The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has yet to approve Taishin Financial Holding Co’s (台新金控) bid for Prudential Life Insurance Co of Taiwan (保德信人壽), although the Fair Trade Commission approved the planned takeover in November last year.
The commission last week said that it needs more information from Taishin Financial, which filed its takeover application on Jan. 8, regarding its financial resources and investment plans.
Taishin Financial in August last year announced that it aims to acquire the life insurer for NT$5.5 billion to NT$8.5 billion (US$193.74 million to US$299.42 million), and that it would take a short-term loan and consider selling 300 million shares of state-run Chang Hwa Bank (CHB, 彰化銀行) to fund the deal.
Photo: CNA
“We are assessing whether Taishin Financial’s plan would affect its financial stability,” Banking Bureau Director-General Sherri Chuang (莊琇媛) said on Thursday.
The commission has not received all required information from Taishin Financial, Chuang added.
“We would like to know from Taishin Financial whether Prudential Life needs a capital injection to comply with stricter regulations on adequacy or solvency,” as stipulated in the International Financial Reporting Standards 17, which are to take effect in 2025, and the new Insurance Capital Standard, which is to take effect a year later, Insurance Bureau Director-General Shih Chiung-hwa (施瓊華) said.
“We want to know if Taishin Financial has enough capital to address the requirements,” Shih said.
As for Taishin Financial’s plan to sell CHB shares, it needs to present a clear and workable schedule, she added.
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