E. Sun Bank To Acquire Stake In Ucb

E. Sun Commercial Bank, the flagship banking arm of Taiwan-based E. Sun Financial Holding Co., plans to acquire a 70 percent stake in Cambodia's Union Commercial Bank Plc. (UCB) for US$69.33 million (NT$2.07 billion). The bank said its board of directors approved the acquisition plan Friday, and it expected the deal will help UCB boost its operations and improve the Cambodian bank's efficiency through the Taiwanese bank's experience in banking operations. 

According to E. Sun Bank, the Cambodian bank was set up in Phnom Penh in 1994, and currently runs five branches which are all located in the Southeast Asian country. E. Sun Bank said UCB, which had total assets of US$330 million as of the end of 2012, specializes in deposit, lending and credit card businesses and is able to generate stable income. 

In its annual report, UCB said it posted US$4.48 million in net profit in 2011, up from US$966,724 recorded in 2010. The Cambodian bank's net interest income for 2011 rose to US$7.68 million from US$4.18 million recorded in 2010, while its net fee and commission income totaled US$2.85 million in 2011, up from US$2.44 million registered in 2010, according to the UCB annual report. 

E. Sun Bank said the acquisition clearly showed the bank's ambitions to extend its reach in the Asian market. Currently, E. Sun Bank runs overseas branches in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore and China's Dongguan, and the bank has also opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition, E. Sun Bank said it has obtained the greenlight from financial authorities to establish footholds in Cambodia, Myanmar and Australia. 

Last year, Cathay United Bank, another Taiwanese lender, acquired a 70 percent stake in Cambodia-based Singapore Banking Corp. 

This article originally appeared in the Focus Taiwan website