Taiwanese bank now owns 70 pct of UCB

Taiwan's E. Sun Commercial Bank has purchased a 70 per cent stake in Cambodia’s Union Commercial Bank.

The deal, planned for months but announced yesterday at a press conference at the Sofitel hotel in Phnom Penh, will bring technology upgrades and more loan capital to the Cambodian bank, according to UCB chairman Yum Sui Sang.

“They are very strong in IT, so they will help to strengthen our performance and develop our services,” he said.

UCB’s annual reports show its net profit after tax in 2012 was $5.1 million, up from 2011 net profit of about 4.5 million.

At the end of August, loans outstanding at UCB reached $200 million, while deposits were at $280 million, Sang told reporters.

E. Sun Commercial Bank, whose name refers to the highest mountain in Taiwan, was established in 1992. At the end of June this year, the bank had total assets totalling $43.9 billion.

Joseph N.C. Huang, president of E. Sun Financial Holding, the parent of E. Sun Commercial Bank, said that the bank’s main focus will be loans to small and medium enterprises as well as the real estate sector.

“There are many players in the market so there are many competitors. But we still can catch customers in different market segments,” Huang said.

“There is still much room to grow.”

The Post reported in March that the planned value of the buy-in would be $69.3 million.

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