| Reuters June 6, 2006 BEIJING SINGAPORE'S Temasek Holdings, which already has stakes in three Chinese banks, would be interested in buying into other lenders on the right terms, the head of its financial services holding company said on Tuesday, June 6. "As far as other banking assets in China are concerned, we are always looking for investment opportunities whatever they are," Richard Hu, chairman of Asia Financial Holdings (AFH), told a news conference in the Chinese capital. AFH, wholly owned by state investment group Temasek, holds stakes in 12 banks and financial institutions spanning eight countries in Asia, including China Minsheng Bank , China Construction Bank and Bank of China . "If an opportunity arises and deals have been offered to us, we will always consider if they are commercially desirable," Hu said. He declined to say whether AFH was looking to increase its stake of nearly 5 percent in Minsheng. AFH's president for North Asia and Greater China, Eric Chen, told the same news conference the company would also consider investing in a Chinese brokerage if the right opportunity arose. The same applied to China's city commercial banks, Chen said. Although AFH had not found any suitable partners among China's 115 city commercial banks -- small and medium-sized lenders that are typically owned by local governments and enterprises -- Chen added: "But that's absolutely wide open." The executives were in Beijing to sign an agreement to donate $1 million to support certification programmes aimed at raising the skills of Chinese banking staff. |
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