Regulator approves Taishin Life-Shin Kong Life merger

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's top financial regulator said Tuesday it had approved a merger between Taishin Life Insurance Co. and Shin Kong Life Insurance Co., as part of a broader consolidation of their parent companies.

Their parent firms, Taishin Financial Holding Co. and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co., completed their merger to form TS Financial Holding Co. on July 24.

Under the latest plan, Taishin Life will be the surviving entity and will adopt the name Shin Kong Life Insurance Co. when the merger takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

The merged insurer will have total assets of NT$3.96 trillion (US$126 billion), making it Taiwan's fourth-largest life insurance company, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said.

As of the end of September, Taishin Life held NT$358 billion in assets, ranking 16th in the industry, while Shin Kong Life ranked fourth with NT$3.6 trillion, said Tsai Huo-yen (蔡火炎), deputy director of the FSC's Insurance Bureau.

At the end of October, Shin Kong Life employed 15,392 people, compared with Taishin Life's 1,425, Tsai added.

He said the FSC approved the merger and name change after confirming that the proposal met all regulatory requirements.

To protect policyholders, the commission also required Taishin Life to submit a written pledge ensuring that the rights and benefits of all existing Taishin Life and Shin Kong Life policyholders would remain unaffected following the merger.

Regarding business performance, Shin Kong Life posted an after-tax loss of NT$31.18 billion for the first three quarters of 2025, while Taishin Life reported an after-tax profit of NT$1.64 billion over the same period, according to FSC data.

The merger is expected to help Taishin Financial secure a higher market share in the life insurance industry by expanding its customer base and strengthening its bottom line, according to Andy Chang (張書評), senior director of the Financial Services Ratings Department at credit rating agency Taiwan Ratings.