Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. (Taiwan, China)

The origin of Chang Hwa Bank dates back to the colonial period under Japan’s governance when Wu Ju-Hsiang founded the Kabushiki Kaisha Shoka Ginko in Chang Hwa County on June 5, 1905, with an initial capital of 220,000 Japanese yen raised from local businessmen and landlords.In 2005, CHB celebrated its centennial anniversary. Kabushiki Kaisha Shoka Ginko relocated its head office from Chang Hwa County to Taichung City in 1910 to better coordinate its expansion efforts of setting up branches and offices in all major cities in Taiwan. AfterTaiwan was restored to the ROC government on October 25, 1945, the Bank's predecessor established a preparatory office to reorganize as today's Chang Hwa Bank. After the Taiwan provincial government took control of Japanese shareholdings in Kabushiki Kaisha Shoka Ginko, the preparatory office conducted the Bank's first shareholders' meeting in February 1947, which elected Chang Hwa Bank's first directors and supervisors under a new government. The new board elected the preparatory office's head Ling Hsien-Tang as the Bank's first chairman. Chang Hwa Bank was formally re-incorporated under ROC Law on March 1, 1947, with an initial capital of 15 million Taiwanese yuan. In June 1949 the Taiwan provincial government replaced the Taiwanese yuan with the New Taiwan dollar. Chang Hwa Bank adjusted its registered capital accordingly to NT$2.4 million in December 1950. At the end of 2007, the Bank's registered-capital stood at NT$62,094,756,000. The Bank is one of the leading commercial banks in Taiwan in terms of paid-in capital and sound financial structure. In December 1997, the Taiwan provincial government made public its shareholdings in the Bank in line with the government's policy of financial privatization. The Bank was officially privatized on January 1, 1998. In Oct. 3, 2005, Taishin owning with 22.5% ownership replaces the government as CHB’s largest shareholder.Chang Hwa Bank has seven overseas branches, all located in the major international financial centers, providing financial products and services to Taiwanese/overseas Chinese corporations and individuals as well as local corporations.CHB’s international network covers Asia, Europe and American, with branch offices in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kunshan China. Kunshan branch has been setted up on 28th Dec. 2010, as the first licensed Taiwanese bank in Mainland China.The overseas branches offer deposits, loans, remittance, trade finance, letters of credit, guaranty and FX. They are also engaged in money and capital market transactions and actively take part in the international syndication loan businesses.