Apr 17, 2012

Vietnam - No final plan for Habubank takeover yet, central bank says


Vietnam’s central bank has not received the final plan for the acquisition of troubled lender Habubank by Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the government has said in a statement on its website.

State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Van Binh said the restructuring of local banks needs to happen in several steps, including auditing weak banks, calling for more investment, and then allowing those banks to be acquired by other financial institutions if necessary.

The statement did not say what has been done so far in the case of Habubank.

The State Bank of Vietnam late last year launched a plan to restructure the banking sector, pushing for mergers and acquisitions of weak lenders.

News of the Habubank takeover have been reported widely over the local media over the past month, with the bank originally denying being acquired by Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint-Stock Bank.

Reuters confirmed the news with a report earlier this month, citing an official of the bank as saying the takeover still requires final approval from the central bank. If the merger takes place, the Habubank brand will cease to exist and its shares will be converted into shares of SHB, or Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the unidentified official said.

Net profits of Habubank, or Hanoi Building Commercial Joint-Stock Bank, last year fell to 328.95 billion dong from 482.02 billion dong in 2010, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te Vietnam newspaper reported.

Thanh Nien



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