The
British bank, Standard Chartered (SCB), announced
on 10 January 2005, that it has agreed to purchase
the Korean bank, Korea First Bank (KFB), for
3 500 billion Won (2.5 billion euros). SCB is
acquiring a controlling interest in the seventh
largest Korean bank by purchasing the 48.6 %
stake in the capital of KFB owned by the American
investment fund Newbridge Capital and the balance
from the Korean government agency.
Standard Chartered had earlier failed, at the
beginning of 2004, in its attempt to acquire
another Korean bank: KorAm Bank, which was finally
acquired by Citigroup. This time it has successfully
fought off competition from HSBC, which was
also interested in acquiring KFB. This acquisition
is part of SCB's Asian expansion policy which,
in 2004, saw it acquire 51% of the capital of
the Indonesian bank Permalat, take a stake of
20% in the Chinese bank Bohai and take over
Advantage, a Hong Kong based consumer credit
company.
Korea First Bank has a network of 400 branches,
employs 5 000 people and has some 3.5 million
customers.
