Citigroup Plans "Aggressive" Asia Expansion - Rubin
Dow Jones Newswires
SINGAPORE -- Asia will be a major target in Citigroup's plans for global expansion, executive committee chairman Robert E. Rubin said Tuesday.
"Our strategy is to grow very aggressively in Asia," Rubin said at a conference in Singapore on electronic finance.
Citigroup's recent acquisition of Associates First Capital Corp., which has a major consumer finance business in Japan, is an example of the lender's interest in Asia, Rubin said. Citigroup will pay $29.83 billion in stock for the Dallas-based company.
"We want to soundly and effectively serve our customers and build our capabilities in this really quite remarkable part of the world," said Rubin, who served as Treasury Secretary under President Clinton.
Rubin described the world's developing economies as, "probably the single greatest opportunity" for Citigroup as it pursues its expansion plans.
Whether Citigroup expands by establishing new offices or by acquiring existing companies "will be driven by what makes sense," he added.
Regarding Asia's recovery from the regional financial crisis, Rubin said he was concerned that economic and financial reform efforts in some countries appeared to be slowing.
"In Asia, while there is much that is positive, and the most likely scenario may well be favorable, I believe, at the same time, that complacency may be setting the stage for trouble later on," he said.
Asian countries also have a long way to go toward smoothing out disparities in financial sector regulations, Rubin said.
In order for countries to realize the potential of pan-Asian banking, "countries in this region must find a way to work together to harmonize their regulatory systems, so that banks and other institutions can effectively function as one organization across the region," he said.
-By Alan Yonan Jr., Dow Jones Newswires; 65 421-4859;
alan.yonan@dowjones.com
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Goes with the AFS purchase. Really targeting the far east.
Jack |
