Canada’s Scotiabank increases stake in China’s Xi’an City Commercial Bank

Scotiabank increases stake in Chinese bank

TORONTO — The Bank of Nova Scotia said Wednesday it acquired a further 13.2 percent stake in Xi’an City Commercial Bank, raising its holding in the Chinese bank to 14.8 percent.

Scotiabank, Canada’s third largest bank, said Wednesday it will invest a total of 162 million Canadian dollars ($155 million) in Xi’an City Commercial Bank to eventually bring its holdings to 20 percent, the maximum stake foreign banks are allowed to hold under Chinese regulations.

The bank is based in Xi’an, a city of more than eight million people.

Toronto-based Scotiabank operates in 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It has been in China since 1982. Scotiabank Group serves 14.6 million customers in some 50 countries worldwide.