Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) aims to expand its business by opening branches or subsidiaries in at least two new markets in the Asia-Pacific region within three years, its parent firm, Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) said yesterday.
The Taiwanese lender currently has a branch in Hong Kong and a representative office in Vietnam, while its application to set up a branch in Brisbane, Australia, is still under review by the government, the company said.
“We hope to open either branches or subsidiaries in Vietnam and Australia in three years to expand the company’s banking portfolio,” Taishin Financial president Lin Keh-hsiao (林克孝) told an investor conference.
Taishin Financial’s strategy will start to bear fruit this year, after focusing on building its platform last year and undergoing a restructuring from 2005 to 2009, chief financial officer Welch Lin (林維俊) said.
Other than Hong Kong, Vietnam and Australia, Taishin Financial said it also hoped to enlarge its business scale in China.
The company will set up a lease finance company in Nanjing this year, in addition to continuing its cooperation with China-based financial institutions, Lin Keh-hsiao said.
Taishin Financial has signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Nanjing Zijin Investment Holding Co (紫金控股), Bank of Nanjing Co (南京銀行), East West Bank China Ltd (華美銀行) and Chengdu Rural Commercial Bank (成都農商銀行) to pave the way for its future business expansion in China, Welch Lin said.
The company said it expected the Financial Supervisory Commission to ease restrictions on Taiwanese banks investing in China, including removing a requirement that banks need to have two to five years of operating experience in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member nation to be able to open a branch or subsidiary in China.
“Once the government relaxes the rule, we will immediately apply to set up an office in China,” Lin Keh-hsiao said.
Taishin International Bank also reported that pre-tax profit excluding one-time items reached a six-year high of NT$9.9 billion (US$336.8 million) last year, thanks to strong momentum from its core business.
Taishin Financial, however, saw its net profit fall 3.47 percent to NT$7.9 billion last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.09, given a high base in 2009, when it sold Taishin Securities Co (台証證券) to KGI Securities Co (凱基證券), company data showed.
Lin Keh-hsiao said he expected the banking unit’s domestic market share to rise to 3.5 percent by the end of 2013, from 2.9 percent now, as it expands its retail and wholesale businesses.
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