Cathay Fin says to raise up to $1.3 billion for China growth

Cathay Financial, Taiwan's top financial holding firm, will raise up to T$40 billion ($1.33 billion) to acquire rivals or build partnerships in China, its president said on Friday, as trade ties across the Taiwan Strait warm.
C. K. Lee, who was speaking at Cathay Financial's annual shareholder meeting, did not specify how or when the fund would be raised. He also did not say who the company is planning to partner with.
One possible target for Cathay could be unlisted Wenzhou Commercial Bank of China's Zhejiang province, local media have reported. Cathay officials were not immediately available for comment.
In March, Cathay said it would conduct a stock sale at home or abroad for the fund raising, but did not say what the proceeds will be used for. Taiwanese financial institutions, long struggling with a crowded home market, have been eyeing ways to tie up with Chinese banks to get faster access to the huge mainland market. Cathay Financial currently has a life insurance joint venture with China Eastern Airlines on the mainland.