Thursday February 16, 2012
PETALING JAYA: The move by Indonesia to
drop a controversial policy that would limit ownership of its banks is
good news for Malaysian banking groups with a position there, but the
market's reaction has been muted.
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd , who stand to lose if Indonesia went ahead with the ruling, were unchanged at the close yesterday. Maybank added one sen to RM8.53, while CIMB lost one sen to RM7.30. Maybank has a 95% stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) and CIMB a 97% stake in PT Bank CIMB Niaga TK .
A Maybank spokesman said that although it welcomed the announcement, it was awaiting further details from the Indonesian authorities on this issue. “Until then, we are not in a position to provide any comments,” he said. Maybank is due to release its financial results next week. CIMB said it was unable to comment on the matter.
Alliance Research analyst Cheah King Yoong noted that CIMB would be the biggest beneficiary should the proposed policy be reversed as its Indonesian subsidiary contributed to more than 30% of the group's earnings last year. In comparison, BII's contribution to Maybank was only 6% of pre-tax profit, CIMB Research said in a note to clients.
Reuters had on Tuesday quoted Indonesia's Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) as saying the country would backtrack on the proposal to impose a shareholding cap on its domestic banks as it did not want to scare off potential foreign investors from the sale of state-owned Bank Mutiara. However, Alliance's Cheah said the news had come from a government-linked agency rather than as an official guideline from the central bank itself.
Nonetheless, he told StarBiz that it was unlikely the policy would be revisited in the near term as it would stoke investor unease and go against Asean's current wave of liberalisation. Bank Indonesia, the central bank, courted controversy last year when it first suggested the ruling, which would have forced offshore investors and banks to cut their stakes in local lenders. Takeovers in the banking sector were also temporarily barred pending a final decision from Bank Indonesia. Foreign banks are currently allowed to own up to 99% of local banks. It is learnt that LPS has been trying to sell Bank Mutiara since last year, following its takeover of the ailing company in 2008.
The agency has a mandate to fix and sell the bank within three to five years after the acquisition, according to The Jakarta Post. Under Indonesia's law on state bailouts, LPS has to sell the bank for at least the price the agency paid. Besides Maybank and CIMB, RHB Capital Bhd and Affin Holdings Bhd have expressed interest in Indonesian banks. RHB is reportedly eyeing an 80% stake in PT Bank Ina Perdana worth RM1.16bil, and Affin is said to be keen on PT Bank Ina Perdana.
Earlier this week, BIMB Holdings Bhd subsidiary Bank Islam was reported to be in early talks to buy a stake in PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia .
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd , who stand to lose if Indonesia went ahead with the ruling, were unchanged at the close yesterday. Maybank added one sen to RM8.53, while CIMB lost one sen to RM7.30. Maybank has a 95% stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) and CIMB a 97% stake in PT Bank CIMB Niaga TK .
A Maybank spokesman said that although it welcomed the announcement, it was awaiting further details from the Indonesian authorities on this issue. “Until then, we are not in a position to provide any comments,” he said. Maybank is due to release its financial results next week. CIMB said it was unable to comment on the matter.
Alliance Research analyst Cheah King Yoong noted that CIMB would be the biggest beneficiary should the proposed policy be reversed as its Indonesian subsidiary contributed to more than 30% of the group's earnings last year. In comparison, BII's contribution to Maybank was only 6% of pre-tax profit, CIMB Research said in a note to clients.
Reuters had on Tuesday quoted Indonesia's Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) as saying the country would backtrack on the proposal to impose a shareholding cap on its domestic banks as it did not want to scare off potential foreign investors from the sale of state-owned Bank Mutiara. However, Alliance's Cheah said the news had come from a government-linked agency rather than as an official guideline from the central bank itself.
Nonetheless, he told StarBiz that it was unlikely the policy would be revisited in the near term as it would stoke investor unease and go against Asean's current wave of liberalisation. Bank Indonesia, the central bank, courted controversy last year when it first suggested the ruling, which would have forced offshore investors and banks to cut their stakes in local lenders. Takeovers in the banking sector were also temporarily barred pending a final decision from Bank Indonesia. Foreign banks are currently allowed to own up to 99% of local banks. It is learnt that LPS has been trying to sell Bank Mutiara since last year, following its takeover of the ailing company in 2008.
The agency has a mandate to fix and sell the bank within three to five years after the acquisition, according to The Jakarta Post. Under Indonesia's law on state bailouts, LPS has to sell the bank for at least the price the agency paid. Besides Maybank and CIMB, RHB Capital Bhd and Affin Holdings Bhd have expressed interest in Indonesian banks. RHB is reportedly eyeing an 80% stake in PT Bank Ina Perdana worth RM1.16bil, and Affin is said to be keen on PT Bank Ina Perdana.
Earlier this week, BIMB Holdings Bhd subsidiary Bank Islam was reported to be in early talks to buy a stake in PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia .
