anz prepares to bid for rbs asian assets, page-3

This an extract from Bloomberg:

"The Melbourne-based ANZ is most interested in RBS branch networks in Australia, China and India, according to the report. Chief Executive Officer Michael Smith, who joined the bank after heading HSBC Holdings Plc’s Asian operations, is spearheading ANZ’s expansion into the region.

“If you want to enter the growth engines in Asia, such as China and India, this is the time where you can find more willing sellers or pay a less demanding valuation,” Winson Fong, who helps oversee $2 billion at SG Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd., said today in a telephone interview.

ANZ aims to double profit by 2012 through acquisitions in Asia. Smith reaffirmed plans to seek 20 percent of ANZ’s revenue from the region by then, the Australian Financial Review reported last month. The Melbourne-based bank wants to acquire Asian rivals that are now within reach after share prices were dragged lower by a slowdown in China, the paper cited Smith as saying.