BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment
BBVA pays 989 mln euros for China's CITIC stake
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-11-23 11:37
Spanish bank BBVA said on Wednesday it had bought 5 percent of China's
CITIC group and 15 percent of Hong Kong-listed CITIC International
Financial Holdings Ltd for 989 million euros.
BBVA said in a posting to Spain's stock market regulator CNMV that it had
an option to raise its stake in CITIC to 9.9 percent. It paid 501 million
euros for 5 percent of CITIC and 488 million for the stake in its
international arm.
It was the biggest investment by a Spanish company in China, said BBVA,
which already has a strong presence in Latin America and earlier this
year bought two Texas-based lenders for $2.64 billion.
CITIC, China's number seven lender, will give BBVA access to China's
retail and corporate banking markets.
BBVA had faced competition for the CITIC stake from Japan's Mizuho
Financial Group Inc , France's BNP Paribas and China's largest life
underwriter, China Life Insurance , a source familiar with the situation
had said earlier in November.
BBVA said it would give a presentation about the deal at 11 a.m. Spanish
time (1000 GMT).
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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