China's banking regulator played down a media report which claimed it would
allow Citigroup to secure a 36 per cent share in Guangdong Development Bank
(GDB).
According to the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post, the China
Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) had approved Citigroup's bid for the stake
in GDB, following a lengthy battle with French lender Societe Generale and
China's second-largest insurer Ping An Group.
However, the CBRC
stipulates that a single foreign bank cannot hold a stake of more than 20 per
cent in a Chinese lender, while there is a 25 per cent cap on all foreign
holdings in Chinese lenders.
"It is not likely for the regulator to break
the ceiling and create an uneven playing field for other foreign banks," an
unnamed CBRC official told China Daily, adding that the commission had yet to
decide on the issue.
When a subsidiary of Citigroup joined the consortium
after the Carlyle Group withdrew from the bidding in September, the CBRC
suggested Citigroup lower its planned stake or transfer ownership of its
subsidiary company to other partners, said the official.
Responding to
the paper's claims, Marc Poirier, Societe Generale country manager for China,
said: "I don't think that is true," adding the bidding is still ongoing.
Citigroup declined to comment on the paper's report.
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