Kina scores new banking partner

Business

KINA Securities Limited (KSL) has established a new US dollar (USD) correspondent banking arrangement with leading Association of Southeast Asian Nations bank, Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB).
Kina managing director Syd Yates said the company was pleased to establish this agreement with CIMB to become its correspondent banking partner for USD and Singapore dollars transactions.
“As previously announced, the lack of a partner for USD transactions has impacted Kina’s foreign exchange income for the first half of 2017, despite ongoing customer demand,” Yates said.
“Correspondent banks facilitate cross-border payments on behalf of other financial services companies in a different location.”
Kina Securities’ previous partner withdrew from the relationship in the last quarter of last year.
Yates said Kina would provide a further market update on the impact of the new correspondent banking relationship on foreign exchange income in the first half year results later this month.
He said the announcement of a new correspondent banking partner followed Kina’s recent signing of a trade finance agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The deal will assist Kina’s local importing and exporting business customers by providing access to ADB’s Trade Finance Programme.
“The agreements with ADB and CIMB would support the international trading activity of Kina clients, and demonstrate the confidence of major banks in Kina’s framework for managing international transaction risks,” Yates said.
Meanwhile, KSL also renewed the escrow arrangements relating to (32,758,650) ordinary shares in the company held by Fu Shan Investment Limited (escrowed shares) until Oct 27, to accommodate the regulatory requirements of the Bank of PNG.
The escrowed shares currently represented around 20 per cent of Kina’s issued capital.
The escrow terms now include capacity to deal in the escrowed shares with the prior consent of BPNG, but otherwise reflected terms described in section 9.12.6.1 of the prospectus and in the pre-quotation disclosure released on July 29, 2015.