Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group has shelved a plan to buy a majority stake in the Philippine bank Bank of Commerce. Acording to news reports, the bank owners refused to bring down the quoted price of more than $500 million. Mizuho had begun negotiations in early 2015 to buy 60% stake owned by Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp and was the only bidder left. A successful deal would have helped Mizuho to catch up with rivals who have been more active in buying assets in the South-east Asian region. Some of the past deals in the region include Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group buying a majority stake for $5.6 billion in Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya. In 2013, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group took a 40% stake worth $1.5 billion in Indonesian lender Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional.
