Public Bank is expected to hold a press conference this Friday at Menara Public Bank, where Public Bank managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek, along with a few key stakeholders will share important updates and information related to the major announcement.
PETALING JAYA: Ahead of a surprise media briefing by Public Bank Bhd
this Friday, it is speculated that the third-largest banking group by assets is looking to acquire the stake of the Teh siblings in LPI Capital Bhd.
The late Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, the founder of Public Bank, has one son and three daughters who collectively hold a 42.74% stake in LPI Capital through Consolidated Teh Holdings Sdn Bhd, going by Bloomberg data.
The latter is the private investment vehicle of the late Teh who held all the shares in Consolidated Teh Holdings, with the exception of one share held by a Tay Mui Leng.
The late Teh also owned 1.41% in LPI Capital which is listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia since January 1997.
LPI Capital is the insurance arm of Public Bank, and operates primarily through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lonpac Insurance Bhd which provides general insurance services in Malaysia and Singapore.
The Teh siblings are not running the show in LPI Capital, and could potentially be looking to cash out their stake in the company.
Based on LPI Capital’s closing share price of RM13 per share yesterday, the shares held by Consolidated Teh Holdings are valued at RM2.2bil. The stock rose 22 sen, or 1.72%, from Monday’s close.
Currently, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc is LPI Capital’s other major shareholder, holding an 8.54% stake.
According to the media invite, Public Bank is expected to hold a press conference this Friday at Menara Public Bank, where Public Bank managing director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek, along with a few key stakeholders will share important updates and information related to the major announcement.
Public Bank’s biggest shareholder is Consolidated Teh Holdings with a 21.64% stake, followed by the Employees Provident Fund with a 14.63% stake in the bank.
For the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2Q24), LPI Capital saw a 23% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its net profit to RM78mil or an earnings per share of 19.58 sen. Revenue was up by 1.5% y-o-y to RM469.4mil.
LPI Capital said 2Q24 saw higher profit from the general insurance segment, which increased by 23.6% to RM102.1mil from RM82.6mil in 2Q23, mainly contributed by its higher insurance service result.
Revenue, on the other hand, was largely contributed by its general insurance segment, which increased to RM469mil as compared to RM462.1mil in 2Q23.
This was attributed to the higher insurance revenue coupled with improved investment income.
Meanwhile, Lonpac Insurance posted a 23.7% y-o-y increase in 2Q24, thanks to its higher insurance service result reported as compared with 2Q23.
Lonpac’s insurance service result grew 40.3% y-o-y to RM88.4mil from RM63mil, primarily due to lower net claims incurred ratio of 44.3% as compared to 47.6% in 2Q23.
Moreover, the company said fire, miscellaneous and motor classes of business all contributed to the better insurance service result in 2Q24.
Public Bank’s shares were up by one sen to RM4.57 from its previous close, giving it a market capitalisation of RM88.71bil.
Trading in Public Bank and LPI Capital shares have been suspended with effect from 9am today.
