Four banks pursue Guangdong stake
11 November 2005
Citigroup, ABN Amro, Societe Generale SA and DBS Group Holdings are expected to file final bids next week for a stake in China's Guangdong Development Bank, which, in turn, is expected to select a bidder in the next few weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the deal. Each bank has formed a consortium with Chinese partners for the bids. The winning foreign bank, with the backing of a local partner, could take control of more than half of the bank, which has plans to list in Hong Kong next year. Guangdong Development Bank has 26 branches across China and total assets of US$42.6 billion at the end of 2004.