SINGAPORE, Nov 12 — DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest lender, agreed to sell its 9.9 per cent stake in Bank of the Philippine Islands for S$850 million (RM2.18 billion) as it focuses on core markets.
The Singapore lender will gain about S$447 million from the sale of the stake to GIC Pte, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and Ayala Corp., the Philippine conglomerate, DBS said in a statement yesterday.
GIC will buy 5.6 per cent of the Philippine bank and Ayala will purchase 4.3 per cent, lifting its stake to 48.3 per cent, Ayala said in a statement today. The investment recognises the growth prospects and strong fundamentals of the Philippine economy, GIC said in a separate statement.
DBS’s divestment follows its sale of a 10.4 per cent stake in the Philippine lender to Ayala for S$757.3 million in October last year. DBS, which has been trying to increase the share of its earnings from overseas markets, will focus on its core markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, India and Indonesia, it said in the statement. — Bloomberg
