BNP expands Asia activities

BNP expands Asia activities

SINGAPORE (AFP): Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) announced
here yesterday it had acquired control of an Asian stockbroking
and corporate finance group as part of its regional expansion
plans.

The French bank said in a statement it had completed on
January 31 the acquisition of 70 percent of the principal
business of PrimeEast Capital Group, a Singapore-registered
stockbroking and corporate finance concern.

Renamed BNP PrimeEast, the new group operates out of Hong
Kong, Jakarta, Manila, New York and Bangkok.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed but the
statement said PrimeEast had a "profitable 1996" and would expand
"significantly" this year with the number of professional staff
expected to grow 30 percent.

BNP is the third largest bank in France in terms of assets and
profits and is locked in an intense rivalry with another French
bank, Societe Generale, in the Asia-Pacific region.