CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行) would increase its investment in LH Financial Group Public Co by acquiring another 2.33 billion shares of the Thai company, CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) said yesterday after its board of directors approved the proposal.
The financial conglomerate still needs to obtain the approval of the Financial Supervisory Commission for the investment, CTBC spokeswoman Chiu Ya-ling (邱雅玲) told a news conference in Taipei.
The deal, which would cost CTBC Financial NT$3.9 billion (US$136.7 million), would raise its stake in the Thai company from 35.6 percent to 46.6 percent, making it the largest shareholder, Chiu said.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
CTBC Financial hopes to seize more business opportunities in Thailand through the new investment, as more Taiwanese companies, as well as Chinese and Japanese firms, are expanding their investment and operation in the Southeast Asian nation, Chiu said.
Thailand’s central bank has over the past few years been relaxing financial regulations and encouraging digital transformation in the financial industry, and smaller banks have benefited from the deregulation, Chiu said.
LH Financial Group focuses on the banking business, with its banking unit, LH Bank, ranking 13th in terms of assets among Thai banks, Chiu said.
“After we become the largest shareholder, we would collaborate with the second-largest shareholder, Land and Houses Public Co,” she said.
LH Financial Group reported a net profit of NT$1.9 billion for last year, while its assets totaled NT$228 billion at the end of last year, the company said.
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