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Thai Central Bank Mulls Sale of Stake in Siam City Bank - Report
Thailand's central bank is mulling the sale of its 47.6 per cent
stake inc
for $1 billion, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed
sources.
The country is reportedly trying to ease foreign ownership
restrictions in a bid to boost competition in the financial
industry. The current law states that foreigners can own up to 49
per cent of a local financial institution without needing
permission from the finance ministry. The central bank owns
shares in Siam City through its Financial Institutions
Development Fund.
None of the parties involved gave their official comment on this
matter, but the publication's sources said that the list of
potential buyers would include
Standard Chartered,
ANZ,Bank
of China,
China Construction Bank, and
Bank of Nova Scotia, which owns a 4.97 per cent stake in Siam
City. The same sources also revealed that
UBS has been hired to handle the sale.
Siam Bank is the sixth largest bank in Thailand in terms of
market capitalisation.
The central bank has been offloading its stakes in various local
banks since last year in a bid to raise funds. In June 2008, it
sold its 42 per cent interest in BankThai to CIMB for 5.9 billion
baht.
