CIMB to provide investment banking advice

Friday, 5 August 2011 01:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Keen to improve Sri Lanka’s debt, bond and equity markets, CIMB Group signed an agreement with two Sri Lankan individuals yesterday to establish an investment banking and corporate advisory presence in the country.

CIMB is Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider and one of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leading universal banking groups. It has the largest branch network in ASEAN and has a market capitalisation of US$ 22 billion as at end June 2011. CIMB partnered with Union Bank Deputy Chairman Alex Lovell and Corporate and Investment Banking expert Reshani Dangalla. They will make a US$ 2 million capital and resource investment, according to the partnership. CIMB is planning to take a step by step approach to functioning in Sri Lanka. They will start by facilitating their present clients, most of who are already listed in Sri Lanka, as well as look for other investments.

CIMB...

The new entity will leverage the expertise and extensive local and regional network of the partners to provide investment banking advisory services to a fast growing domestic and capital market. The services will include broad corporate finance advisory capabilities as well as structuring of equities and fixed income securities.

Speaking at the signing CIMB Group Chief Executive Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, who is also the brother of the Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, spoke confidently of Sri Lanka’s development prospects and insisted that they were “impressed” with the economic success that the country has enjoyed during the past few years.

He pointed out that there were many synergies between the Malaysian and Sri Lankan economies and that many Malaysian companies had already invested significantly in the country. “If you take ASEAN territory as a whole we are among the top five investors in Sri Lanka with investments topping US$ 3 billion.”

He stressed that CIMB can provide assistance to Sri Lanka to expand their debt, bond and equity markets since the company had pioneered many of the financial instruments used in Malaysia’s march towards development.

Promoting the slogan ‘ASEAN for You,’ Razak emphasised on the fact that Asia is leading global growth and therefore the region must work together to get maximum benefit from this drive. “The Asian century is here. But we will not be able to get the best out of it if Asians do not work together to challenge the global financial architecture.”

He went onto say that Sri Lanka stands to benefit more from recently developed Asian partners than western ones since Asians are more in touch with the trends in the global economy.