HK's Bank of East Asia climbs on plan to sell insurance unit

The Bank of East Asia

23/09/2020 06:08

** Shares of Bank of East Asia  0023.HK  rise as much as
4.7% to HK$16.40, after two consecutive sessions of fall
    ** Stock heads for the best day since July 21
    ** Bank says it has decided to initiate the sale of its life
insurance unit, BEA Life Ltd, to enhance business value, boost
financial position and focus on core banking operations in Hong
Kong and mainland China  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2GJ0PI
    ** Bank says it has retained Goldman Sachs as financial
adviser for the sale 
    ** Says to focus on raising fee-based income, lowering
cost-to-income ratio by streamlining operations, cutting credit
costs, keeping a robust capital profile to support growth
    ** The Hang Seng Finance Index  .HSNF  slides 0.5%, while
the benchmark index  .HSI  edges up 0.1%
    ** By last close, stock had fallen 10% this year

 (Reuters Messaging: donny.kwok.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)