Chinese investors look to buy local banks.Politics in Taiwan, Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. spark part of demand At least seven groups of Chinese investors - each with at least $10 million to spend - have hired L.A. area consultants to find banks to buy locally and throughout California. The interest in buying new banks is driven by a renewed sense of confidence in the California economy and by the political situations in Hong Kong and Taiwan, international banking experts said. China is scheduled to take control of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. And last July China fired test missiles into the sea off of Taiwan, prompting concern that China might try to take control of the island it regards as a renegade province. Wealthy Taiwanese and Hong Kong investors may be seeking "safe havens Safe Havens is a comic strip drawn by cartoonist Bill Holbrook and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. Started in 1988, the strip is currently published in more than 50 newspapers. " for their money, noted Li-Pei Wu, chairman and chief executive officer of L.A.-based General Bank, which was established in 1980 by a group of Taiwanese investors. Wade Francis, president of Unicon Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. Inc., a Long Beach-based bank consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a , said he is currently representing three groups of Chinese investors who are looking to buy banks in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . In addition, Francis is representing First Commercial Bank of Taiwan
The Bank of Taiwan (BOT, Traditional Chinese: 臺灣銀行; Pinyin: , which plans to open a California bank by year-end. The new bank will be named FCB See DOS FCB. (operating system) FCB - file control block. Taiwan California Bank and will be headquartered in Alhambra, he said. Long history First Commercial, founded in 1899, is the second largest bank in Taiwan with $35 billion in assets, Francis noted. It plans to open its California bank with $30 million in capital, he added. In addition to these new banks, Francis has recently consulted in the opening of Taiwanese-owned Evertrust Bank EverTrust Bank (華信商業銀行), or Ever Trust Bank and Evertrust Bank, as its advertisement often appeared in the local Chinese media, is a overseas Chinese bank in the United States. in the City of Industry and helped a group of Taiwanese and Chinese-American investors buy Carson-based Pacific Business Bank. Jack C. Liu, a partner with L.A. law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, said he is currently representing two groups of Hong Kong and Taiwanese investors who are looking to buy a California bank. In addition, Liu helped a group of Taiwanese investors buy Trans National Bank of Monterey Park last March. The group changed the name to China Trust Bank of California The Bank of California was founded in San Francisco, California on July 5, 1864 by William Chapman Ralston. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered instrumental in developing the American Old West. and moved the headquarters to Torrance, he said. Frankie Leung, partner with the L.A. law firm of Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, said he currently represents two groups of Chinese investors who are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a bank to buy. "One is a Taiwanese group which owns two car dealerships in Southern California," he said. That group has $20 million to $70 million to spend and are seeking a bank in California and preferably Southern California, he said. Focus on California The other group is comprised of Hong Kong real estate developers who will spend between $10 million and $25 million for a U.S. bank. "They don't mind going outside of California, but the preference is a California bank," he said. Wu, chairman and chief executive officer of General Bank, the first and oldest Taiwanese-owned L.A.-based bank, said the number of Chinese immigrants is growing in Los Angeles. Recently, several Taiwanese and Hong Kong investors have deposited money at General Bank, he said. But even so, he added that he doubts the market is big enough to support six or seven new banks if they all plan to focus on trade finance and the Chinese community. Joe Morford, bank analyst for Baltimore-based investment firm Alex. Brown & Sons, noted "new money" is good for the L.A. economy. "If they (Chinese investors) feel confident that it is time to invest in California, that is a positive sign," he said. |
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