Citigroup and a consortium including Dutch bank ABN Amro and Chinese insurer Ping An are believed to have bid about US$1.5 billion each to buy 80% of Guangdong Development Bank, Financial Times reported. The bids, estimated at twice the bank's book value, are high by international standards. French bank Societe Generale, partnered with state-owned China Huawen Enterprises Development, has entered a bid of more than US$1 billion. Sources close to discussions denied reports that Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, had already made the winning bid for the bank, the first in China to offer a majority stake to foreign buyers.
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