HK lender seeks further assets among mainland insurers and fund managers
Hang Seng Bank chief executive Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen says the lender is looking for investment opportunities among the mainland's insurers and fund-management houses as part of an acquisition spree.
Speaking from Fuzhou yesterday, after paying 1.72 billion yuan to acquire a 15.98 per cent stake in Industrial Bank, Mr Cheng, who is also the bank's vice-chairman, said: 'We are interested in finding partners in ... non-bank financial institutions: insurers or fund-management companies.
'There is a lot of potential in the mainland's financial sector. The fund-management sector is not well developed in China. The insurance market is also quite profitable.'
There are 24 insurers in the mainland and about 40 fund-management houses.
The Industrial Bank deal makes Hang Seng the largest foreign investor in a mainland bank in terms of funds invested and percentage of shareholding. It also marks the first step by Hang Seng in an accelerated expansion in the mainland, where it has five branches.
'We are not interested in investing in other banks,' Mr Cheng said.
