Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank by market value, is considering selling its Asia private banking unit, four people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Paris-based bank has reached out to possible bidders to gauge their interest, the people said, asking not to be identified because the process is private. SocGen may send financial information on the unit to potential suitors as early as this month, one person said.
Wealth management firms expect more mergers and acquisitions in their industry amid pressure on margins, and increased regulatory and tax scrutiny, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said in June. Asia is the fastest-growing region for private banks, according to McKinsey & Co.
“There are players who would want to bulk up on their assets under management and client advisers to add scale to their business,” said Tjun Tang, head of Boston Consulting Group’s financial services practice in the Asia-Pacific region.
“For others, if you’ve got no pathway to growth and profitability, then maybe it makes sense strategically to exit,” he added.
Tang said potential acquirers include regional Asian banks or “mid to larger-sized” international private banks, which typically manage US$25 billion to US$75 billion of assets.
SocGen, led in Asia by Olivier Gougeon, has serviced private-banking clients in Asia through Singapore and Hong Kong since 1997, according to its Web site. Societe Generale’s private banking business is active in 16 countries with about 2,500 employees.
Societe Generale spokeswoman Nathalie Boschat in Paris declined to comment. JPMorgan Chase & Co is working with SocGen on the sale, two people said.
Millionaires in Asia outside Japan will create US$7 trillion in net new wealth by 2016, boosting the share of global riches from emerging markets, McKinsey said in June, based on a survey of private banks.
SocGen agreed in July to sell its Japanese private banking operations to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Last year, it retreated from North America with the sale of a minority stake in Rockefeller Financial Services Inc and its shares in Canadian Wealth Management Group Inc.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS