AUB buys Singapore remittance firm

THE REBISCO group’s banking arm Asia United Bank (AUB) has beefed up its remittance business with a deal to take over Pinoy Express PTE Ltd., a Singapore-registered money transfer firm.

The acquisition of 100 percent of Pinoy Express had been approved by AUB’s board of directors, the bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

“The decision to invest in Pinoy Express PTE Ltd. is expected to improve AUB’s coverage of the Singapore remittance market,” the disclosure said.

“The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015 upon receipt of all the necessary regulatory approvals.”

Pinoy Express provides a complete range of remittance products and services to migrant workers, principally overseas Filipinos based in Singapore.

The final terms of the transaction will be set forth in an agreement to be executed by the parties, the disclosure said. The sellers are Seah Keng Chuan and Dione Mohammad.

The consideration for the shares will be paid for in cash. The value of the acquisition, which is based on the historical income of Pinoy Express, is less than 1 percent of AUB’s book value, AUB said.

In the first six months, AUB posted a 3 percent year-on-year dip in net profit to P852.8 million, citing higher costs from its branch expansion alongside higher loan provisioning. For the second quarter alone, net profit declined by 40 percent year-on-year to P403.86 million due to the decline in trading and securities gain.

AUB expanded its loan book in the first six-months by 41 percent year-on-year to P80.52 billion. With higher loan volume, AUB’s net interest income reached P2.2 billion in the first six months, 17.3 percent higher from the same period last year.

As of end-June, AUB had a consolidated network of 224 branches, of which 15 belong to its subsidiaries Cavite United Rural Bank and the Pampanga-based Rural Bank of Angeles.