Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




POLITICAL ECONOMY
Singapore's OCBC bank in talks to buy Hong Kong lender
by Staff Writers
Singapore (AFP) Jan 06, 2014


Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said Monday it was in exclusive talks to acquire Hong Kong's Wing Hang Bank, in a move that could give it greater access to the Chinese market.

Dow Jones Newswires said a potential deal could value the Hong Kong lender at more than $5.0 billion.

OCBC said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange it signed an "exclusivity agreement" on December 31 with the substantial shareholders of Wing Hang.

Under the accord, the substantial shareholders agreed to hold exclusive talks with OCBC until the end of January to finalise terms "for a possible transaction" that would involve the Singapore bank making a general offer for all Wing Hang shares.

OCBC, Singapore's second biggest bank by total assets, stressed that no deal has yet been reached.

"Accordingly, at this stage, there is no certainty that the terms of a possible offer will be agreed, or that a possible offer or any similar transaction will ultimately be consummated," OCBC said.

Grace Wu, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets, said Hong Kong banks are attractive buys because of their presence in the giant Chinese market.

"For banks in Asia, acquiring a Hong Kong bank would provide immediate access to China, as most of them have locally incorporated subsidiaries in the mainland," Wu told AFP.

"And for banks like Wing Hang Bank -- which also enjoys a presence in Macau -- the M&A (merger and acquisition) appeal is even greater, in our view."

Wing Hang has 75 branches across Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau, according to its website.

Singapore banks have been seeking growth beyond the city-state's small domestic market.

In 2001 its biggest bank DBS bought Hong Kong's Dao Heng Bank for Sg$10 billion ($7.89 billion).

.


Related Links
The Economy






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








POLITICAL ECONOMY
China foreign exchange regulator urges 'Tobin Tax' study
Beijing (AFP) Jan 04, 2014
A top Chinese financial regulator has suggested the country could introduce a tax on foreign exchange transactions among other steps to guard against speculative capital flows amid further economic liberalisation. Yi Gang, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), wrote in an article for the Communist Party theoretical journal Qiushi that China should "study in depth" the ... read more


POLITICAL ECONOMY
Typhoon brings unexpected medical relief to Philippine town

South African Trauma Center Launches Portable Electronic Trauma Health Record Application

Haitian president urges his country to come together

Hundreds of corpses unburied after Philippine typhoon

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Computers search for 'cheapium' versions of expensive materials

New compounds discovered that are hundreds of times more mutagenic

Japanese scientists move objects using acoustic levitation

Two new radar stations to be placed into service in Russia in 2014

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Senegal to fine Russian ship for 'fishing illegally'

Local factors cause dramatic spikes in coastal ocean acidity

Los Angeles likely to score driest year since record-keeping began

Major reductions in seafloor marine life from climate change by 2100

POLITICAL ECONOMY
US icebreaker heads to Antarctic to help stuck ships

Pine Island Glacier sensitive to climatic variability

Chinese ship used in Antarctic rescue stuck in ice

Antarctic rescue bid back on as Chinese helicopter flies in

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Important mutation discovered in dairy cattle

Chinese scientists create high-yield, salt-resistant rice variety

Hong Kong arrests 64 for smuggling baby formula

Fox meat makes an ass of Wal-Mart's China donkey product

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Longmanshen fault zone still hazardous

Ground-breaking work sheds new light on volcanic activity

Supervolcano eruptions are triggered by melt buoyancy

One dead as cyclone skims France's Reunion island

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Fighting across South Sudan despite peace talks: army

Attacks on Chadians in C.Africa will not go 'unpunished': president

C. Africa won't sap France's military: minister

Seven die in Cameroon clash between army and C.Africa gunmen

POLITICAL ECONOMY
Money Talks When Ancient Antioch Meets Google Earth

Reading a good book may make permanent changes to your brain

Finnish research team reveals how emotions are mapped in the body

What Does Compassion Sound Like?




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement