Acquisition of banks gets votes of approval
THE shareholders of Kina Securities Ltd (KSL) have voted in favour of the acquisition of Westpac PNG and Westpac Fiji by Kina Bank.
Chief executive officer Greg Pawson confirmed this in a statement after an extraordinary general meeting held yesterday morning in Port Moresby, saying it was a great show of confidence by the shareholders.
“We are very excited about this opportunity and creating a stronger and more effective banking competitor for PNG and Fiji,” he said.
“The acquisition is perfectly aligned with our current strategy to be a dynamic and innovative full-service regional bank with a market-leading digital platform.”
It was stated after the proposed acquisition, there would be a newlybranded bank, independent and separate from the existing Kina Bank brand.
It would compete directly with all commercial banks in Fiji and PNG, including Kina Bank.
“It’s a really positive story and it will be a great outcome for customers from a service and product perspective,” added Mr Pawson.
“Creating a brand-new bank means there will be more customer choice, more competition and more innovation.
“With the proposed acquisition, we will be able to introduce fee-free banking options; a new suite of world-class digital products and services; and we will be able to reprice business lending, making it more cost effective for business customers to access funding.”
The proposed acquisition would allow more competition and prevent any prospect of duopoly or market dominance.
It was also stated to position and enable Kina to take banking back to basics at an additional scale, with better customer service and a focus on lowering the cost of banking in both PNG and Fiji.
It was stated a major benefit of this proposed acquisition was it would pave the way for local investors to participate through equity raising and would further provide opportunities for PNG investors to be part of an ASX/PNGXlisted company, joining many local PNG investors such as Comrade Trustee Services Ltd and MRDC.
“It means everyone has the opportunity to be an active shareholder in an ASX/PNGX-listed company which provides more local investment opportunities, this is important for the region,” said Mr Pawson.
The acquisition was subject to regulatory approval in both Fiji and PNG and the bank stated it was working closely with the regulators on this.