Khan Bank LLC, Mongolia’s largest bank by assets, aims to boost its market share in loans to 30 percent within four years by adding branches and making acquisitions, Chief Executive Officer Peter Morrow said.

Khan Bank controlled 22.5 percent of the lending market as of June, according to materials distributed at the start of a three-day investor conference in Ulan Bator today. It leads Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia’s 18.4 percent and Golomt Bank of Mongolia’s 15.9 percent. Khan Bank’s 2007 profit jumped 62 percent to MNT 19.4 billion ($17 million) as loans doubled.
“Mongolia has had eight years of sustained high growth,” Morrow said at the event, organized by Frontier Securities. “We’re in principle interested in acquiring banks here.” He said he has no targets so far.
Morrow is building on a business that had 483 offices and deposits of MNT 696.4 billion as of June 30. Lending has been fueled by an economy that grew 12.5 percent in the first quarter, the fastest since 2002, according to Asian Development Bank figures.
Morrow said his bank, a former-state controlled lender that was privatized in 2003, has the equivalent of about $150 million in cash assets. The CEO said he will consider selling shares and bonds to raise funds for acquisitions.
“If an acquisition takes place, we have significant shareholders with deep pockets” to help finance any purchases, Morrow said.

 

Source: Bloomberg
Sep 11, 2008