We Expect United Overseas Bank to Reap Benefits From Its Citi Acquisitions in Southeast Asia

United Overseas Bank is one of the three dominant banks in Singapore. Compared with its two rivals, it has somewhat smaller exposure to Greater China, while it has larger exposure to Association of Southeast Asian Nations markets outside Singapore than Singapore's largest bank DBS. UOB's scale in ASEAN grew further following its acquisition of Citibank's consumer businesses (wealth management and retail deposits) in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia over 2022 and 2023. In particular, we think UOB now has sufficient scale in Malaysia and Thailand to compete effectively with the largest local banks in these markets.