Taiwan's financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), has given the green light to the merger of Taishin Financial Holding Co and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co.
The deal will result in a financial holding company with assets of NT$8.43 tn ($254bn), which would rank fourth among Taiwan's 15 financial holding companies based on figures at the end of 2024.
Shin Kong Financial Holding’s biggest subsidiary in terms of revenue and total assets is Shin Kong Life Insurance, which ranks as Taiwan’s fourth biggest life insurer. It also has a non-life unit called Shin Kong Insurance which is Taiwan’s third largest general insurer based on gross premiums written. Taishin Financial Holding has Taishin Life Insurance as a subsidiary.
The FSC approval was granted on 31 March, reported Central News Agency citing a statement issued by the regulator. The merger had been discussed on and off since 2002.
With the approval, the two companies will now set a merger date. Taishin Financial will be the surviving entity while Shin Kong Financial will cease to exist. The parties will apply to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp to delist Shin Kong Financial shares from the market, the FSC said.
The new company, to be called TS Financial Holding Co, will be created through a stock swap approved by the shareholders of the two companies on 9 October 2024. Under the agreement, Taishin Financial will exchange 0.672 of its common shares for one Shin Kong Financial common share and 0.175 preferred shares for one Shin Kong Financial preferred share.