FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Korea’s Daegu Bank pays $63m for Cam Capital

Korea’s Daegu Bank pays $63m for Cam Capital

SOUTH KOREA’S Daegu Bank has snapped up a 100 per cent stake in Cam Capital, the Cambodia’s second largest specialised bank in terms of assets, for $63.2 million (Bt2.096 billion), according to Korean media.

Daegu Bank’s announcement, in a regulatory filing to Korean authorities, marks the bank’s third overseas investment after expanding into China and Vietnam.
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) – Cambodia’s financial regulator – could not be reached for comment to confirm if the sale had been given the green light.
Nevertheless, Stephen Higgins, managing partner of investment firm Mekong Strategic Partners, said the price tag for the acquisition was adequate seeing that as a specialised bank, Cam Capital was fairly restricted in its operations and would probably have regulatory difficulties in becoming a commercial bank.
“It’s not clear what the next step for Cam Capital would have been as a specialised bank, so having a commercial bank come in to take it over does make sense provided they can upgrade it to proper commercial bank licence,” he said.
 “It is unlikely that the NBC would have allowed Cam Capital to upgrade to a full commercial bank licence without a reputable commercial bank coming in as the main shareholder.”
He added that while the country’s crowded financial sector needed to see more consolidation, few banks were up for sale.
Cam Capital Specialized Bank was established in 2009, and operates five branches with 260 employees. 
As of the end of last year, the bank’s assets stood at $86.5 million and had earned a net profit of $3.4 million, according to the NBC’s annual report.
 

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