Wing Lung Bank shares rally on talk of possible takeover by ICBC, ANZ

(Thomson Financial) - Shares in Wing Lung Bank, Hong Kong's eighth-biggest lender, rallied in speculative trade early on Monday following a report about its possible takeover by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) or Australia & New Zealand Bank (ANZ).

Wing Lung shares were up 3.33% at HK$139.50.

ICBC, China's top lender, and Australia's fourth biggest bank ANZ, are due to submit their final bids to acquire a 53.12% stake in Wing Lung from the Wu family, who controls the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

'The rise in Wing Lung's share price has to be due to the takeover news,' said Paul Lee, an analyst at Tai Fook Securities. The bid is rumoured to be 'three times its book value,' he said.