East Asia Bank to Sell 10 per cent Stake to Citigroup

The Ho Chi Minh City-based East Asia Commercial Bank (EAB) will offer 10 per cent stake worth VND600 billion to the US-based Citigroup, following EAB’s plan to issue VND1.2 trillion ($70 million) worth of shares to scale up chartered capital to VND2 trillion this year, said the bank’s general director.

 

EAB general director Tran Phuong Binh said in a recent conference that this is an important step to help the bank become a leading retail bank in Vietnam and the region in the 2006-2010 period.

 

The year 2006, a bumper year for EAB, witnessed the bank posting average growth of nearly 30 per cent for all services.

 

The bank expects to report pre-tax profit of VND430 billion this year.

 

Currently, the bank has 400 automated teller machines (ATMs) and one million multifunctional card users. EAB expects to raise the number of ATMs to 700 and the number of card users to two million this year. In addition, the bank aims to take the lead in terms of overseas payment services in Vietnam, targeting total overseas remittance payment of $755 million in 2007.

 

This year, EAB plans to open another 30 branches nationwide and develop electronic and automatic systems via new core-banking and online projects.