Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. could seal an agreement to buy nearly 20 percent of a Chinese bank for about US$500 million as early as this month, sources close to the deal said.
China's banks, flush with $2 trillion in savings -- as well as the legacy of decades of state-directed lending -- have drawn billions of dollars in investment from global players, including Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc. , Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of America .
The investment would be ANZ's second in the country after it bought 19.9 percent of second-tier lender Tianjin City Commercial Bank in China's north last December for US$120 million.
"Both ANZ and Shanghai rural bank hope to sign the deal before the end of November, following ANZ's Shanghai board meeting," one China-based banking source said.
"Shanghai Rural Bank is about double Tianjin Bank's size and it is in Shanghai, so I think the deal is worth the price," said another Chinese banking source close to the deal.
Shanghai, China's financial hub, is one of the richest cities in the mainland and home to a large and growing expatriate population numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
ANZ signed a technical alliance in late 2003 with a credit cooperative that was transformed into Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, in a deal seen as a precursor to an equity investment in the lender.
"The negotiations are proceeding well, and we would like to see this progress by the end of the year," ANZ spokesman Paul Edwards told Reuters from Melbourne.
ANZ, with assets of over US$200 billion, has the most extensive network in Asia among Australia's banks, though its Asia-Pacific operations accounted for only 6 percent of its 2005 net profit of a $3.0 billion (US$2.3 billion).
Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank is the smallest lender in the city, and the only Shanghai-based lender without any foreign investment.
Citigroup now holds about 4 percent of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the top Shanghai-based lender, while HSBC owns 8 percent of smaller Bank of Shanghai.
Shanghai Rural Bank's assets reached about 116 billion Yuan (US$14.72 billion) by August 2005 and it operates 330 outlets -- all in its home city -- with total staff of over 4,000.
Both sources said ANZ would also sign a series of agreements on business cooperation, including possible arrangements for issuing a co-branded credit card in China in the near future, once all parties agree on a stake purchase.
Source:佚名