Sources told Bloomberg that Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) was thinking of bidding for Wing Hang Bank. One of the sources said Southeast Asia's second biggest bank had been studying its offer for Wing Hang for over two weeks. Last week, Wing Hang said its shareholders were talking with third parties about the sale but no terms were yet finalized.
According to a Bloomberg report, two of the four family-owned banks in Hong Kong were talking with potential buyers. Smaller banks now faced potential competition from bigger lenders like HSBC Holdings. In a related development, trading for Chong Hing Bank shares was suspended today. This was after Bloomberg reported that the Hong Kong bank was close to an agreement to be acquired by the Yue Xiu Group.
About 45% of Wing Hang is owned by the family of Chairman Patrick Fung, its affiliates and the Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based OCBC acquired a stake in China-based Bank of Ningbo Co in 2009. It also bought the Asian private banking business of ING Groep NV in 2010.
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