Cinda sole bidder for Nanyang Commercial Bank

China Cinda Asset Management Co was the sole bidder for Hong Kong lender Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd in an auction that drew tepid interest amid China's cooling economy, according to sources close to the deal.

The Chinese bad-loan manager was the only firm to submit a binding offer by the deadline on Tuesday, paving the way for it to win the auction pending final negotiations with Bank of China Hong Kong Holdings Ltd, the people said. It will pay near the reserve price of HK$68 billion ($8.8 billion), said one source.

A deal at that price would be the largest purchase of a Hong Kong lender, surpassing DBS Group Holdings Ltd's $5.4 billion takeover of Dao Heng Bank Ltd in 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.