Dah Sing Bank taps market for cash after profit increases
Bank is seeking to raise HK$1.2 billion while parent company is targeting HK$903 million
Dah Sing Banking, the smallest family-controlled lender in the city, said net profit rose 18.6 per cent to HK$1.7 billion owing to an increase in interest income as the bank outlined plans to raise as much as HK$1.2 billion through a rights issue.
Parent company Dah Sing Financial, which holds a 74.59 per cent stake and focuses on the life insurance business, said its net profit climbed 15.1 per cent to HK$1.4 billion on record core profits. It also said it would raise HK$903 million through a rights issue.
Harold Wong Tsu-hing, Dah Sing Bank's managing director, said the bank was open to mergers if there was an appropriate opportunity.
It had no plans on buying assets, said Wong, when asked if the group would acquire Prime Credit, the consumer financing subsidiary of Standard Chartered in Hong Kong.
The British lender said this month it planned to offload the asset.
With the rights shares priced at about a third off the previous closing prices of the shares, both stocks fell to their lowest in six months yesterday.
