Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) yesterday secured a merger agreement with Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) via share swaps, despite lingering uncertainty over a hostile takeover bid by CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) on the open market.
Bank-focused Taishin Financial and life insurance-focused Shin Kong Financial announced the agreement, although it still needs Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) approval and a green light at their respective shareholders’ meetings, while CTBC could press ahead with the buyout attempt.
“The consolidation would be carried out fully via share swaps and would benefit both Taishin and Shin Kong,” Taishin Financial chief financial officer Carol Lai (賴昭吟) said at a news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei last night.
Photo: Wu Hsin-tien, Taipei Times
Taishin Financial plans to issue new ordinary shares for Shin Kong Financial shares, with a share swap ratio of 0.6022 Taishin Financial common shares for one Shin Kong Financial common share, while one Taishin Financial preferred share for each Shin Kong Financial preferred share, Lai said.
The companies would put the proposal to their shareholders on Oct. 9 and then set a date for the merger after receiving regulatory approval, she said.
The two conglomerates have little overlapping businesses and the merger would make the combined entity Taiwan’s fourth-largest financial service provider based on assets, Lai said.
After the merger, Shin Kong Financial will become part of Taishin Financial, though the new entity will be renamed Taishin-Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控).
Shin Kong Financial, a laggard among its peers in terms of profitability, has expressed interest in merging with other conglomerates, and Taishin Financial was believed to be the most likely buyer, given that its chairman, Thomas Wu (吳東亮), is the younger brother of former Shin Kong Financial chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進).
Taishin Financial has pledged to retain all Shin Kong employees after the merger, which it said would bolster their mutual banking, life insurance and securities businesses.
CTBC Financial, which has deeper pockets, on Tuesday said that it aims to grow into a large international player as it plans to launch a tender offer to acquire Shin Kong Financial on the open market.
The company would become Taiwan’s largest financial service provider if it were to acquire Shin Kong Financial, it said.
The FSC has sought to stay neutral by repeating that all acquisition deals must be conducted in compliance with legal requirements without harming market order or stability, and do not compromise the interests and rights of shareholders.
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
RSS