CCB Asia completes takeover of AIG HK unit

Nov. 4, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China Construction Bank (Asia), which is based in Hong Kong and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Construction Bank Corp<601939><0939>, announced yesterday that it has successfully finished the acquisition of AIG Finance (Hong Kong) Ltd, a unit of American International Group.

CCB Asia said that AIG Finance (Hong Kong) was officially renamed China Construction Bank (Asia) Finance on Monday.

The takeover of the AIG unit brought CCB Asia more than 500,000 credit card customers and a 5% share of the credit card market in Hong Kong. The deal has also expanded the strategic business arena and strengthened the competitiveness of its parent CCB, the world's second-largest bank by market value.

All credit cards issued by AIG Finance are now grouped and operated under CCB Asia's credit card brand.

On the same day, CCB Asia announced the launch of its first batch of Hong Kong Dollar credit cards, which include CCB Asia Classic, Gold and Platinum VISA cards and CCB Asia Classic and Gold MasterCard cards.

CCB Asia in August signed an agreement with AIG to buy the Hong Kong subsidiary for US$70 million.