Malaysia's AMMB to grow 'organically'; rules out mergers |
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Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:25
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KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Financial) - Malaysian banking group AMMB Holdings Bhd will focus on expanding organically by concentrating on retail banking and Islamic finance, its chairman Azman Hashim said Tuesday, ruling out growth through mergers.'We, together with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) as partner, are strong enough as a group to stand alone and compete with market players and grow organically,' said Azman.AMMB controls AmBank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the country.Last year, ANZ acquired a 20 percent stake in AMMB as it sought to grow its Asian operations. It has an option to increase the stake to 25 percent.Expanding and focusing on retail banking will be a major strategy for AmBank's growth, said Azman.'We want to strengthen what we are already doing especially in retail banking, where ANZ is very strong in this area,' Azman said.AmBank is also planning to expand its Islamic banking operations overseas, he told a news conference. The group will also look at plans to grow beyond Singapore and Indonesia where it already has operations and may consider Thailand.johnkb.tan@thomson.comas/as/jgCOPYRIGHTCopyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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