ABN AMRO eying more Asia acquisitions<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (Reuters): Dutch banking giant ABN AMRO said yesterday
\nit was actively seeking new acquisitions in Southeast Asia after
\nits takeover of Thailand's Bank of Asia Plc.<\/p>\n
Chairman Jan Kalff told a news conference he was looking at a
\nrange of opportunities in the region, where he said many local
\nbanks wanted foreign partners.<\/p>\n
\"We are actively looking around in Southeast Asia, but there
\nis not a deal which is very close to being agreed,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asked on a timeframe for possible takeovers, Kalff replied:
\n\"I don't rule out on being able to announce another transaction
\nin Southeast Asia this year. I don't rule it out.\"<\/p>\n
ABN AMRO's board last month approved the acquisition of 75
\npercent of Thailand's 11th largest bank, Bank of Asia (BOA), and
\nagreed to make an initial payment of 7.5 billion baht for the
\nstake.<\/p>\n
The final purchase price will be set in 2000, based on BOA's
\n1999 year-end adjusted net asset value.<\/p>\n
Kalff said ABN AMRO wanted to take advantage of the
\nliberalization of Asian financial markets and the opportunities
\nthis offered for acquisitions.<\/p>\n
\"In all these countries the local situation is changing. There
\nis an opening up of markets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said ABN AMRO was also looking at other markets for
\npossible mergers and mentioned South America and Eastern Europe
\nas potential target areas.<\/p>\n
\"We are looking at various possibilities in various countries,
\nmostly in Southeast Asia,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But he said future expansion in Thailand would likely be
\nthrough BOA.<\/p>\n
\"I never rule anything out but there is no reason for us to
\ncontemplate anything new here,\" he said. \"We are pleased with
\nwhat we are building up in Thailand. It is not likely that we
\nwill make another acquisition here.\"<\/p>\n
He said ABN AMRO would only make purchases with the consent of
\nits targets and would not consider a hostile takeover.<\/p>\n
Shrugging off ABN AMRO's failure to take over Belgium's
\nlargest and oldest bank, Generale Bank over the weekend, Kalff
\nsaid ABN AMRO would continue to look for possibilities in Europe.<\/p>\n
But he said he did not expect very many cross-border takeovers
\nin Europe. He added that there would be a \"wave\" of mergers
\nwithin countries in the future as the region's 10,000 banks
\nconsolidated.<\/p>\n
\"I expect consolidation to take place within borders (in
\nEurope) and once in a while a (cross-border) takeover.\"<\/p>\n
Kalff said the difficulty of making acquisitions in Europe
\nunderlined the attraction of Asia.<\/p>\n
\"There is a situation here (in Asia), where banks are looking
\nfor partners. That is slightly different from the situation in
\nEurope.\"<\/p>",
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