United Overseas Bank

[bulltick]

Below $18 now. Seems like Fund mgrs are distributing the 3 big banks while supporting the STI index. Hmmm, funds slowly pulling out from Sinagapore....

[millionairemind]

Below $18 now. Seems like Fund mgrs are distributing the 3 big banks while supporting the STI index. Hmmm, funds slowly pulling out from Sinagapore....

BT - Of all the 3 banks, UOB has the weakest chart action. Its down on high volume today. DBS and OCBC seem to be holding pretty well above their support.

[LenaHuat]

This ticker, which has ard 10 -12 % of its assets and operating income from its Thai operations, is not affected by SET. UOB (Thailand) has 150 branches .

[kennynah]

oh ya...the branches are quite prominent in bangkok....

[LenaHuat]

Services at the Thai branches in BKK are good and the operating hours are very long A large number of them are open on Sunday.

[millionairemind]

May 7, 2010, 12.47 pm (Singapore time)

UOB Q1 profit up 71% to $700m

SINGAPORE - Singapore's second largest bank, United Overseas Bank Ltd, reported a year-on-year 71 per cent increase in net profit to $700 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

[millionairemind]

Published July 6, 2010

UOB taking up US$100m of AgBank's IPO

China bank in town to make investor pitch as part of global roadshow

By LYNETTE KHOO

UNITED Overseas Bank is the first Singapore bank to join the action surrounding the initial public offer by Agricultural Bank of China.

It has agreed to subscribe for shares worth US$100 million in AgBank's global share offering.

This was revealed by AgBank executive vice-president Pan Gongsheng, who was in Singapore yesterday to meet potential investors at a roadshow. The disclosure of UOB's interest is also found in the Chinese bank's global share offer prospectus.

This is part of AgBank's global roadshow, which started in Hong Kong last month and covered the US and Europe.

A UOB spokeswoman said: 'The bank's holdings in Agricultural Bank of China will form part of its long-term investment. It is also an opportunity to participate in the growth potential of the Agricultural Bank of China, as well as China's economic growth.'

The last of China's 'Big Four' banks to go public, AgBank is offering 25.4 billion H-shares in Hong Kong at between HK$2.88 and HK$3.48 apiece and 22.2 billion A-shares in Shanghai at between 2.52 yuan and 2.68 yuan each in a dual listing.

AgBank president Zhang Yun also told Chinese retail investors yesterday during an online roadshow that big insurance firms and leading agricultural companies are among the investors that have bought into its A-share strategic share placement, without naming them.

The Hong Kong portion - which is 95 per cent international offering and 5 per cent public offering - is said to be more than 10 times subscribed by institutional investors as at last week and is expected to close this afternoon.

But the price range set for AgBank shares is about 10 per cent below that of its peers - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank.

Mr Pan is, however, unfazed by the poor market conditions and remains confident that the global offering will be a success.

He told reporters yesterday that he had seen strong interest in the offering during the three-day roadshow in Singapore that ends today.

'There has been some volatility in the capital markets lately and this is quite normal,' Mr Pan said in Mandarin, after a closed-door meeting with institutional investors at Fullerton Hotel.

'We have a strong cast of cornerstone investors, consisting of internationally renowned sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions and reputable corporations.'

Temasek had earlier agreed to subscribe for US$200 million of shares. Other heavyweight investors include Standard Chartered Bank, the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and Kuwait, and Cheung Kong Holdings.

Mr Pan also does not expect the cash call from Bank of China (BOC) to have an impact on AgBank's IPO as BOC's largest shareholder Central Huijin Investment Co would presumably purchase the bulk of the new shares to reduce dilution of its stake.

Bank of China, the nation's third largest by market value, said on July 2 that it plans to raise as much as 60 billion yuan (S$12.3 billion) in a rights offer to replenish capital, following China Construction Bank's proposal to raise 75 billion yuan in a rights offer.

China's four largest publicly traded banks face a capital shortfall of about US$70 billion as they seek to comply with regulatory requirements and meet loan demand.

AgBank's H-shares are expected to commence trading on July 16, a day after its A-shares are slated to debut in Shanghai.

[kennynah]

China has come a long way since mickey mao days..... and good for them...

they are more open minded than we think...they have embraced the best of 2 major ideologies....communism and capitalism...

but china also serves as an example of life's reality... $$ talks.... now that China is gradually becoming richer... when they speak, the world listens...even USA has to give face to her now...

