National Bank gets full ownership of Cambodia’s ABA Bank by buying remaining 10%

MONTREAL – National Bank of Canada has signed a deal pay $83.5 million to buy the 10 per cent stake in Cambodia-based ABA Bank that it did not already own.

National Bank become a shareholder of ABA Bank in 2014 with an initial 10 per cent interest and increased it to 42 per cent in 2015 and to 90 per cent in 2016.

Its investment in ABA Bank now totals $424 million.

ABA Bank has more than 5,000 employees, 70 branches, 600,000 clients and almost $5.3 billion in assets.

National Bank says it’s pleased with its investments in Cambodia, but it is not seeking expansion in other countries.

The Montreal-based bank says it’s keeping its moratorium in effect on any additional significant investments in emerging markets.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2019.

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