Malaysia’s CIMB to establish Phl rep office

Kuala Lumpur-based CIMB Group Holdings Berhad is establishing its presence in the Philippines after failed talks for a stake in the Bank of Commerce a few years ago.

Bank of Commerce is owned by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

The CIMB Group entered into an agreement with SMC in 2012 for the acquisition of the conglomerate’s 58 percent stake in Bank of Commerce for about P12 billion.

However, the transaction was called off a year after as parties failed to reach a deal even after discussions were extended

after the lapse of the memorandum of agreement (MOA).

CIMB Group chief executive Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz earlier confirmed the Malaysian bank was establishing a presence in the Philippines to complete its presence in all member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The bank has presence in Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

CIMB is one of the largest investment banks in Asia and one of the largest Islamic banks in the world. It is the second largest bank in Malaysia with assets amounting to $118.22 billion as of end June this year.

As the fifth largest banking group in ASEAN, the group has around 39,000 staff in 15 countries.

It also has an extensive retail banking network of over 900 branches serving more than 12 million customers. Beyond ASEAN, CIMB has presence in China and Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, the US, and the United Kingdom.