WhatÆs behind BNP ParibasÆ new Taiwan fund JV?

BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) last week announced a new asset-management joint venture with Taiwan Cooperative Bank (TCB) that is puzzling some industry observers. Taiwan's onshore fund industry suffers from fragmentation unlike anywhere else in the region. No fund house has been able to win more than 6% of market share, and none stays on top for long. The offshore fund market is as big as the one onshore, with NT$1.8 trillion ($56 billion) in assets under management as o…