The Chinese Bank to be sold next month

The Central Deposit Insurance Corp (中央存保) will start the sale of The Chinese Bank (中華商業銀行) next month, the last of three failed lenders the government is auctioning off.

Potential buyers will start due diligence from June 26 and must submit bids before July 24, PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is managing the auction, said in an e-mail to investors. A buyer will be selected on July 31.

The government took over The Chinese Bank, Enterprise Bank of Hualien (花蓮企銀) and Taitung in January. Taitung Business Bank (台東企銀) will be auctioned off on Thursday.

Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) last week agreed to take over Enterprise Bank.

The Chinese Bank has assets of NT$130 billion (US$3.9 billion), six times more than Enterprise Bank. The government agreed to pay Chinatrust NT$4.49 billion to take over Enterprise Bank.

The sale will be divided into three parts, including NT$21.3 billion of non-performing loans to be sold to asset management companies, according to the e-mail. The government will retain some items related to claims on bad debts and money owed by Chinese Bank's parent Rebar Asia-Pacific Group (力霸亞太企業集團), the e-mail said.

The remainder, categorized as the "good bank," will include assets and liabilities excluding bad loans and the parts the government plans to retain, according to the document.