Friday May 9, 2008
Japanese bank has shot at buying stake in RHB Cap
By FINTAN NG
PUTRAJAYA: Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc, is still in the running for a 5% stake in RHB Capital Bhd, the listed entity that owns RHB Bank Bhd.
Employees Provident Fund (EPF) chief executive officer Datuk Azlan Zainol confirmed yesterday that the Japanese bank, with which RHB Bank has a long working relationship, is still in the running.
Sumitomo Mitsui was one of three Japanese banks from which RHB Bank secured in March a RM320mil loan to develop Malaysia's small and medium enterprises.
RHB Bank is Malaysia's fourth largest financial services group by assets.
The EPF has about 57% stake in RHB Capital after selling a 25% stake to United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB) for RM3.87bil, or RM7.20 per share. This is a 38% premium to RHB Capital's closing price of RM5.25 on Wednesday.
The EPF and ADCB said in a joint statement that the investment was the largest to date by a Middle Eastern investor in the Malaysian financial sector.
The fund had applied to Bank Negara to retain a 40% stake in RHB Capital and also requested an extension of time to pare down its stake to the required 35% by end-June, he said after EPF and ADCB signed an agreement that saw the transfer of the 25% stake from the former to the latter.
Najib and Sheikh Hamed witnessing the exchanging document of the purchase of EPF's 25% Stake in RHB Capitol Berhad by EPF Chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman and ADCB The ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and chairman of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Hamed Zayed al-Nahyan.
Azlan, who is also RHB Bank chairman, said the fund would have to be mindful of the public spread for the remaining 12% stake in RHB Capital minus the 5% it would be selling to foreign parties in order to trim its stake to 40%.
Najib, Sheikh Hamed Zayed and Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman also witnessed the signing of a definitive agreement between Iskandar Investment Bhd subsidiary Rim City Sdn Bhd, and Mubadala Development Co subsidiary Global Capital and Development Sdn Bhd for the master development of the 2,230-acre Node 1 of Iskandar Malaysia.
RHB : [Stock Watch] [News]
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