New UnionPay Tie-Up Boosts US Presence in IPO Run-up 中国银联携手US Bancorp 未来有望两地上市

By newsdoug on August 3, 2011

Despite an ongoing high-profile dispute with global credit card leader Visa (V.N), leading Chinese credit and debit card transaction processor UnionPay is pushing ahead with its plans to become a top global player, signing a new tie-up with US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), the fifth largest US bank. (English announcement) The deal, which comes not long after a similar tie-up between UnionPay and Visa’s closest global rival MasterCard (NYSE: MA), will see UnionPay cards accepted by some 1 million US and European merchants who use US Bancorp’s Elavon financial network. The deal should come as a nice boost not only to UnionPay and its stakeholders, which include China’s top banks, but also to hotels, restaurants and other US shops on the Elavon network, which will now be able to accept credit and debit cards from the growing tide of Chinese traveling to the US and Europe for business and pleasure. This deal is the latest in a growing string of similar tie-ups for UnionPay over the last two years, as it looks to set up a global network to rival those of Visa and MasterCard, leveraging the growing spending power of consumers in its home China market where it has a monopoly on credit and debit card transaction processing services. The company is growing rapidly, with a profit of 972 million yuan, or about $150 million, last year, up 30 percent from the previous year. A recent small share of its sales valued the company at more than $11 billion. With growth potential well above that of its major stakeholders, I suspect UnionPay will make a dual IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong in the next 12 months, as its major shareholders, which include leading banks ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 600398) and China Construction Bank (HKEx: 939; Shanghai: 601939), look to raise more cash to bolster their shaky balance sheets. Such an offering could be one of the hottest in quite a while, as investors flock to a company with the clearest potential to take advantage of the growing spending clout of Chinese consumers.

Bottom line: UnionPay’s latest tie-up with US Bancorp will give the company a nice boost in the US and Europe, in the run-up to a blockbuster IPO in the next 12 months.

中国银联与全球信用卡领头羊维萨卡(Visa)的高调纠纷尽管还在继续，但这一中国主要的信用卡交易处理商正致力发展成为全球顶级运营商的宏图大计，与美国第五大银行US Bancorp(USB.N) 签署了新的合作协议。前不久，中国银联和Visa的宿敌万事达卡(MA.N)刚刚达成类似的合作协议。该协议将使中国银联卡被大约100万使用US Bancorp金融网络的美欧商户所接受。该协议不仅对中国银联及其股东是个推动，也有利于使用US Bancorp的Elavon结算平台的酒店、宾馆和其他美国店铺，他们将能接受来自中国游客的信用卡和借记卡消费。这也是中国银联过去两年一系列合作项目中的最新一起。中国银联垄断着中国国内的信用卡和借记卡交易处理服务，中国银联希望凭借中国国内消费者日渐增长的消费力为杠杆，建立一个全球性网络，抗衡Visa和万事达卡。中国银联的发展速度很快，去年的利润达到了9.72亿元(约1.5亿美元)，同比增长了30%。由于其增长潜力远远好于主要股东的业绩，我认为，中国银联在未来12个月将寻求在上海和香港进行两地上市，因包括工商银行(601398.SS)(1398.HK)、建设银行(601939.SS) (0939.HK)等在内的主要股东希望筹集更多资本支持自身摇摇欲坠的资产负债表。类似IPO可能会是相当长一段时间内的热门投资之一，因投资者将涌向一个明显有潜力利用中国消费者消费力的公司。

一句话：中国银联和US Bancorp的最新合作将使银联在美欧市场获得良好发展，为未来12个月的重量级IPO作好准备。

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