Fubon opens new sector for CDIB and Taishin to follow

The Taiwanese convertible market entered a new era late on Tuesday night with the pricing of an increased $375 million convertible for Fubon Financial Holdings. Prior to Fubon, virtually all Taiwanese deals were small tech-related offerings and under Taiwanese law, investors had to convert their bonds into Entitlement Certificates ahead of the underlying stock, a laborious process which could take up to three months. Fubon, by contrast, has not only offered investors size and sector diversification, but is also the first offering from the Island Republic benefiting from a legislative change late last week allowing investors to convert directly into shares.