• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

ICBC says not in acquisition talk with Wing Hang

Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:01pm EDT

Stocks

   

BEIJING/HONG KONG, June 26 (Reuters) - China's ICBC (1398.HK) on Friday denied rumours that the Chinese bank is in talks to buy Hong Kong's Wing Hang Bank (0302.HK).

"No such thing," Yang Kaisheng, president of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS), told Reuters.

Shares of Wing Hang rose 9 percent, the biggest gain in nearly three months, on Thursday, driven by the rumours that ICBC may be seeking to purchase Wing Hang Bank, Ming Pao Daily reported on Friday.

The stock surged another 7 percent on Friday on speculation that big Chinese banks, including ICBC, are pursuing the Hong Kong-based commercial bank, brokers said.

CLSA said earlier in a report that Wing Hang Bank is a likely acquisition target among Hong Kong banks. Wing Hang's chairman had said it is open-minded about a stake sale in the bank, it added.

(Reporting by Xie Heng in Beijing and Fion Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Ken Wills)



More from Reuters

Photo

Democrats gain 60th vote on health bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats reached a compromise on Saturday with the last holdout senator that secured the 60 votes they need to pass a broad healthcare overhaul sought by President Barack Obama.

» More Top News
A woman shops at a Sam's Club store, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, in Bentonville, Arkansas June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi

The food-stamp economy

On the last day of every month, shoppers at Walmart load their carts with food and household items and wait for the midnight hour. Is this the new normal in America?  Full Article 

U.S.
Two men shake hands in a file photo. REUTERS/File

Let's make a deal

The battered M&A sector will make a tepid recovery in the coming year and three hot sectors will lead the way, according to a Thomson Reuters analysis.  Full Article 

Global Deals Review