HSBC Holdings Plc expects its life insurance business in Taiwan will be profitable in 12 months, Nicholas Winsor, chief executive officer of the company’s operations in Taiwan, said yesterday.
About 10 percent of the bank’s customers bought its insurance products in Taiwan, compared to an internal target of 20 percent, Winsor said in an interview.
HSBC sells its own life insurance products through the bank’s 33 outlets in Taiwan.
The bank, which aims to expand its bancassurance business in Taiwan, won’t sign up third-party distributors for its insurance products until it’s exhausted tapping the existing customer base, he said.
HSBC plans to hire 200 people in Taiwan this year, Winsor said.
HSBC Taiwan posted a 42 percent increase in pretax profit to a record US$175 million for last year, Winsor said.
“We expect another profitable year in Taiwan,” the executive told reporters in Taipei.
The bank plans to incorporate its local business by August to meet regulatory requirements after completing the acquisition of Chinese Bank, a unit of the bankrupt Rebar Group (力霸集團), last March. It will submit the application by the end of this month, Winsor said.
HSBC, which expects the banking industry to consolidate further, won’t buy any failing bank, he said.
It wasn’t interested in buying Chinfon Commercial Bank (慶豐銀行), Winsor said.
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