With the historical groundwork well laid by First Bank, First FHC further diversified its business portfolio into securities trading, property and casualty insurance and asset management on July 31, 2003, by acquiring First Taisec Securities Co., Ltd., Mingtai Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. and National Investment Trust Co., Ltd. On July 28, 2003, it successfully raised the equivalent of NT$17.3 billion via a global depository receipt program, the first ever issued by a Taiwanese financial institution, which significantly shored up capital bases of the group and its subsidiaries. From May through September of 2004, in its second round of penetrating into new markets to deliver full product range and high quality services, First FHC established First Financial Asset Management Co., Ltd., First Venture Capital Co., Ltd., First Financial Management Consulting Co., Ltd., and First P&C Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.

In 2005, First FHC outlined new strategies to prepare for leadership in the local and regional financial markets. It identified its banking channels as one common platform from which to share resources, leverage financial capabilities and provide clients with a comprehensive suite of products and services. In September 2005, First FHC concluded the sale of its P&C unit, Mingtai Fire & Marine Insurance Co., to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. In April 2006, the corporate structure of banking subsidiary, First Bank, was successfully re-organized.

First FHC, in an aim to capture growth in wealth management, expand product offerings, retain clients and address personal retirement planning needs, sought to form a 51:49 joint-venture life insurance with U.K’s largest insurer Aviva. Due to strategic decision of Aviva group, on January 19, 2018, First FHC took over Aviva’s entire 49% shareholding in joint venture life insurance, which makes it a fully-owned sub of First FHC.

In order to solidify group image, raise popular awareness of its subsidiaries and promote employee loyalty, First FHC rebranded subsidiaries First Taisec Securities Co., Ltd., National Securities Investment Trust Co., Ltd. and First Taisec Capital Management Co., Ltd. under the names “First Securities”, “First Securities Investment Trust” and “First Capital Management” on December 31, 2008. And in September of 2009, First-Aviva’s Chinese brand was successfully renamed.

First FHC focuses on resource deployment in emerging markets in the Asia Pacific region and assisting its subsidiaries to expand overseas businesses. In order to increase its operation scale, First FHC successfully completed the rights issues of 800 million and 1.6 billion new shares in 2011 and 2015, raised capital by NT$16.40 billion and 23.52 billion, respectively. The proceeds was then injected into its subsidiaries, including the bank and the venture capital company, to augment and strengthen their working capital and capital structure, and to assist them in their long term business developments.

First FHC continues its expansionary strategies by focusing on the US, Europe and growth markets in Southeast Asia.  As of May 2023, the group has 46 overseas locations, including 10 locations in Great China, 21 locations in Asia-pacific, and 15 locations in US and Europe. Particularly,  the financial network in Asia-Pacific region is well-established and continues to strengthen two pillars of cross-boarder referrals and local expertise to move toward our vision of becoming an Asian regional player.

First FHC’s integrated marketing efforts will focus on the core business of each subsidiary. By deepening product penetration, First FHC plans to maximize the synergies of cross-selling. First FHC aims to gradually enlarge the share of profit from non-bank subsidiaries, boost total profit and optimize operational efficiency group-wide.

In terms of product innovations, through developing Fintech, new payment methods, AI and big data analytics, First FHC will continue to improve the efficiency and quality of our financial services and strengthen API partnerships across sectors for seeking new opportunities in the field of digital finance.

In recognition of the impact of aligning our practice with the domestic systematically important banks (D-SIBs) framework, the IASB published IFRS 17, and the IAIS published ICS, First FHC will continue to assess future capital demands and make appropriate capital managements. On the other hand, First FHC will actively develop new sources of income, pursue business diversification, and increase capital-free fee income to improve capital efficiency and optimize profit structure for achieving the goal of sustainable growth with steady dividend policies.

Sticking to the commitment of “Customer First, Service Foremost”, First FHC will integrate ESG and our core strategies to the development and management of new markets, new customers and new models which ensure quality services and upgraded performance. First FHC shall endeavor to create sustainable long-term value for clients, shareholders and employees, aiming at transforming into a benchmark niche player with regional and digital capabilities, as well as satisfactory workers.

Vision & Goal

Our short-term target is to be the leading financial group in Taiwan, whereas our mid-term and long-term visions are to become the symbolic niche player and regional financial group in pan-Asia area. Setout below are benchmarks for achieving our well-defined goals.

We shall make endeavors to upgrade the efficiency of joint marketing and capital management via resource sharing group wide. The approach of M&A and business alliance will be applied to tap niche market, as well as talent development, and synergy enhancement, persistently satisfy client’s demands and boost shareholders’ value.