UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, said yesterday it was acquiring a US$500 million stake in Bank of China (BoC), which is China's second-biggest bank, as part of a strategic partnership between the two.
The two are forming a mutually beneficial strategic cooperation covering the development of investment banking and securities products and services in China and for Chinese clients.
The deal is subject to Chinese regulatory approval.
PHOTO: AFP
1.6 percent stake
A spokesman said UBS expected the deal to close by the end of this year.
Following the deal, UBS's stake in BoC will be around 1.6 percent.
The announcement came ahead of BoC's planned initial public offering (IPO) next year, for which UBS is lead manager.
Royal Bank of Scotland, Merrill Lynch and the Li Ka-shing Foundation agreed earlier this year to acquire 10 percent in BoC for a combined US$3.1 billion.
UBS said in June that it was in talks with BoC and that it might invest up to US$500 million.
The cooperation and investment will "cement the long-standing relationship between Bank of China and UBS," the Swiss bank said in a statement.
They will be preferred partners in various investment banking and related securities business areas in China and for Chinese clients, and in addition will cooperate in operational matters relating to these business areas.
Credit Suisse and CCB
Swiss rival Credit Suisse, meanwhile, was reported to be eyeing a US$500 million stake in China Construction Bank (CCB).
CCB, the third largest of China's "big four" lenders, is expected to launch its massive public share sale on Oct. 27 or 28 in Hong Kong, state press reported yesterday.
CCB was expected to place US$2 billion worth of shares with institutional investors starting from yesterday at the latest, according to the official China Securities Journal, which cited market sources.
CCB is expected to raise more than US$6 billion in all via its IPO, although a report by the Hong Kong Standard said the bank could raise as much as US$7.7 billion, making it the biggest IPO in the territory.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique