China's Shenzhen Development Bank Co says its board has agreed to sell an 18 percent stake to US private equity firm Newbridge Capital Ltd in a rare deal giving effective control of a state-owned Chinese bank to a foreign company.
A notice by the bank, published in the state-owned China Securities Journal yesterday, said negotiations on the long-awaited deal were concluded over the weekend.
Four government entities in Shenzhen, a boomtown bordering Hong Kong, are to transfer their stakes to Newbridge, giving it a 17.89 percent stake, the notice said. It did not give financial terms for the deal, which requires approval by banking regulators.
A final agreement is to be signed soon, the notice said.
Newbridge's purchase is the first acquisition of a controlling stake in a state-owned local bank by a foreign company. Last fall, French bank BNP Paribas acquired China's first wholly foreign-owned bank. But that involved buying out its Chinese partner's share in a joint venture bank.
Shenzhen has been leading reforms aimed at reducing government ownership in state-owned enterprises.
The deal with Newbridge fits that strategy. It also is part of an effort to bring foreign involvement into banking management to help modernize a state-owned banking industry that lags decades behind its foreign competitors.
Newbridge, an affiliate of major American private equity firm Texas Pacific Group, began talks with Shenzhen in September 2002. But the deal ran into trouble when Newbridge accused the Chinese side of breaking its agreement and trying to sell their shares to a Taiwanese company, Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (
Foreign financial institutions have been rushing to acquire strategic holdings in China's banks ahead of the full opening of the banking sector to foreign competition in 2006.
In March, China Minsheng Banking Corp, the country's first privately held bank, announced plans to sell a 4.8 percent stake to Newbridge. Newbridge also has a stake in Korea First Bank and in Japan Telecom Co.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft