Vietnam's VPBank nears $1.4 bln stake sale to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui - Bloomberg News

VP Bank AG

11/03/2023 10:11

March 11 (Reuters) - Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock
Commercial Bank  VPB.HM  is nearing a deal to sell a 15% stake
to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc  8316.T  for $1.4
billion, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday citing people
familiar with the transaction.
    The Vietnamese bank will sell more than 1 billion shares to
SMBC Consumer Finance, a unit of the Japanese "megabank" for
32,000 dong to 33,000 dong ($1.35-$1.39) each, the report said.
    A VPBank representative declined to comment. Sumitomo Mitsui
could not immediately be reached for comment outside business
hours.    
    Japan's second-largest banking group is seeking to capture
growth in Asian emerging markets through acquisitions, spurred
by limited business opportunities at home with ultra-low
interest rates and an ageing population.
     Sumitomo Mitsui said in November it would buy an additional
15% in the Philippines' Rizal Commercial Banking Corp  RCB.PS .
    
($1 = 23,660.0000 dong)

 (Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; Editing by William
Mallard)
 ((LavanyaSushil.Ahire@thomsonreuters.com;))