Taiwan Billionaire Family Banker Worried But Not Scared About Strained Ties With Mainland China

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 decades in 1987. At the time, Union was controlled by its founder, Taiwan self-made entrepreneur Lin Rong San.