The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday that it had approved a merger between Taishin Life Insurance Co (台新人壽) and Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽), as part of a broader consolidation of their parent companies.
Their parent firms, Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控), completed their merger to form TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) on July 24.
Under the latest plan, Taishin Life will be the surviving entity and will adopt the name Shin Kong Life Insurance Co when the merger takes effect on Jan. 1 next year.
Photo: CNA
The merged insurer will have total assets of NT$3.96 trillion (US$126 billion), making it Taiwan's fourth-largest life insurance company, the FSC said.
As of the end of September, Taishin Life held NT$358 billion in assets, ranking 16th in the industry, while Shin Kong Life ranked fourth with NT$3.6 trillion, Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Huo-yen (蔡火炎) said.
At the end of last month, Shin Kong Life employed 15,392 people, compared with Taishin Life's 1,425, Tsai added.
He said the FSC approved the merger and name change after confirming that the proposal met all regulatory requirements.
To protect policyholders, the commission also required Taishin Life to submit a written pledge ensuring that the rights and benefits of all existing Taishin Life and Shin Kong Life policyholders would remain unaffected following the merger.
Regarding business performance, Shin Kong Life posted a net loss of NT$31.18 billion for the first three quarters of this year, while Taishin Life reported a net profit of NT$1.64 billion over the same period, according to FSC data.
The merger is expected to help Taishin Financial secure a higher market share in the life insurance industry by expanding its customer base and strengthening its bottom line, Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) senior diector Andy Chang (張書評) said.
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