ABN AMRO eying more Asia acquisitions

ABN AMRO eying more Asia acquisitions

BANGKOK (Reuters): Dutch banking giant ABN AMRO said yesterday it was actively seeking new acquisitions in Southeast Asia after its takeover of Thailand's Bank of Asia Plc.

Chairman Jan Kalff told a news conference he was looking at a range of opportunities in the region, where he said many local banks wanted foreign partners.

"We are actively looking around in Southeast Asia, but there is not a deal which is very close to being agreed," he said.

Asked on a timeframe for possible takeovers, Kalff replied: "I don't rule out on being able to announce another transaction in Southeast Asia this year. I don't rule it out."

ABN AMRO's board last month approved the acquisition of 75 percent of Thailand's 11th largest bank, Bank of Asia (BOA), and agreed to make an initial payment of 7.5 billion baht for the stake.

The final purchase price will be set in 2000, based on BOA's 1999 year-end adjusted net asset value.

Kalff said ABN AMRO wanted to take advantage of the liberalization of Asian financial markets and the opportunities this offered for acquisitions.

"In all these countries the local situation is changing. There is an opening up of markets," he said.

He said ABN AMRO was also looking at other markets for possible mergers and mentioned South America and Eastern Europe as potential target areas.

"We are looking at various possibilities in various countries, mostly in Southeast Asia," he said.

But he said future expansion in Thailand would likely be through BOA.

"I never rule anything out but there is no reason for us to contemplate anything new here," he said. "We are pleased with what we are building up in Thailand. It is not likely that we will make another acquisition here."

He said ABN AMRO would only make purchases with the consent of its targets and would not consider a hostile takeover.

Shrugging off ABN AMRO's failure to take over Belgium's largest and oldest bank, Generale Bank over the weekend, Kalff said ABN AMRO would continue to look for possibilities in Europe.

But he said he did not expect very many cross-border takeovers in Europe. He added that there would be a "wave" of mergers within countries in the future as the region's 10,000 banks consolidated.

"I expect consolidation to take place within borders (in Europe) and once in a while a (cross-border) takeover."

Kalff said the difficulty of making acquisitions in Europe underlined the attraction of Asia.

"There is a situation here (in Asia), where banks are looking for partners. That is slightly different from the situation in Europe."