August 24, 2006 (Hong Kong) -- China Construction Bank (CCB) (SEHK Code: 0939) has entered into an agreement with Bank of America to acquire 100% equity interest of Bank of America (Asia) Limited, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America in Hong Kong.
Payable in cash, the total consideration of the acquisition is HK$9.71 billion, representing approximately 1.32 times of the book net assets of HK$7.38 billion of Bank of America (Asia). The acquisition is subject to the approvals of the Chinese and overseas authorities and CCB shareholders in a general meeting. It is expected that the acquisition will be completed before the end of 2006.
CCB and Bank of America have established a long-term strategic partnership since Bank of America became a strategic investor of CCB in 2005, highlighted by close cooperation in a wide array of areas, including personal banking, risk management, information technology and corporate governance.
“Bank of America (Asia) is a typical small-to-medium sized retail bank in Hong Kong, providing banking services for individuals and small-to-medium enterprises,” said Mr. Zhang Jianguo, the newly appointed President of China Construction Bank. “Bank of America (Asia) is equipped with an experienced management team and strong financial performance, and the bank shows little overlapping with the Hong Kong business of CCB. Therefore, it is a very appropriate choice of acquisition for us. ”
“In the foreseeable future, CCB will be developed into an integrated financial service provider in Hong Kong, with retail banking, wholesale banking, investment banking and insurance services as its business pillars. We will strive to provide comprehensive, premium and efficient financial services for customers in China and overseas,” added Mr. Zhang.
After acquiring Bank of America (Asia), the business scale of CCB in Hong Kong will be more than doubled. The total amount of customer loans will also jump from the 16th to the 9th highest in the Hong Kong banking industry. Mr. Fan Yifei, Vice President of China Construction Bank and the executive responsible for the deal, assured investors the significant synergies to be created by the acquisition.
”The acquisition will immediately enhance the earnings per share of CCB,” said Mr. Fan. “Looking forward, CCB will leverage on the foundation of Bank of America (Asia) to optimize and consolidate its retail banking business in Hong Kong. In the long run, we can make use of the retail platform of Bank of America (Asia) to provide our high-end customers with full-scale personal finance and clearing services, while the small-to-medium enterprise customers of Bank of America (Asia) will be able to enjoy more comprehensive services with CCB. The deal will create tremendous synergies for us to integrate our business in Hong Kong and mainland China in many aspects.”
“The deal has created a win-win situation for both parties,” said a spokesman of CCB. “Through this transaction, we can rapidly enhance our service capabilities in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. This is in line with our overseas developmental strategy, and can expand our market share in Hong Kong. As for Bank of America, the deal represents an important step for the bank to realign its global and Asia Pacific strategies. Our customers are undoubtedly the largest beneficiary of the deal, as they will be able to enjoy our enhanced services.”
CCB has been enhancing its operating efficiencies in recent years, with healthy development in its international presence and rapid growth in its foreign exchange businesses. CCB has selected Hong Kong to be an important foothold of its overseas developmental strategies, with an aim to drive its overseas operations. In addition, CCB is actively coping with the international banking trend to place an intense focus on retail banking for strategic growth. The acquisition of Bank of America (Asia) represents a strong initiative of CCB to expand its overseas presence and retail banking business.
Company Background:
Bank of America (Asia) is one of the 24 licensed banks in Hong Kong, operating 14 branches in Hong Kong and 3 branches in Macau. As a small-to-medium sized retail bank, Bank of America (Asia) sees approximately 65% of its revenue coming from its personal banking business. As at December 31, 2005, the Bank recorded total assets of HK$49.07 billion and net assets of HK$7.38 billion. The total assets and total loans of the bank account for approximately 0.7% and 1.3% of those of all licensed banks in Hong Kong. As reflected by its previous financial results, Bank of America (Asia) is characterized with reliable operations, well-established business processes, experienced management, quality staff force, healthy financial performance and premium assets.
China Construction Bank (HKEX Stock Code: 0939) CCB is a pioneer of improving and developing the PRC banking sector. It is the first of the big four PRC commercial banks to complete establishment as a joint stock bank in 2004. In 2005, we introduced Bank of America and Temasek as strategic partners. CCB succeeded in listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October that year and became a public bank with investors all over the world. In the meantime, CCB continued to strengthen the corporate management infrastructure, as well as carry out a series of effective revolutions and innovations in aspects like internal organization structure, risk and internal control management, human resources management and operation workflow reengineering. It has successfully become a bank with the most comprehensive competitiveness, customer service ability, risk control ability and profitability, and won wide recognition both in China and overseas. CCB was awarded “Bank of the Year” in the PRC by The Banker in 2005. In Asiaweek released in July 2006, among the Top 300 Banks in Asia, CCB was the bank with the “Highest Net Interest Income” and “Highest Net Profit”, rated as the “Most Profitable Bank in Asia”.
CCB has been awarded the "Bank of the Year'' in China in 2005 by The Banker magazine. It is also ranked the 11th place and the first place respectively on the lists of "Top 1000 Global Banks" and "Top 100 PRC Banks" published by The Banker. In addition, CCB has secured the seventh place on the list of "Top 300 Asian Banks" released by Asiaweek. It is also recognized as the bank with the "highest net interest income" and the "highest net profit", and is therefore rated as the "most profitable bank in Asia." CCB has been awarded the "Best Managed Company", "Best Corporate Governance", "Best Commitment To Strong Dividend" released by FinanceAsia.
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