Cathay United Bank (China) Co Ltd (國泰世華銀行中國) on Friday signed an investment agreement to acquire a 10 percent stake in a new consumer finance company in China, parent company Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
The agreement with Ant Technology Group Co Ltd (螞蟻科技集團) to invest 800 million yuan (US$115.62 million) in the company, tentatively named Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Ltd (重慶螞蟻消費金融), would help Cathay United Bank China deepen its operations and capture new business in consumer financing, Cathay Financial spokesman Daniel Teng (鄧崇儀) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Cathay United Bank China, Cathay Financial’s Chinese subsidiary, focuses on corporate financing, investment banking and financial transactions.
“Given the considerable number of consumers in China, it is not likely for banks to provide services meeting their demands just by setting up a few branches in different regions,” Teng said. “We might learn a new method to offer satisfying services for Chinese consumers by investing in this new company, which is to be led by Ant Technology Group, a Chinese technology titan.”
The lender would conduct the capital injection in the Chinese company after obtaining approval from regulators in Taiwan and China, Cathay Financial said in the filing.
Ant Technology Group would hold a 50 percent stake in the new company, with other investors to include Chinese financial, technology and medical equipment companies, according to Chinese media reports.
Companies in Taiwan’s financial sector plan to invest NT$18.88 billion (US$639.74 million) in financial technology (fintech) this year to improve their online services and competitiveness, the Financial Supervisory Commission said on Thursday.
That would represent 14 percent growth from NT$16.51 billion last year, but the pace of investment is lower than annual rises of 40 and 49 percent in the past two years respectively, Department of Planning Director-General Lin Chih-hsien (林志憲) said.
Banks plan to invest NT$11.89 billion in fintech this year, ranking first among local financial industries, followed by insurers with NT$3.4 billion and securities and futures firms with NT$960 million, Lin said.
While banks focus on electric payment, big data, anti-money laundering and know-your-customer guidelines, securities, futures and asset management companies concentrate on information security and robot wealth management, while insurers focus on insurance technology, he said.
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