Bank of Jinzhou gets Chinese state backing as ICBC and other financial institutions buy more than 17.3 per cent stake in it
- The Hong Kong-listed Bank of Jinzhou suspended trading in its shares in April and lost its auditor
- ICBC will invest up to 3 billion yuan (US$436 million) in the bank, with China Cinda Asset Management and China Great Wall Asset Management also investing
China’s Bank of Jinzhou won government-backed reinforcement on Sunday as three state-controlled financial institutions said they would take at least 17.3 per cent in the troubled lender, whose shares have been suspended since April.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country’s largest lender by assets, and China Cinda Asset Management and China Great Wall Asset Management, two of China’s four largest distressed debt managers, said on Sunday they would take stakes in Bank of Jinzhou.
Concern has been growing about the bank since the Hong Kong-listed lender suspended trading in its shares earlier this year and saw its auditor quit. It said on Thursday it was in talks with multiple parties for possible investments.
ICBC Financial Asset Investment Co signed an equity transfer agreement to invest up to 3 billion yuan (US$436 million) in a 10.82 per cent stake of Bank of Jinzhou, it said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Hours after the state lender’s announcement, Cinda said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its wholly owned Cinda Investment Co would invest in a 6.49 per cent stake in Bank of Jinzhou, though it didn’t give the value of the deal.
China Great Wall also said in a statement that it would take a stake in Bank of Jinzhou. It did not elaborate on the value of the deal or the size of the stake.