Crucial stage in battle for Siam City

The battle for control of Thailand’s Siam City Bank is expected to enter a crucial stage this week when interested parties, including HSBC, submit final bids for the lender.


People familiar with the matter said that HSBC was likely to face stiff competition from Thanachart, a local lender that is 49 per cent owned by Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia, and Korea Development Bank when bids close on Monday .

The Thai government has said that no new full-service banking licences will be granted in the foreseeable future, making Siam City the last chance for overseas investors such as HSBC and KDB to buy in to a relatively under-banked market.

KDB involvement in the process has surprised Asia’s deal-making community, because it is a government-owned policy bank with no experience of managing assets overseas or in retail banking.

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