Banks in Advanced Talks on Assets in China, India, Malaysia; Standard Chartered Bid Lags. The Wall Street Journal
HONG KONG
HONG KONG
HSBC Holdings PLC is in advanced discussions to buy the retail- and commercial-banking assets of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC in China, India and Malaysia, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The emergence of HSBC as the leading bidder comes after exclusive talks between RBS and Standard Chartered PLC about those assets have stalled over price, the person said. It isn't clear that Standard Chartered is out of the race completely, but its bid appears to have lost momentum.
HSBC is making a push to extend its reach further in Asia's relatively healthy banking markets. It is competing with Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd. to buy the Asian private-banking assets of ING Groep NV for about $1.5 billion in a contest that could be decided later this month. Last month, HSBC said it will return the principal office of its group chief executive to Hong Kong, a small but symbolic gesture to China, where it hopes to list its shares.
"RBS is in ongoing discussions with bidders for the remaining assets it has decided to sell in Asia and will make further announcements, as appropriate, in due course," said RBS spokeswoman Yuk Min Hui in a statement. Representatives for HSBC and Standard Chartered declined to comment.
The assets are the final piece of an auction that began earlier this year to sell Royal Bank of Scotland's retail- and commercial-banking assets across the region. The British lender wants to trim its operations to repay a U.K. government bailout during the financial crisis, shedding some operations it acquired as the leader of a consortium that acquired Dutch financial services firm ABN Amro.
HSBC, Standard Chartered and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. were short-listed as bidders in the auction of the RBS businesses this year.
ANZ agreed in August to buy some of RBS's retail- and commercial-banking operations in Asia for $550 million, giving the Australian bank what it described as a stepping stone into the region. ANZ bought RBS's retail- and commercial-banking operations in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong, and its institutional businesses in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Pakistan's MCB Bank Ltd. paid $87 million for RBS's Pakistan operations.
The emergence of HSBC as the leading bidder comes after exclusive talks between RBS and Standard Chartered PLC about those assets have stalled over price, the person said. It isn't clear that Standard Chartered is out of the race completely, but its bid appears to have lost momentum.
HSBC is making a push to extend its reach further in Asia's relatively healthy banking markets. It is competing with Singapore's DBS Group Holdings Ltd. to buy the Asian private-banking assets of ING Groep NV for about $1.5 billion in a contest that could be decided later this month. Last month, HSBC said it will return the principal office of its group chief executive to Hong Kong, a small but symbolic gesture to China, where it hopes to list its shares.
"RBS is in ongoing discussions with bidders for the remaining assets it has decided to sell in Asia and will make further announcements, as appropriate, in due course," said RBS spokeswoman Yuk Min Hui in a statement. Representatives for HSBC and Standard Chartered declined to comment.
The assets are the final piece of an auction that began earlier this year to sell Royal Bank of Scotland's retail- and commercial-banking assets across the region. The British lender wants to trim its operations to repay a U.K. government bailout during the financial crisis, shedding some operations it acquired as the leader of a consortium that acquired Dutch financial services firm ABN Amro.
HSBC, Standard Chartered and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. were short-listed as bidders in the auction of the RBS businesses this year.
ANZ agreed in August to buy some of RBS's retail- and commercial-banking operations in Asia for $550 million, giving the Australian bank what it described as a stepping stone into the region. ANZ bought RBS's retail- and commercial-banking operations in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong, and its institutional businesses in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. Pakistan's MCB Bank Ltd. paid $87 million for RBS's Pakistan operations.
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