UPDATE 1-Taiwan exchange may list early 2009 after mergers

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SINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSEC) said on Tuesday that it may seek a listing in early 2009, after mergers with three of the country's smaller exchanges that it expects to take place this year.

"Before we start the IPO (initial public offering), we want to restructure... We need to consolidate into one company," TSEC Chairman Wu Rong-i told reporters in Singapore.

TSEC has been in talks to form a single holding company with Taiwan's over-the-counter Gre-Tai Securities Market, Taiwan Futures Market and the Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corp.

It is also looking to increase competitiveness and woo foreign investors amid a global trend of mergers and acquisitions among stock exchanges, by floating its shares and seeking alliances with other exchanges.

Wu said the exchange does not yet have concrete plans for capital investments or share swaps with other bourses, but would first look for joint ventures with other bourse operators in areas such as information technology and product marketing.

Recent agreements penned by the TSEC include an agreement to cross-list exchange traded funds with the Tokyo Stock Exchange [TSE.UL].

The stock exchange told Reuters in December that it had discussed possible tie-ups with NYSE Euronext (NYX.N)(NYX.PA), the Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ.O) and Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE).

On a rule barring Taiwan-listed firms from having more than 40 percent of their assets in China, Wu said he had not heard from the authorities as to whether they will relax the clause.

"The market has asked if we will relax the regulation, but that depends on the next government after the March (presidential) elections," he said, adding the rule is more a political issue than an economic one.

The cap on China assets has prompted a number of top firms, including electronics giant Hon Hai (2317.TW) and manufacturer Pou Chen (9904.TW), to spin off their China assets into separate companies and list them in Hong Kong.

"(The investment cap) does affect us, but even so, we kept growing. China is just one of Taiwan's markets," Wu said. Wu and other TSEC officials are touring in Singapore and Hong Kong to seek strategic alliances and to help market Taiwan companies to foreign investors based in the two cities. (Reporting by Chua Baizhen, editing by Neil Chatterjee)