan's massive market turnover, there are too many securities houses in Taiwan to share the market," Wang said.
According to Wang, there are around 200 securities houses with more than 1,200 branches in Taiwan. More than 50 percent of a securities firm's profit comes from the brokerage business.
Taiwan's expected entry into the WTO will also intensify the pressure for consolidation, Wang said.
Compared to foreign securities houses, Taiwan's firms are too small, and it would be difficult for small-scale companies to compete with foreign firms.
The increasing popularity of online trading has also prompted the brokerage industry's recent case of merger fever, said an executive from a securities firm, who asked not to be identified.
Though online trading could potentially bring more business opportunities, it will also reduce brokerage commissions for securities houses. Therefore, securities firms must bulk up through mergers to lower operating costs.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS