S.Africa Treasury: Nedbank already owned by UK firm

Mon Aug 23, 2010 4:36pm GMT

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JOHANNESBURG Aug 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's Treasury said on Monday that while it has made no decision about HSBC's (HSBA.L: Quote) bid for Nedbank (NEDJ.J: Quote), it considers the South African bank to be already "effectively owned" by a UK-based company.

HSBC is in exclusive talks with Nedbank's parent company Old Mutual (OML.L: Quote) (OMLJ.J: Quote) about acquiring up to 70 percent of South Africa's fourth-largest bank.

But analysts have said South African regulators could pose a major hurdle, given concerns about foreign ownership of another of the country's big banks.

The Treasury said in a statement that while it had not received any regulatory application, it regarded Nedbank as "already effectively owned" by a UK-based company, referring to Old Mutual.

The Treasury said no decision on regulatory approval would be made until the three companies submitted formal requests. (Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa)

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