French bank SG says it is still in the running to win the bid for China's 12th largest lender nationally and the second largest lender in Guangdong province. Senior executives claim the race is far from over despite rumours that a rival bid from Citigroup bid has been 'informally' accepted.
We haven't received any notification from the Chinese authorities that our bid has not been successful, comments Jean-Louis Mattei, SG's head of international retail banking, speaking by telephone from Shanghai.
Sources close to Citigroup also confirm that the US bank - the largest in the world by assets and net income - is awaiting approval from...