While the growth in China is slowing, the fact remains that things are still fairly robust – especially compared to many other global economies. As a result, investors still want to put money into the country. After all, with China's huge domestic economy, there is likely to be strong long-term growth.
So this week, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) agreed to exercise its option to double its position in China Construction Bank (CCB), which is the #3 financial institution in China. The stake comes to about 19.1%.
Keep in mind that Bank of America got a sweet discount on the option. Thus, the position is in-the-money – the investment has tripled in value to $14.5 billion -- and it may be tempting for the firm to start dumping shares. In fact, shares of China Construction Bank have taken a hit because of the this possibility.
And, as for Bank of America, it could be a savvy move. Of course, the firm had to slash its dividend and must integrate the huge acquisitions of Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) and Countrywide. At the same time, Bank of America's stock price continues to deteriorate. So, bagging a couple extra billion is probably a good bet right now.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market
. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-18-2008 @ 8:40PM
desktoparchitecture said...
I have been investing in Bank of America for many years and they never cease to confound me. When at a time that the Federal Reserve has loaned them Billion$ for investment here in the USA why are instead doing investments in China. Surely the Congress should supoena the B of A Board of Directors for testimoney about why the dollar$ are being redirected to investment in China.
11-19-2008 @ 7:49AM
brian said...
This is an outrage.
Let me see if I get this.......Our Federal Government borrows the money from China, bails out banks that have engaged in sloppy or crooked lending practices, then the banks take the borrowed money and invests it back in Chinese banks. Makes perfect sense........to China.
It is as if our own elected leaders want the United States broke and destitute. What in the hell are our leaders thinking?
Investigate the banks and throw their incompetant, greedy and corrupt a$$es in prison. Buffoons!
11-20-2008 @ 10:22AM
LT said...
This plan will work (REESI)
ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN FOR HOMEOWNERS
As more and more capital is directed to banks and other lenders there is an obvious stagnation in putting these monies at work to turn the current recession and possible depression around. Unfortunately, the receivers of the bailout money are not creative enough at this time to get a lot more “bang” for the buck.
The above plan will fail simply because it rewards people for their extravagances and does nothing for the people who have consistently handled their finances in a prudent manner.
Let’s address the current real estate debacle with some viable initiatives and incentives.
An idea on how to stimulate the economy, create stability in the marketplace and increase employment could consist of the following.
Reward the families and individuals in all classes who have consistently paid their way in a timely fashion with the following:
1. If a mortgage holder has a history of not missing a payment on his loan for a period of 7 years, the holder would receive an automatic 3% interest reduction on their mortgage for the remaining term of their loan. Example: A 3% interest rate reduction on a $100,000 principal mortgage would save the borrower $3,000 per year. What kind of purchasing power would this alone pass on to the overall economy? Two million homeowners in this category would unleash $6 Billion in purchasing or savings power. It does not matter whether they save/spend at this time. If they split 50/50, $3 Billion would go directly into the economy and $3 Billion would go back to lender to put back into the market. *Remember, the banks are getting $300 Billion at less than 1% interest already and not lending. They are just covering their pre-existing losses.
2. This plan is scalable downward as following: A mortgage holder with a “clean” record as outlined in (1) with a 5-7 year history would get a 2% interest reduction on the mortgage generating $2,000 of power per year. Four million homeowners in this category would unleash an additional $8 Billion in Purchasing/Savings power.
3. The third and final category would consist of “clean” borrowers with a 3-5 year history and give them a 1% interest rate reduction which would provide another $10 Billion in Purchasing/Savings power for 5 million borrowers in this category.
4. This plan does not provide any relief for the 1-3 year category but could be addressed in another model. This plan cannot let people off the hook if they did buy too high and unfortunately they do not qualify.
Assumptions:
This plan is for Homeowners Only and Not Commercial Property Owners.
The plan cites a total of 9 million homeowners to produce $24 Billion in S/B Power with $100,000 mortgage balance when there are over 72 million homeowners in US. with an average mortgage much higher. 30 million homeowners with a $100.000 mortgage could produce P/S power in excess of $50 Billion and 30 million homeowners with a $200,000 mortgage would produce in excess of $100 Billion under this plan.
The plan is limited to primary homeowners only.
A 3 strike rule would be allowed for a homeowner in all categories for any late payments to qualify for this plan.
The homeowner would qualify if they have moved into different homes during the qualification times. The payment history would be the deciding factor.
Banks would be mandated that if they get federal funding, they must take the perceived reduction of profits on the offsetting reduction of the interest rate on existing loans. Example: Many banks have these mortgages from 5-10% and are getting money for nothing. This must be passed on to the proven existing borrowers.
11-21-2008 @ 12:25PM
ran said...
i think bank of america and the rest of the bunch are fooling us all,
they are taking money from the gov and robbing the consumer with sky high interest on mortgages and credit cards,
they are going to have so much more write-offs. they refuse to negotiate lower rates,stating the terms and conditions like a broken record. i hope the gov withold the rest of the bailout money