China Bank sets terms of P15 B rights offer

MANILA, Philippines -  China Banking Corp. has finalized the terms of its P15 billion stock rights offering set to kick off this month.

Alexander Escucha, China Bank senior vice president and corporate information officer, informed the Philippine Stock Exchange eligible stockholders would be entitled to one share for every 4.1365 existing common share.

He said the offer price was pegged at P31 per share based on the 15-day volume-weighted average price subject to a 24.1 percent discount.

The offering would run from April 24 until May 5.

China Bank president and chief executive officer Ricardo Chua earlier said the fund raising activity would beef up the bank’s funding base to become a more significant player in the country’s banking industry.

“With a strong foundation, China Bank is in a good position to pursue further its strategic direction of becoming an even more significant player in key market segments and a stronger partner for our customers, as we continue to deliver better returns to our shareholders. This capital raising will give us the ammunition to execute our strategy,” Chua said.

China Bank earnings rose 15 percent to P6.45 billion last year amid the sustained growth in core businesses across all market segments.

The listed bank is looking at expanding its branch footprint to 700 branches over the next five years as it actively undertakes customer acquisition and retention programs with the goal of becoming the bank of choice for clients.

For this year, the listed bank is set to open 50 branches in both developed and unbanked regions complemented by over 900 ATMs and other electronic banking channels.

The China Bank Group has a network of 541 consisting of 391 China Bank branches and 150 branches of thrift arm China Bank Savings.