Japan’s Orix to Buy 6% Stake in Cambodia’s Acleda Bank
Orix Corp., Japan’s top leasing company, has agreed to buy a 6% stake in Cambodia’s largest bank by assets, Acleda Bank PLC, according to people close to the matter. It would be the first investment by a major Japanese financial institution in the Southeast Asian country, where Japanese companies have only just begun to take an interest. The deal, valued at about ¥5 billion to ¥6 billion ($51 million to $61 million), is expected to be announced Wednesday, the people said. … Acleda, founded in 1993 as an economic-development agency for microfinancing and funding small businesses, now offers retail banking, corporate and trade financing. The bank, which had nearly $2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2012, has 238 offices in Cambodia. It is 51% owned by Cambodian interests including its employees, with the remaining shares held by foreign investors including International Finance Corp., a division of the World Bank, and Hong Kong-based JSH Asian Holdings. Orix will buy parts of stakes held by Netherlands investment funds, one of the people close to the matter said. …
Atsuko Fukase and Chun Han Wong
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304644104579191612248592376
