MB okays Chinatrust delisting

MANILA, Philippines - Chinatrust Commercial Bank (Philippines) Inc. has obtained the Monetary Board’s approval to delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange and make an offer to redeem shares held by minority shareholders.

The tender offer involves around 1.5 million common shares which Chinatrust wants to buy at P26.14 each.

Chinatrust, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s largest bank Chinatrust Commercial Bank Ltd., said with its strong capital position, it would be able to pursue seamlessly its strategic objectives and deliver enhanced value to its stakeholders and valued clients without being a publicly-listed entity.

Chinatrust Ltd. is one of the 200 biggest banks in the world in terms of capital with assets of over $57 billion at end-2010. It has 140 business offices in Taiwan and networks in Japan, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Canada, the United States and Paraguay.

Its Philippine unit, which was established in 1995, provides financial services to both local and foreign companies in the Philippines, aside from extensively serving the needs of the middle-income consumers. It is also one of the leading players in the local bond markets, dealing in both sovereign and corporate bonds, and is consistently cited as one of the top 10 government securities dealers by the Bureau of Treasury.

Chinatrust entered the consumer finance business in 2002 by acquiring a portfolio from a regional bank that was divesting its consumer business in the country. Since then, the bank’s consumer finance portfolio has grown into the largest and fastest growing in the country.

In the next few years, Chinatrust hopes to build industry-leading franchises in consumer finance, debt capital markets and niche-based corporate banking.