CCB shares rebound after sale of stake
China Construction Bank's share price rebounded amid a sluggish market yesterday after Bank of America said it was selling a portion of its stake to a group of private investors.
The news confirmed a report in the South China Morning Post last week that the US lender was considering further divestment of its stake in CCB. It lifted the share price of the lender, which had been depressed over uncertainty surrounding the price of the deal.
CCB's share price in Hong Kong yesterday rose 1.08 per cent, or 6 cents, to HK$5.59, while the stock price of the other three large state-owned commercial banks fell. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.82 per cent.
Bank of America said it would sell, via private transactions, 10.4 billion of its 12.5 billion CCB shares for US$6.6 billion in order to improve its capital ratios.
It means Bank of America's stake in CCB will fall to 0.9 per cent from 5 per cent. Of its remaining 2.1 billion shares, 2 billion will be under lock-up until 2013.
The bank completed the private transaction yesterday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Temasek bought 4.4 billion CCB shares after Bank of America sold about 5 per cent of its shares in August, but Temasek declined to comment on whether it bought any this time.
Michael Werner, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said the transaction was positive for CCB as it removed a significant doubt about its shares.
CCB shares have underperformed other large Chinese banks, falling 5 per cent over the past two weeks, while the share prices of the other big three rose an average of 1 per cent.
Warren Blight, a senior analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said that while Bank of America was no longer a large shareholder it still had a strategic relationship with CCB, so 'Bank of America does not loose anything on its part'.
Blight said that when Bank of America became a cornerstone investor in CCB, it helped the reputation of the bank. But some Chinese bankers say mainland banks have not learned much from their foreign strategic partners and the constant divesting of shares has often depressed their shares.
When Bank of America bought a strategic stake in CCB in 2005 it said the investment was 'aimed at creating a long-term benefit by partnering with the best-positioned bank in China'.
It said it saw value in combining CCB's local knowledge and distribution with its product expertise, technology and experience with size and scale.
Under the agreement, Bank of America agreed to offer CCB the benefit of its experience in areas such as governance, risk management, credit cards, consumer banking and treasury services.
CCB back then described the relationship as a win-win partnership and said it had much to learn from its partner 'in serving customers and creating shareholder value'.
