Chinese groups well positioned to buy Portuguese bank

The highest non-binding bid for the purchase of Portuguese bank Novo Banco was presented by a Chinese group and is for over 4 billion euros, the Expresso Diário newspaper reported without identifying the bidder.
The Diário Económico newspaper reported in Friday’s edition that Anbang Insurance Group Co., which operates in the banking and insurance sectors, and Fosun International Ltd group, which purchased the Fidelidade insurance company and healthcare group ES Saúde, presented proposals of around 4 billion euros for the bank, which kept the healthy assets of the bankrupt Banco Espírito Santo (BES).
Expresso Diário said the highest bid was still less than the US$4.9 billion cash injection into Novo Banco, and will therefore always represent a loss to the resolution fund that will be borne by the banking system.
The daily newspaper stressed that the non-binding bids have several conditions and designs, and were therefore not directly comparable with some competitors, for example, calling for a capital increase by the bank.
By the end of next week, ten days after delivery of the non-binding offers, candidates for the second phase will be selected and will be asked to present a binding bid for Novo Banco.  MDT/Macauhub