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Baht/$ 33.96/02 (Bid/Ask)
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FINANCE
SOMRUEDI BANCHONGDUANG
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| Waugh: Aiming to double TBank holding |
Scotiabank plans to expand its investments in Thailand and China, as the Canadian bank views both Asian countries as fundamentally sound and likely to weather the global financial turmoil quite well.
Rick Waugh, the chief executive officer and president of Scotiabank, was in Bangkok this week to meet with executives of the Bank of Thailand as well as the management of Thanachart Bank.
He said Scotiabank was interested in expanding its 24.99% shareholding in TBank to 49%.
Scotiabank was committed to investing in Thailand for the long-term, adding that the Asian region was expected to continue to outgrow North America for the next five to 10 years, he said.
"We are confident in the Thai economy, even with the financial crisis that is occurring around the world right now," Mr Waugh said.
"Thailand is the best one in Asia among the emerging economies. And Scotiabank is also confident in TBank's business performance.
Scotiabank acquired its 24.99% stake in TBank last year, purchasing 157.13 million shares at 16.37 baht each in a deal worth 2.57 billion baht.
Scotiabank has the right to purchase additional shares to increase its holding to 49%, and is prepared to invest up to $225 million in the local Thai bank.
Mr Waugh said TBank had performed well with gains in its net profits, branches and financial products.
Scotiabank was prepared to offer further support to the Thai bank in terms of technology and human resources, he said.
"We hope to see TBank as a competitive bank in Thailand and to grow its asset size with Scotiabank's support," Mr Waugh said.
TBank, Thailand's eighth-largest bank in terms of assets, is the market leader in auto hire-purchase loans. Total assets at the end of June were 316.71 billion baht.
The bank's network includes 207 branches and 349 ATMs as of August. The bank posted first-half profits of 1.2 billion baht, up from profits of 293 million the same period last year.
Mr Waugh said that Scotiabank also planned to increase its investments in Xian Bank and Dalian Bank in China as part of the group's international expansion.
The Scotiabank Group and its affiliates currently have 12.5 million customers in 50 countries around the world, he said.
Mr Waugh said Scotiabank had not been affected by the US financial crisis, and that its earnings and balance sheet remained strong.
Scotiabank had no investments in any financial instruments linked to sub-prime mortgage loans, he said.
However, he acknowledged that the US financial crisis was "more serious than expected" and that close monitoring of the situation was likely to be required over the next 12 to 18 months.
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