BBL opts to delist Bualuang Securities
Bangkok Bank plans to delist Bualuang Securities in preparation for financial liberalisation coming up next year.
This will allow the bank to develop securities products for retail investors to be marketed through its branches, which will also help the cross-selling of bank products, Suvarn Thansathit, a senior executive vice president, said yesterday.
Bangkok Bank, which now holds 56.34 per cent of the brokerage, will buy out other shareholders via a tender offer at the price of Bt22 per share, before delisting it from the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The move is in line with the bank’s strategy to become a full-fledged universal bank so that it can cope with the opening of the capital market in 2012.
The bank said in its filing to the SET that the plan reflected rapidly changing market conditions.
Thailand is implementing master plans for financial-sector and capital-market development.
The upcoming establishment of the Asean Economic Community could lead to further financial liberalisation, allowing banks more comprehensive businesses.
Competition is intensifying in various forms from both domestic and foreign financial institutions in money and capital markets, he said.
