CTBC Financial Holding Co, the parent company of Taiwan’s biggest credit card issuer, is buying 35.6% stake in Thailand’s LH Financial Group for 16.6 billion baht ($469 million). The deal, expected to be completed late in the third quarter, will be part of Taiwanese banks’ expansion plans into Southeast Asia to tap the available revenue potential in the region. Proceeds of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval in both Taiwan and Thailand, will be used to expand LH Bank’s business in digital banking, wealth management and trade finances. Under the deal, LH Financial will offer 7.55 billion new shares to CTBC at 2.2 baht each, a 9% premium to market price. CTBC will become the biggest shareholder in LH Financial. Earlier, CTBC had agreed to buy CITIC Bank International (China) for T$11.67 billion ($381 million), and said its brokerage unit would set up a joint venture brokerage with two state-backed Chinese partners in China. It had also acquired Japan’s Tokyo Star Bank for around $510 million.
