Taiwan Billionaire Family Banker Worried But Not Scared About Strained Ties With Mainland China
Union Bank of Taiwan is among the businesses led by the billionaire family of Lin Chang Su-O.
Though headquartered in one of the world’s busiest high-tech hubs, Taiwan’s largest financial institutions have had a tough year. Shares in Fubon Financial Holdings (market cap: $22 billion) have fallen by more than a fifth, while Cathay Financial Holdings (market cap: $18 billion) has lost more than 30% of its value in the past 12 months amid rising interest rates. By contrast, the stock price of smaller Union Bank of Taiwan (market cap: $1.8 billion) has gained nearly 29% at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in the past year.
Union was one of 16 new banks granted a business license in the early 1990s as part of reforms that allowed private-sector entrants into what had been a mainly government-controlled industry during Taiwan’s martial law era that ended after nearly four