China CITIC Bank approved to buy into CITIC Int'l Financial

Jul. 1, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China CITIC Bank Corp<601998><0998>, the listed banking unit of the nation's largest investment enterprise, CITIC Group, has obtained approval from its shareholders to acquire a 70.32% stake in CITIC International Financial Holdings (CIFH), the Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.

The bank will spend HK$13.56 billion to acquire the stake, which is held by Gloryshare Investments Ltd.

The acquisition means that CITIC Bank will soon kick off its global expansion plan, said the newspaper. CITIC Bank will utilize CIFH's cross-border services platform to extend its network in mainland China to international financial centers.

After the acquisition, CITIC Bank will merge with CITIC Ka Wah Bank (CKWB), a division of CIFH, said Cao Tong, vice president of CITIC Bank, according to an earlier report from China Knowledge.

At the end of last year, CIFH's net assets were HK$38.23 billion. Its net profit surged 585% from a year earlier to HK$12.7 billion.