StanChart eyes Singapore bank

StanChart eyes Singapore bank

SINGAPORE: British-based Standard Chartered Bank is keen to buy a Singapore bank, and to further tie itself to the city-state it plans a listing on the Singapore exchange, chief executive Mervyn Davies was reported saying Tuesday.

"If regulations allowed it, we would buy a local bank. As a port, a hub and a financial center, Singapore is a great location and has great infrastructure," Davies said in an interview with local media.

Standard Chartered becomes the second foreign institution to express interest in buying a Singapore bank after U.S. financial services giant Citigroup declared its intentions last month.

Davies declined to identify a specific target for takeover, but in a shake-up last year, the domestic banking scene was reduced from five to three -- DBS Group, United Overseas Bank and Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp. -- AFP