BEA Acquires AIG Wealth Management Services (Taiwan)

Taipei, March 26, 2009 (CENS)--The Bank of East Asia (BEA), a Hong Kong bank with Chinese capital, will extend its operation in Taiwan from the banking to the securities sector, as it has inked a contract and applied with the Investment Commission, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), to take over AIG Wealth Management Services (Taiwan).

In addition to the Taiwanese market, the takeover will also enable the BEA to tap the expertise of AIG Wealth Management Services in its effort to exploit China's burgeoning wealth-management market.

AIG Wealth Management Services will be the first Taiwan asset sold by AIG Group after the eruption of its financial crisis; the group also owns a number of other subsidiaries on the island, including Nan Shan Life Insurance, American Life Insurance, AIG Investment Trust, AIG General Insurance (Taiwan), AIG Investment Consulting, and AIG Credit-Card. The deal only reaches several hundreds of millions of NT dollar in value.

Founded one and a half years ago, AIG Wealth Management Services now has 28 employees and owns a number of financial-business licenses for wealth management, re-commission trading in foreign securities, and investment consulting.

BEA upgraded its representative's office in Taiwan to a branch 13 years ago. The regulator approved the upgrading, as Chinese investors own only 11.7% shareholding in the bank, below the 20% ceiling set by the Statute Governing Cross-Taiwan Strait People-to-People Relations.