Taiwan's SinoPac aims to double its net earnings to T$10 billion (US $310 million) next year after merging with IBT to create Taiwan's eighth largest financial holding company, newspapers said on August 27.
That would be equivalent to about T$1.5 per share, SinoPac Chief Executive Paul Lo was quoted as saying in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News.
Executives from the two firms could not be immediately reached for comment.
In the second quarter, SinoPac Financial Holding Co posted a net profit of T$904 million, down 26.3 percent from the same period last year, the company said in July. The merged company will have assets of T$1.17 trillion and is expected to grow by 15 percent to 20 percent next year, the Economic Daily News said.
SinoPac said earlier this year that the merger, which was approved by shareholders on Friday, was expected to completed by the end of the year, but it could take until 2008 for operations to be fully integrated.
The merger will be done via a share swap that is expected to take place from mid-November through December, the Chinese-language Commercial Times said.
SinoPac shares gained 0.94 percent on Friday to T$16.05, while International Bank of Taipei's (IBT) shares rose 1.91 percent to T$21.30, outperforming the financial sub-index's 0.48 percent increase.
The merger is a victory for Lo, who had faced opposition from SinoPac's former chairman Richard Hung, who had preferred a tie-up with larger rival Taishin Financial Holding Co.
Taiwan's government is pushing for consolidation in the crowded banking sector where nearly 50 banks serve 23 million people, compared with South Korea where less than half the number of banks compete in a country with twice the population.