Business | Banking
Maybank eyes stake in Pakistan's MCB
Report says Malaysian lender is interested in buying 10% to 20% of shares in South Asian firm.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:31 April 6, 2008
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's largest lender, Malayan Banking (Maybank), is exploring the possibility of buying a strategic stake in Pakistan's MCB Bank, a Malaysian newspaper reported on Saturday.
MCB is the largest bank in Pakistan, whose strongly performing banking industry ranks among the world's most profitable after five years of rapid financial reform, economic growth and rising incomes.
The strong performance has attracted global and regional banks, including Britain's Standard Chartered, Dutch ABN AMRO, Singapore state investor Temasek and Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group.
Malaysia's Maybank is interested in buying a stake of 10 to 20 per cent in MCB, the Edge weekly said, quoting unidentified sources.
Shares of MCB Bank trade at almost 6.4 times book value, pricing a 10 per cent equity stake at nearly $414 million, Reuters Data shows.
Shares soar
Officials of the Bangkok-based Maybank, whose shares were sold down heavily last week after it agreed to buy Indonesia's sixth-largest bank for a steep 4.6 times book value, were not immediately available for comment.
Pakistan's booming banking sector has more than doubled in total assets over the past five years from 2002 to 2007 to Rs4,884 billion ($78 billion), the country's central bank data show.
Standard Chartered, whose local arm Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan is listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange, bought Union Bank for $487 million in the biggest deal in the sector so far, paying 5.6 times net asset value.
MCB reported a 26 per cent rise in 2007 net profit in February this year, fuelled by an aggressive consumer finance drive and low administrative charges, analysts said at the time.
Shares of MCB, which have risen 52 per cent over the last 12 months, closed on Friday at Rs413.50.
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