Maybank CEO: No immediate plans for new acquisitions

KUALA LUMPUR-
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar has dismissed reports that the group is looking to purchase new banking assets after spending RM11.1bil last year on acquisitions overseas.

“We did three acquisitions last year, and we have enough on our plates. The focus for us now is organic growth,” Wahid, who is also the bank’s president, said at a press conference to launch Maybank’s latest premium debit card product.

Earlier this week, the chairman of Pakistan’s Nishat Group, Mian Mohammad Mansha, was quoted in a foreign news report as saying that MCB Bank Ltd and Maybank may team up to acquire banks in the Middle East and Indonesia.

“It is not true. I believe the chairman’s statement was taken out of context,’’ Wahid said.

Nishat Group owns an estimated 32% stake in MCB Bank, while Maybank owns a 20% share in the Pakistan-based lender.

Wahid also ruled out a possible bid for a strategic stake in Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd.
“This is something which we have not looked into,’’ he said.

Maybank Islamic Bhd is currently the country’s biggest Islamic bank with total assets of RM35bil, and “we believe there is tremendous opportunity to expand our Islamic banking operations organically,’’ according to Wahid.

Last week, Dubai Financial Group confirmed that it was in the process of reviewing its strategic options relating to its 40% stake in Bank Islam.

Maybank Islamic had been previously linked as a possible buyer.

Elaborating on the group’s organic expansion plans, Wahid said this might include setting up Islamic banking operations in Indonesia.

Maybank had earlier announced that its unit Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) will add 200 new branches to its existing 250 outlets over the next three years.

Wahid is also planning to boost contributions from the group’s operations in the Philippines and Cambodia by opening new branches in the two countries.

Malaysia’s biggest bank is also strengthening its grip in the home market.
In the debit-card business, Maybank has a dominant market share of 80% in terms of total billings and a 26% share of the total 24.4 million debit-card holders in the country.

Wahid estimated that Maybank’s debit-card transactions amounted to about RM120mil a month.“For Maybank MasterCard Platinum Debit, we are targeting to recruit half a million card members in two years,’’ Wahid said, adding that the latest product, aimed at big spenders and rich customers, would boost Maybank’s debit-card billings by 80% by the end of 2010.