(August 3, 2004, Taipei) SinoPac Holdings announced that it signed a memorandum with shareholders of United Securities Investment Trust Corporation (United SITC) on 3 August 2004 to buy up 100% of the company for NT$298.5 million, or NT$9.95 per share, subject to the approval of the regulators and the completion of the legal procedure.

Paul Lo, CEO of SinoPac Holdings, said that SinoPac Holdings is expanding its wealth management business and thus needs an investment trust company to work as a wealth management platform. After United SITC is acquired, Lo continued, not only the size of its four existing funds will be enlarged but new funds will be launched so that more product lines will be offered to SinoPac customers.

The revenue of the Wealth Management Group of SinoPac Holdings increased by 2.5x in the first half of the year due to the joint efforts of the salesforce in relevant business groups within SinoPac Holdings. The acquisition of United SITC will complement the offering of wealth management products by SinoPac Holdings.

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