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HSBC confident on timetable, price for KEB: Finance director
LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has the credentials to secure regulatory approval for its purchase of a majority stake in Korea Exchange Bank (004940.KS) and is comfortable with the $6.3 billion price tag, HSBC's finance director said.
"Clearly we will be providing all the necessary input the regulator asks for. (The process) will be dictated by their timetable and what they require of us," Douglas Flint said in a telephone interview on Monday.
"We can only do our best. We believe we have the credentials to put ourselves in a very favorable light."
Flint said HSBC was "cognizant of the complexities" of a deal where regulators have said they will not start the approval process for Lone Star's sale of the KEB stake until legal proceedings over Lone Star's 2003 KEB purchase are complete.
He also addressed concerns over the price HSBC has agreed to pay, well above the stake's market value of some $5.11 billion.
"We see opportunities in working together that make the transaction worth what we are prepared to pay. We are very comfortable with the price and we think it is fair to all parties," Flint said. "The price that we are paying is comparable to other transactions (in Korea)."
