(28 April 2016 – Australia) E. Sun Bank has become the second lender from Taiwan to expand into Australia in the last month.
“Australia is a country with political stability, ample natural resources, and sound financial market,” the bank’s chairman, Kuo-Lieh Tseng told reporters.
The Taiwanese firm will operate under a “branch” structure and target servicing institutional clients. In contrast, rival Taiwanese bank CTBC last month entered Australia by opening a “representative office” to get a feel for the market before applying for an upgrade to a branch licence.
E. Sun’s biggest shareholder at 4.7 percent is CBA’s First State Investments, the global offshore arm of Colonial First State Global Asset Management.
Several Asian banks have increased their local footprint, despite shrinking profits in the institutional segment, with Korea Development Bank and Singapore’s DBS Bank setting up last year.
“In the year of 2014-15, Taiwan was Australia’s eighth-largest export market and 11th-largest trading partner,” Tseng said.
“Australia’s exports to Taiwan were worth A$6.9 billionn. The total of export and import reached A$11.7billion.”
E. Sun also has operations in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Los Angeles.
“For Taiwan’s businesspeople, Australia has long been one of their most attractive destinations,” the bank said in a statement.