Lender awaits decision on Thai bank offer

Thailand is still assessing an offer by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to buy the government's stake in ACL Bank Pcl, the country's Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said.

The central bank completed a study of the proposal and forwarded its opinions to the finance ministry, Korn said yesterday. ICBC last year offered as much as 18.3 billion baht ($551 million) for a majority stake in Bangkok-based ACL Bank.

ICBC first announced the plan to buy ACL Bank in April 2008 and has been waiting for Thai government approval to purchase more than 49 percent of the lender. Under Thai takeover rules, investors who buy a stake that exceeds 25 percent of a company are required to make an offer for the remaining shares.