Photo Credit: Kina Bank
Kina Bank's acquisition of Westpac's operations is awaiting clearance from the treasury and the ICCC.
Kina Bank has submitted an application to BPNG to purchase Westpac Business, which has been referred to the Treasury for a final decision, according to BPNG assistant governor Ellison Pidik.
He added that all relevant information about the purchase application had been given to the Minister in charge and that BPNG is awaiting his answer to the letter issued by BPNG Governor Loi Bakani.
After receiving a response, BPNG will proceed to the next step of alerting Kina Bank of the decision.
Kina Bank applied to them and the Independent Consumer Competition Commission (ICCC) as the appropriate licensing agencies to conduct the application, according to Pidik.
According to Pidik, Kina Bank's application to the ICCC is for competition purposes and for the ICCC to ensure that the appropriate regulatory processes under the ICCC Act are followed.
Pidik went on to say that Kina Bank's application to BPNG went through the necessary channels and is currently awaiting a response from the Treasurer.
Meanwhile, ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer Paulus Ain reiterated Wednesday that Kina Bank's authorization letter to purchase 89.91 per cent of shares in Westpac Bank (PNG) Limited (Westpac PNG) is still seeking final determination.
According to Ain, Kina Bank's application is still being evaluated, with a final decision likely by August of this year.
He explained that before the final judgment is made, all parties must agree with the ICCC on the publishing of a draft decision so that the applicant and other stakeholders can submit their case based on the draft findings.
“We will call a conference and listen to the applicant and other relevant stakeholders to present their case based on the draft determination and after that, once we have come to an agreement, we (ICCC) will then proceed to progress the final determination decision for this acquisition.”
Reference:
Kamus, Maxine. Post-Courier (17 June 2021). “Westpac Purchase Pending Approval”.
