China Bank plans P15B stock rights offer

Sy family-led China Banking Corp. is planning a P15-billion capital build-up to fund its expansion program while improving the bank’s stock trading liquidity.

The new capital will be raised by selling new shares to existing shareholders, the bank disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

The stock rights offering, which will be taken out of the unissued portion of China Bank’s authorized capital stock, has been approved by the bank’s board of directors. The exercise will still be subject to approval by regulatory agencies.

China Bank has appointed its investment house China Bank Capital Corp. as issue manager, joint bookrunner and domestic underwriter for this issuance.

Ricardo Chua, president and chief executive officer of China Bank, said: ” 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the acquisition of Manila Bank to become China Bank Savings (CBS), followed by the acquisition of Plantersbank in 2014 and its full integration into CBS in 2015, and return to full year profitability of CBS in 2016. It also marks the 10th anniversary of our Manulife bancassurance partnership. Last year also marked the first full year of China Bank Capital as a subsidiary, with a stronger presence in capital markets.”

“With a strong foundation, China Bank is in a good position to pursue further its strategic direction of becoming an even more significant player in key market segments and a stronger partner for our customers, as we continue to deliver better returns to our shareholders. This capital raising will give us the ammunition to execute our strategy,” he said.

The bank’s core strategy is aimed at expanding its market position by growing risk-weighted assets with a focus on small and medium enterprise and consumer segments while also extending the depth and breadth of its retail distribution.

The disclosure added that the directors agreed that the rights issue would help increase the visibility of China Bank with investors and improve the trading liquidity of its common shares in the exchange.

It was added that the major shareholders of the bank – referring to the Sy family which controls the largest conglomerate SM Investments Corp. – have expressed support for the stock rights offer.