Investing for impact
2017 MARKS the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Philippines will assume the regional bloc’s chairmanship and serve as the host of next year’s ASEAN Summit as well as other related summits.
With the advent of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in December 2015, the journey to regional financial integration has began. Under the AEC blueprint, ASEAN seeks to “achieve a well integrated and smoothly functioning financial system characterized by more liberalized capital account regimes and interlinked capital markets.”
Banking market integration and cross-border transactions will benefit ASEAN substantially by enlarging the region’s customer base, increasing competition, reducing costs, and improving industry stability. Among the ASEAN-based banks, Malaysia’s Maybank Group has the biggest presence in the Philippines with 80 branches – the most among all foreign banks here in the country.
In terms of total assets and market capitalization, Maybank is the largest Malaysian financial institution and the fourth biggest in Southeast Asia. It is the only bank in the world with full banking operations in all 10 ASEAN countries, aside from being the largest publicly listed company on Bursa Malaysia (formerly the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange).
Corporate responsibility is an integral part of Maybank’s business. During the banking group’s 50th anniversary in 2010, it established Maybank Foundation to implement corporate sustainability programs in the ASEAN region, focusing on six areas: education, community empowerment, arts and culture, environmental diversity, healthy living, and disaster relief.