Twenty five per cent stake in Acleda Bank almost ready
HSBC gains 28% profit in the third quarter
ATWENTY-FIVE per cent stake in Acleda Bank will be offered to the public next month as stakeholder ASA Plc confirmed on Monday that it is almost ready to list the shares on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX).
ASA chairman Neth Piseth said on Monday that his company had completed about 96 per cent of the process for the share’s listing and expressed confidence they will be ready for trading in November.
Piseth said the only work remaining was to determinate the price of the shares and obtain approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC).
Making ASA’s shares available to the public has been a long time coming. Many people want the chance to invest in Acleda, apart from depositing their money in the bank,” he said.
However, Piseth could not disclose the share price at listing since it is still being discussed with experts, including CSX officials.
Shareholder
Established in 2000, ASA owns over 25 per cent of Acleda and is itself owned by more than 10,000 shareholders, mostly Acleda employees.
A profile published in August last year said ASA is the second largest Acleda Bank shareholder, while Acleda Financial Trust is the largest with a 26 per cent stake.
It was also reported that ASA’s share capital last year was $89.6 million.
A prakas from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) in September last year said financial institutions could issue equity securities with a maximum of 20 per cent of the company’s voting share.
They could a lso issue debt securities at a rate t hat does not exceed 20 per cent of tota l assets. However, the central bank noted that financial institutions can only issue equity and debt securities with the permission of the NBC.
Piseth said yesterday that ASA is not a financial institution, but a shareholder in Acleda bank. Hemce, it does not require the NBC’s approval. However, he said the firm had already notified the NBC of its plan to list on the CSX.
CSX Listing and Disclosure Department director Lamun Soleil said yesterday that ASA’s shares would help to activate the securities market. He said the pricing of ASA’s shares is being thoroughly discussed as CSX wants to ensure it is reasonably priced.
“There’s also a concern that the price could decrease if existing shareholders rush to the market to sell their shares for capital gain.
“However, they could actually enjoy higher prices and get better benefits if they wait, as long as Acleda keeps growing in the foreseeable future,” he said. BANKING giant HSBC said on Monday that pre-tax profit rose 28 per cent to $5.92 billion in the third quarter, boosted by “strong revenue growth” in its main global businesses.
Adjusted pre-ta x prof it rose 16 per cent yea r-on-yea r to $ 6.2 bi l lion, ref lect ing revenue g row t h t hat was pa r t ly of fset by a r ise in operat ing expenses, the bank said. That beat a na ly st s’ est i mate of $ 5.73 bi l l ion, accord i ng to Bloomberg News.
“The strong revenue environment continues to enable us to invest in growth and in the simplification of the organisation to make it easier for our customers to bank with us and for colleagues to do their jobs,” said chief executive John Flint.
Shares in the bank were up 3.88 per cent at HK$62.85 ( US $ 8 . 0 1 ) a n d r e a c h e d HK$63.75 at one point in afternoon trading, after the results were released.
Adjusted revenue climbed almost nine per cent to $13.84 billion in July-September, up from $12.72 billion in the same period last year.
The Asia-focused banking giant has been on a recovery and huge restructuring drive in recent years to streamline the business.
Flint said in June that he plans to invest up to $17 billion primarily in growth and technology projects, with a particular focus on accelerating business in Asia.
He was promoted to the top job after serving as the lender’s head of retail banking and wealth management.
Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities, said the “better than expected earnings will give a big boost to its share price”.
The London-based group should be able to weather the US-China trade conflict given its strong operating figures such as the cost efficiency ratio and favourable results in the last few quarters, Wong added, putting the bank “in a better shape compared to its peers”.
But he warned its lending and interest-related income could be affected by Hong Kong’s softening property market, as major banks in the financial hub have had to raise their lending rates in lockstep with the Federal Reserve and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
The improving global economy has led centra l banks around the world to either lift borrowing costs or at least consider lifting them as the decade of post-cr isis ea s y money comes to an end.