CNA file photo

Taipei, Dec. 11 (CNA) Singapore-based DBS Bank has completed a deal to acquire part of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) assets in Taiwan, the bank said Monday.

The acquisition of ANZ's retail banking and wealth management operations in Taiwan will give DBS Bank more than 500,000 new customers in the local market, the bank said.

DBS Bank first announced the Taiwan deal in October 2016, when it agreed to buy ANZ's retail banking and wealth management assets in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and China for 110 million Singapore dollars (US$81.48 million).

The Taiwan part of the expansion plan was completed over the weekend, after the deals in China, Singapore, Hong Kong were done in July, August and September, respectively, DBS said.

The Indonesian part of the acquisition is expected to be finalized in early 2018.

DBS Taiwan chief Jerry Chen (陳承亮) said Taiwan is one of his bank's important markets in the region and called the acquisition a new milestone for the bank.

When the plan was first announced in 2016, DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta said the purchase of assets in Taiwan showed the group's determination to further penetrate Taiwan's market.

Gupta said at the time that DBS would use the deal to also speed up its development of a digital financial platform in Taiwan to increase convenience for clients.

ANZ said the disposal of part of its assets does not mean the bank will withdraw from Taiwan. ANZ said its corporate banking division will remain active in Taiwan, but it is planning to cut its branches in Taiwan to single digits from the current 11.

(By Tsai Yi-chu and Frances Huang)
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