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Guoco in move to rebuild its base

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A restructuring of assets held by the Guoco Group was flagged yesterday when it requested the suspension of its shares, along with those of 71.47 per cent-held Dao Heng Bank.

No comment was available from Guoco yesterday, but the move is expected to herald a long-awaited restructuring likely to involve its banking arm, along with its separately-held financial services division.

There has been a long-rumoured suggestion that Singapore's DBS Bank might be looking to build a stake in Dao Heng. However, DBS shares were not suspended.

A source close to Dao Heng said a restructuring of its banking and financial services businesses would precede a sale.

'I'd have thought that Guoco would have been unwilling to sell the whole of the bank and maybe one investor will come in to take a stake in Dao Heng,' the source said.

DBS is not the only interested party, with other potential buyers including the Kuwaiti Investment Office, which already has a 10 per cent stake in Guoco, according to the source.

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