Competition has heated up for Metlife Inc's Taiwan asset with at least three local financial firms submitting bids, two sources close to the situation on Friday. Chinatrust Financial , Taiwan's top credit card issuer, has turned in its bid for the life insurance unit, said one of the sources. Mercuries Life Insurance, a unit of retailer Mercuries , will do so later in the day, said the other source. Taishin Financial , which counts private equity fund Newbridge and billionaire investor George Soros as major investors, said it will bid. Yuanta Financial , parent of Taiwan's biggest brokerage, was also interested in the unit, a source told Reuters in February. It was not immediately clear if Yuanta was still in the race.
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