, Hong Kong

Bank of East Asia posts $330.9mln 2009 profit

Profit surge from US$5mln in 2008 is attributed to earnings in securities trading.

Sources reported that in 2008, the lender posted HK$39 million (US$5 million) in net profit, dragged down by a massive write-down on its portfolio of collateralised debt obligations.

BEA said in a statement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its net interest income from core operations in 2009 dropped slightly to HK$6.75 billion (US$869.21 million) from HK$6.79 billion (US$874.36 million) a year earlier. Its non-interest income was HK$3.44 billion (US$443 million) in 2009, whereas it was HK$336 million (US$43.26 million) in 2008.

The bank proposed a final dividend of HK$0.49 (US$0.06), a dividend much higher than the HK$0.02 (US$0.003) paid in 2008, said the statement.

Meanwhile, BEA announced that Guoco Group Ltd, a Hong Kong-based investment holding and management company, on Feb. 5 bought 1 million shares of BEA for HK$26.5 million (US$3.41 million), raising its stake in the lender to 8.03 percent from the previous 7.98 percent.

Guoco is BEA's second-largest shareholder after Spain's Criteria CaixaCorp SA, which holds a stake of 14.99 percent.

View full report in China Knowledge.

Follow the link for more news on

Join Asian Banking & Finance community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

Exclusives

Private fund tokens may be the future of investing
Kinexys seeks to keep a token’s sensitive financial information from prying eyes.
More tax perks could drive Philippine SMEs to go ‘green’
The Southeast Asian nation’s 1.1 million small businesses can be a target for green loans. 
Asia struggles with G20 payment targets
The ultimate goal is for cross-border payments to achieve “the speed of the internet.”