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Foreign trio banks invest US$3.78b to ICBC
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-27 16:17 China's biggest bank, state-owned Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China, on Friday signed a US$3.78 billion (euro3 billion)
investment deal with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., American Express Co. and
Germany's Allianz AG.
Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest lender, has frozen talks
with two Arab state investors negotiating for a one billion US dollar
stake, according to a press report.
[AFP] |
The investment will involve the
purchase of newly issued shares in the Beijing-based bank, known as ICBC, the
companies said in a statement.
The statement did not provide a breakdown for the size of investment for each
company or the stake each will own. It said the deal is subject to regulatory
approval.
The deal was signed at a ceremony in Beijing that was not open to media.
The bank had earlier announced that the three companies planned to buy a
combined 10 percent stake for more than US$3 billion (euro2.5 billion).
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that ICBC had agreed to sell the
stake as planned, with Goldman Sachs and its private equity funds investing
US$2.58 billion (euro2.11 billion) for about 7 percent of the bank.
Allianz would pay US$1 billion (euro820 billion) for a 2.5 percent stake and
American Express would invest US$200 million (euro163 million), it said, citing
unnamed sources.
Meanwhile, Citigroup's spokesman in Shanghai said he could not comment on
reports that the State Council, or Cabinet, was due soon to announce a decision
on its bid for a stake in Guangdong Development Bank. Staff at the Chinese bank
also refused comment.
According to reports in the Chinese media, a consortium led by Citigroup bid
nearly US$3 billion for a majority stake in the struggling mid-sized lender,
based in the southern province of Guangdong. But it faces competition from other
contenders, including France's Societe Generale SA.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Citigroup's offer would net it a stake
of between 40 percent and 45 percent, with U.S. private equity firm Carlyle
Group taking a 10 percent stake.
China usually limits investments by a single foreign institution in a
state-run bank to less than 20 percent, with total foreign investment capped at
25 percent.
But the Guangzhou-based bank reportedly is being allowed to sell off a larger
share of its equity than usual because of its urgent need for capital and its
large burden of bad loans.
Chinese regulators are encouraging foreign banks to take strategic stakes in
the industry, both as a source of funding and to upgrade local bank services
with foreign managerial and technical expertise as the industry prepares for the
opening of local financial markets to full foreign competition late this year.
With more than 20,000 branches, ICBC is a giant in an industry dominated by
huge banks. By the end of September, its deposits totaled 5.59 trillion yuan.
Like other major Chinese banks, ICBC is in the midst of a restructuring and
preparing to sell its stock on the Hong Kong exchange, possibly later this year,
aiming to boost its competitiveness.
ICBC recently announced the founding of a US$248 billion yuan (US$30.6
billion; euro25 billion) joint-stock company, equally owned by the Ministry of
Finance and the government-owned Central Huijin Investment Co. In April, the
government injected US$15 billion into the bank to help replenish its funds,
while writing off 705 billion yuan (US$87.5 billion; euro71.41 billion) in bad
loans.
The bank recently reported that its unaudited operating profit in 2005,
before provisions for losses, grew six-fold to 90.2 billion yuan (US$11.2
billion; euro9 billion) and its capital adequacy ratio was 10.26 percent,
similar to other big Chinese state banks.
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