Citigroup believes that increasing its stake in the Bank of East Asia will not be of much help to 0053.HK 's net asset value, which shares are as high as 1.60 times book value (Guohao is only 0.6 times book value). As for Guohao's sharp drop in net profit in 2009, the bank believes that it is still up 43% in terms of core profit, which is a surprise. It is also pointed out that the stock is very defensive (the current price is up to 60% discount to net asset value) but expensive, so it only maintains a hold / low-risk rating, with a target increase of 7.5% to HK $78.5.

Guohao closed at HK $74.25 yesterday.