Family-owned Wing Hang Bank says it intends to reduce dividends to bolster its tier one capital after unveiling a 42.78 per cent fall in net profit last year.
Chairman and chief executive Patrick Fung Yuk-bun said the bank had no plan to raise funds through issuing rights shares but would not rule out the possibility.
Mr Fung reiterated the bank had an open mind about any takeover offer, adding that several financial institutions that had expressed an interest in buying the bank had made no recent approaches.
China Life Insurance planned to buy a 10 per cent stake in Wing Hang last year from Bank of New York Mellon, which held a 20.28 per cent stake, but the deal ultimately lapsed.
Mr Fung said he did not know if Bank of New York Mellon had any renewed intentions to sell the stake.
Wing Hang's net profit fell to HK$1.16 billion from HK$2.03 billion in 2007 as earnings were eroded by the write-down of debt investment, a surge of impairment losses and lower income growth as the global financial crisis intensified.
The bank proposed a final dividend of 10 HK cents, bringing the total to HK$1.06, down 69.1 per cent.
