Taipei-based securities firmsGrand Cathay and Polaris Securities have recently received approval from the Securities and Futures Commission to use convertible asset swaps.
Tony Ko, assistant v.p. fixed income at Grand Cathay, said the firm is talking to several local banks about entering a convertible asset swap on an upcoming TWD10 billion (USD290 million) issuance by Taiwan Cellular Corp. Ko noted that the firm is also waiting to receive approval to use interest-rate derivatives (DW, 1/15).
Polaris Securities is also racing to pull the trigger on its first convertible asset swap, said Yilin Wang, deputy manager of the fixed income department in Taipei. "This is an important step," said Wang. But first securities firms must prove to the regulators that that they have the technical, pricing and management capabilities to use convertible swaps, she added.
