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Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said on March 23 it plans further expansion in Asia, possibly via acquisitions, and is positive on the outlook for Indonesia, India, China and Vietnam. ANZ has been the most aggressive of the Australian lenders in its Asian expansion, buying minority stakes in banks from Indonesia to China.
Alex Thursby, ANZs chief executive officer for Asia Pacific, said in an interview that he sees some countries withstanding the impact of the global downturn better.
"The places I feel very confident about are Indonesia, India, China, and Vietnam," he said, adding that he was also positive on the Philippines to a lesser extent. "These countries have a very sound balance of payments and they have relatively low leverage within the corporate sector," said Thursby, adding that the banking sector in those countries was relatively strong, with low exposure to the structured finance problems afflicting North America and Europe.
But he warned that even in Asia "places like Japan and Korea are really going to struggle." The Australian lender, which aims to be a top-four foreign and super-regional bank in Greater China and India, said it is now in the process of obtaining a new banking licence in India.
"We are looking to re-establish ourselves as a bank there," he said, adding: "I would hope within 6-12 months that we will be ready." ANZ, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, is interested in the Asian units of the troubled Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), especially retail banking operations in India.
Thursby declined to comment on this, but said the bank did not rule out further acquisitions in the region. "Our strategy is predominantly organic with what weve got. However, if the good opportunities come along that is consistent with our strategy, and that we believe we can get it at a price that creates value, then clearly well look at those," he added.
Thursby also said that Asia would emerge stronger after the global crisis, providing good opportunities for future growth. "Were very lucky, actually. This problem in the world is actually helping ANZ".

Copyright Reuters, 2009

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