Asia United Bank Corp. (AUB) on Tuesday announced its proposed acquisition of Pinoy Express Pte. Ltd. (Pinoy Express), a remittance company duly registered in Singapore.
The AUB board of directors approved the planned acquisition of Pinoy Express designed to expand the bank’s coverage of the Singapore remittance market.
The bank is proposing to acquire shares owned by Seah Keng Chuan and Dione B. Mohammad.
AUB Corporate Planning and Investor Relations Head Elizabeth Miranda said the final terms of the transaction will be set forth in an agreement to be executed by the parties.
“The consideration for the shares will be paid for in cash. The value of the acquisition is less than 1 percent of AUB’s book value,” the AUB executive said.
AUB has already conducted a due-diligence audit and will base the final purchase price on the historical income of Pinoy Express.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter and upon receipt of all the necessary regulatory approvals.
Last year AUB made advances to the shareholders of a remittance company in Singapore amounting to
P176.92 million.
This will be converted to the parent company’s equity interest in the remittance company on condition that the regulatory approval of both the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Monetary Authority of Singapore are obtained and the required conditions are fulfilled.
Pinoy Express, licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a remittance company, provides a complete range of remittance products and services to migrant workers, principally overseas Filipinos in Singapore.
“We have 100 remittance center tie-ups in the Middle East, our biggest market, and in Europe, Singapore, Japan, Israel, the United States, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom,” AUB President Abraham T. Co said in an earlier interview.
AUB serves the financial needs of millions of overseas Filipino in many areas across the globe through GintongHatid, a comprehensive package of services that can be accessed through AUB’s remittance tie-ups and overseas marketing representatives.
AUB reported net income of P852.76 million the past six months, 3 percent lower than the P879.545-million income in the first half last year, mainly due to higher expenses brought about by branch expansion.
AUB group’s net income for the first half of 2015 translated to a return on average assets of 1.3 percent and a return on average equity of 8.3 percent versus year-ago ratios of 1.6 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.