Canada’s Scotiabank plans to dispose of its 49 percent share in Thanachart Bank, Thailand’s biggest automobile lender and has reportedly appointed Morgan Stanley to advise it on the sale.
The Canadian lender Scotiabank is the latest in a what is becoming a steady stream of Western banks who have been diluting their Asian units or Joint Ventures.
Reports in the Thai media say that Scotiabank has approached a unit of Bank of China, Maybank and two Japanese banks to gauge their interest in its $1.7 billion stake in Thanachart Bank.
First-round bids for the asset are expected to be announced in the second quarter.
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Should the deal be completed it would be the biggest bank deal in Thailand after Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group bought a controlling stake in Bank of Ayudhya for $5.6 billion.
Over recent years the Canadian bank has steadily built its stake in the unlisted Thai bank but the current market volatility across Greater China and the associated emerging markets, has put pressure on the bank to review the investment.
