BNY Mellon hires Frances Ni as head of DRs in Taiwan

Bank of New York Mellon has expanded its regional team focusing on depositary receipts (DRs) with the hire of Frances Ni, who will take on a role as head of DRs in Taiwan. Based in Taipei, her job will be to define and coordinate the implementation of future strategic growth opportunities within Taiwan.

"Taiwan continues to be a dynamic and growing market and remains one of the most active depositary receipts markets in Asia-Pacific," said Christopher Kearns, head of Asia-Pacific for BNY Mellon's DR business. "We expect to see DR capital raising activity continue this year driven by the financial and technology sectors and the continued expansion of cross straits cooperation. It is therefore vital that we have a strong leader to drive our business forward and take advantage of the business opportunities we expect in Taiwan over the coming years."

Kearns described Ni, who is a Taiwanese national, as very experienced when it comes to managing and growing complex, multi-dimensional businesses and said she is well-positioned to take BNY Mellon's business in Taiwan "to the next level".

According to BNY Mellon, Taiwanese issuers raised more than $2.3 billion in capital through 10 DR offerings in 2009, bringing the total number of outstanding Taiwan DR programmes to more than 115.

Contrary to their Chinese counterparts, which tend to go for US listings and issue American depositary receipts, Taiwan companies are more partial towards global depositary receipts. Among the deal's last year were Inotera Memories' $312 million GDR in June, which was chosen by FinanceAsia as the best Taiwan deal in 2009, and a $375 million GDR for Shin Kong Financial.

BNY Mellon which set up the first Taiwan DR programme in 1992, acted as the depositary bank for a $198 million GDR issued by Tatung and for Gintech Energy's $50 million GDR, the first deal to be issued under new regulations that allow follow-ons to be priced at a wider discount than 10%.

Ni will report to Gregory Roath, who is managing director of North Asia DRs based in Hong Kong.

She joins from Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she was a director in the Taipei office responsible for sourcing opportunities and leading project execution across multiple financial disciplines. She has more than 10 years of experience in investment banking and private equity as well as extensive experience across North Asia, according to her new employer.

BNY Mellon acts as a depositary bank for more than 2,100 ADR and GDR programmes globally, acting in partnership with leading companies from 67 countries. In Asia-Pacific, the bank has dedicated DR offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.