ANZ Bank CEO Expects Bolt-On Acquisitions In Asia
August 04 2009 - 12:29AM
Dow Jones News
Australia & New Zealand Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) will continue to
target "bolt-on" acquisitions in Asia, having signed a deal to buy
some of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's (RBS) banking operations
in the region for US$550 million, ANZ Chief Executive Mike Smith
said Tuesday.
Smith told Bloomberg Television in an interview that he didn't
view the RBS deal as "transformational" for Melbourne-based ANZ,
which aims to become a "super regional" lender in Asia.
ANZ built has amassed a A$4.7 billion warchest to help fund
acquisitions and bolster capital after recent share placements.
ANZ will buy RBS' commercial and retail banking operations in
Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the
Philippines, but didn't go after assets in China or India.
Smith said that the regulatory process to buy RBS' operations in
India, where the lender is applying for a banking license, would
have been onerous, and the price tag for the group's Chinese
business was too high.
RBS said earlier Tuesday it remains in talks to sell other
assets in Asia. People familiar with the situation have said
Standard Chartered PLC is interested in RBS' operations in India
and China.
-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2093;
lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com
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