RBS to buy stake in Bank of China |
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Mon, 11 Apr 2005 01:00
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The latest to join the bandwagon are the banks who are now eyeing Asia – thanks to its rapid rates of economic growth, which is expected to grow by 9 percent this year, and attractive market due to its sheer size of the population.
It is said that RBS is in talks, although premature, with the Bank of China to pick up 20 percent stake in the latter by paying £2.1 billion.
| However the RBS will have to battle with dozen of the world’s largest financial organisations such as UBS, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, who also have shown interest, before picking up stake in China’s oldest commercial bank and among the top four commercial lenders.
The Chinese law permits foreign investors to only own a quarter in the Chinese banks.
The flotation of the Bank of China - which is set to take place next year - will give it a value of around £10.6 billion.
Bank of China has 13,000 domestic branches and another 550 offices outside the country.
The bank, known for its commercial lending, has also branched out into areas such as insurance and credit cards.
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