(Jan 28): Taiwan plans to merge its four state-backed asset managers into a local fund giant with about US$12 billion of assets, as the government seeks consolidation in the island’s financial industry to boost its competitiveness.
“We will move toward the goal of merging the four asset managers into one,” Taiwan Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-Yun said in response to lawmakers’ questions at the legislature Wednesday (Jan 28).
The firms involved include First Securities Investment Trust, Mega International Investment Trust, Taiwan Cooperative Securities Investment Trust and Hua Nan Investment Trust, Chuang said, adding that the deal will be led by First Securities, the largest of the four.
The merger would create a money manager with about NT$375.8 billion in combined assets, according to data as of December from Taiwan’s Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association.
Taiwanese regulators are seeking to beef up the financial industry and diversify the economy away from tech, with consolidation of financial institutions seen as a way to achieve that goal. Officials have also pledged to turn the island into a wealth hub by expanding the local asset management sector.
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