[millionairemind]

Published August 11, 2010

UOB Q2 profits grow 28% to $602m

Results due to sharp drop in bad-loan charges; slightly ahead of estimates

By CONRAD TAN

UNITED Overseas Bank's (UOB) net profit grew 28 per cent to $602 million in the second quarter compared to a year ago, slightly ahead of analysts' estimates, due to a sharp drop in bad-loan charges.

Resilient: Despite the slower loans growth, the bank has kept its market share in personal and small-business loans, as well as loans to high-grade corporate customers in the region, said UOB CEO Wee Ee Chong

But revenue from its main lending business fell, as the group took a cautious approach to making new loans, while loan margins were hurt by intensifying competition among banks. Net interest income fell 3 per cent to $884 million.

Trading and investment income also fell sharply, dwarfing a rise in fees and commissions from wealth management and other activities. Overall, non-interest income slid 31 per cent to $382 million.

Impairment charges for loans and other assets fell to $52 million from $465 million a year earlier and $108 million in Q1.

UOB's Q2 net profit of $602 million was 14 per cent lower than in Q1, when it earned $700 million. Eight analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average Q2 net profit of $576 million, while the average forecast of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was $602.6 million. For the first six months of the year, UOB's net profit was $1.3 billion, up 48 per cent from a year earlier. The group lost market share in Singapore-dollar corporate loans, as it pared back on the long-term, fixed-rate loans that big companies wanted. New business loans comprised mainly short-term working capital and trade facilities, UOB chief executive Wee Ee Cheong told reporters at the bank's results briefing yesterday.

To avoid getting locked into loans that could turn unprofitable quickly when interest rates rise from the current low levels, UOB has been deliberately cautious in selecting the customers it lends to, and won't pursue loans growth for its own sake, he added.

'Our priority is to ensure balance sheet strength. Our view is that the market continues to be volatile.'

The group also reduced its credit exposure to the West, focusing instead on lending in its key Asian markets, Mr Wee said.

UOB's customer loans - less allowances for bad loans - expanded just 3.2 per cent over the quarter to $103.8 billion at the end of June, lagging the 9.1 per cent growth at DBS Group and 5.7 per cent at OCBC Bank over the same period. Compared to a year earlier, UOB's net customer loans grew just 6.1 per cent, less than half the pace of growth at its rivals.

But UOB's net interest margin - a measure of how profitable a bank's lending activities are - is still the widest of the three Singapore banks, reflecting its focus on profitable lending.

Despite the slower loans growth, the bank has kept its market share in personal and small-business loans, as well as loans to high-grade corporate customers in the region, Mr Wee said. It expects 'mid to high single-digit' loans growth this year, he said.

The bank will continue expanding in its key markets in the rest of Asia, he added. 'Singapore is clearly a fairly mature market. I think the big opportunity for us is out of Singapore - in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, where I believe we should be able to get a bigger market share if we improve our infrastructure.'

It will also focus on boosting its fee income through increased cross-selling of products and services to its customers across the region, to offset the decline in loan margins due to intense competition, he said.

The bank declared an interim dividend of 20 cents per share, unchanged from a year ago. UOB's share price ended 1.1 per cent lower at $19.30 yesterday.

At $1.52, UOB's annualised earnings per share for Q2 - or what the group would earn for a whole year if its earnings continued at the same pace - was down from the $1.63 it earned in Q1, but more than the $1.18 it earned in Q2 last year. Its annualised return on equity fell to 13 per cent, from 14.2 per cent in Q1 but was higher than the 12.1 per cent annualised return in Q2 2009.

[millionairemind]

Published September 21, 2010

UOB buys HSBC's banknotes business
By SIOW LI SEN

UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) has bought over HSBC's banknotes business for US$15 million, the local bank said yesterday.

UOB said it will acquire from HSBC the physical assets of its banknotes business in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Beijing and Taiwan.

Also, HSBC will license to UOB the technology used in connection with the banknotes business; and HSBC will work with UOB to facilitate the signing of new contracts between UOB and customers and staff of HSBC's bank- notes business.

Ng Kwan Meng, UOB managing director and head of global markets, said the new business involves the buying and selling of physical banknotes in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Beijing and Taiwan and it will grow the bank's fee-based business.

'There are demands for physical currencies for travellers and trade payments in various countries. Besides the currencies mentioned, the US dollar is another key currency in demand,' said Mr Ng.

Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of this year, UOB said.

'The transaction is expected to significantly grow UOB's banknotes business in the region.'