DBS weighs possibility of raising stake in Shenzhen Bank

DBS Group, South-east Asia’s largest lender, is considering raising its stake in China’s Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank over the next few years, its chief executive said on Thursday (Feb 16).

The Singapore-based bank bought a 13 per cent stake in the Chinese bank for S$1.1 billion in 2021, as part of a long-standing goal of growing in large emerging markets. The bank is also bullish on business opportunities in Taiwan, where it bought Citigroup’s consumer business, CEO Piyush Gupta told a media conference in Taipei.

The acquisition of Citi’s Taiwan consumer units will accelerate DBS’ Taiwan growth by at least 10 years, making it Taiwan’s biggest foreign bank by assets, according to the bank’s presentation. DBS, with 29 branches in Taiwan, expects its credit card and unsecured credit loan business, wealth management assets and current deposits all to surge there, it said.

Lim Him Chuan, DBS’ current Taiwan head, said the merger with Citi’s Taiwan units will be completed this year. BLOOMBERG