BOC HK is a subsidiary of BOC that is China’s fourth largest bank by assets. BOC is planning to sell NCB to streamline operations by removing competition on the mainland.
The bank wants to sell 100% of its stake in NCB and the bidding is expected to close on 25 August 2015.
According to Reuters, some of the possible bidders might be New China Life Insurance, unlisted Yue Xiu Group that bought Hong Kong lender Chong Hing Bank last year and China Taiping Insurance Holdings. It is being speculated that the country’s second largest debt manager China Cinda Asset Management might also be a potential buyer.
The terms of the transaction stipulate that the potential buyer needs to be a financial institution with Chinese government ownership of more than 50%.
Reuters had reported earlier that China Cinda was interested in buying a bank it does not own one currently and owning a bank might help it tap cheap sources of funds to buy soured loans.
According to a statement filed by BOC HK at the Beijing Financial Assets Exchange, NCB made net profit of HK$2.8bn last year.
