13 MoUs signed on opening day
> China Construction Bank opens doors, says Malaysia important hub for it to expand its international business
KUALA LUMPUR: China Construction Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (CCBM), the first foreignowned commercial bank to open its doors here in the last six years, exchanged 13 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with various parties at its grand opening ceremony last Friday.
The bank, which was granted a licence to operate in Malaysia in November last year, exchanged MoUs with, among others, Malaysia Investment Development Authority, Invest KL, Malayan Banking, CIMB Cambodia, Public Bank, YTL Group, Aroma Teraju Sdn Bhd and Xiamen University.
Also signed was a loan agreement between CCB Guangxi and Alliance Steel (M) Sdn Bhd, under which CCB Guangxi is the mandate lead arranger and book runner granting US$1 billion syndicated loan to Alliance Steel and successfully completed RM1.5 billion loan drawdown.
An MoU between Malaysia China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), Quang Xi Bei Fu Gulf International Port Group and China Construction Bank (CCB) was signed for the mutual collaboration on investment and financing in MCKIP.
Another notable deal is the MoU between Aroma Teraju, CCBM and CCCG Overseas Real Estate Pte Ltd, which will see the parties working together to facilitate the development of projects in TRX City by investing, financing and establishing their regional hubs in it.
Speaking at the ceremony last Friday, CCB chairman Wang Hongzhang said ties between Malaysia and China have laid a good foundation for economic and financial exchanges, as well as for the bank’s smooth application process and establishment of the institution.
He said CCB will leverage its financial strengths in infrastructure construction, engineering cost consultation, housing mortgage and renminbi (RMB) business in order to provide a comprehensive range of financial services to better serve and provide more efficient financial solutions to both countries.
“CCB has also done some work and is ready to provide more services in helping Chinese enterprises invest in Malaysia like providing services in mergers and acquisitions, financing, credit approval, RMB clearing and other financial advisory services,” Wang said.
He said Malaysia is an important hub for CCB to expand its business in its international markets. To date, CCB’s presence has reached 251 institutions in 29 countries. CCBM has a full-fledged banking licence and will focus on the traditional wholesale banking services and cross-border RMB banking business in the initial stages.
As at March 2017, CCB’s total assets stood at RMB21.7 trillion. It achieved net profit of RMB70.23 billion between January and March with annualised return on assets at 1.32% and annualised rate of return on common stockholders’ equity at 17.63%.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who witnessed the ceremony, said CCB has indicated that the Kuala Lumpur branch will be the bank’s hub for the Asean region. Prior to the launch, CCB had already financed some 20 ventures in Malaysia.
“We hope that CCBM will participate proactively in financing high priority infrastructure projects such as railways, highways, harbours, airports, telecommunications, power and affordable housing,” he said.