Bank of China won’t acquire Western banks

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Bank of China won’t acquire Western banks

Over the weekend the Bank of China stated that it would not be acquiring Western banks that collapse due to the global credit crunch.

The statement came as Bear Stearns was propped up by emergency financing.

Xiao Gang, the Bank of China’s chairman, added that the areas of acquisitions he was most interested in was the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

He has not, however, commented upon the mounting speculation that his firm was shortlisted to buy a stake in Bank of Internasional Indonesia.

The credit crunch has affected Bank of China more than any other financial institution in the country.

Despite that, the chairman has said that its profits for 2007 will remain strong due to its limited exposure, with just 2.3% of assets related to subprime assets, a figure that shrunk by the end of 2007.