Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 2273 |
| Work Detail | RHB Banking group has denied that its asset management arm sold down certain stocks last week and that there was an external investigation on the matter over alleged irregularities with regards to its investment decisions. Managing director Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli flatly denied that the asset management arm had sold down certain stocks. However, he confirmed that chief investment officer Hoe Cheah How has left the unit. Last week, some stocks saw heavy selling pressure. Among them were United U-Li Corp Bhd, SLP Resources Bhd, Oriental Food Industries Holdings Bhd and SCGM Bhd. It is said that the selldown was initiated by a local bank-backed asset management house which is a common shareholder of Uli Corp, SLP, Oriental Food and SCGM. The selldown saw the stocks lose some RM242mil in market capitalisation . “Our asset management is not involved in any selldown of those shares that were reported. “We are not aware of any external investigation going on,” said Khairussaleh during a press conference on the bank’s first half performance yesterday. Khairussaleh noted that as a reputable institution, the bank made its investments based on fundamentals and professional advice. “Whatever it is for us it’s business as usual and yes, our chief investment officer Hoe Cheah How has left,” he said. RHB Bank posted lower earnings of RM350.17mil for the second quarter due to a one-off full impairment on a corporate bond in Singapore. The bond is tied to oil and gas service provider Swiber Holdings Ltd that had filed for liquidation last week after being saddled with debts of almost S$1bil (RM2.99bil) However, its revenue rose 1.2% to RM2.686bil while earnings per share were 8.9 sen compared with 8.1 sen a year earlier. It declared a dividend of five sen. For its first half, it posted a net profit of RM915mil on the back of RM5.4bil in revenue. Its retail banking remained the biggest contributor to the group, where it posted a pretax profit of RM570.1mil for the first half of the year, 14.1% lower from last year’s first half. Retail loans and financing stood at RM68.4bil. Mortgage loans and financing growth was largely offset by the contraction in auto financing and loans for purchase of securities. Mortgage loans grew at a strong annualised rate of 13.2% with domestic market share increased to 8.4% from 8.2% as at December last year. Retail deposits increased by an annualised 4.1% due to higher fixed deposits and savings account balances by 3.6% and 9.5%, surpassing industry growth rat of 6.5% and 3.8%. Meanwhile, its corporate and investment banking pretax profit was 10.7% higher to RM372.1mil. Gross loans and financing eased 3.6% for the first half year to RM46.6bil from one large corporate repayment of RM1bil. Deposits increased by 22.5% to RM56.7bil. Total assets under management increased 2.1% to RM53.1bil from RM52b as at December last year. Group international business posted a pretax loss of RM154mil. Against the backdrop of a weaker economic environment in Singapore,gross loans and advances was unchanged at S$4.2bil, customer deposits increased 9.5% in the first half to S$5.4bil. This year, Khairussaleh said the bank’s target of 8% loans growth was not achievable given the current environment. “For now we are looking at 4-5% growth which is decent at this current situation,” he said. He added the recent interest rate cut by Bank Negara Malaysia helps but not necessarily to spur loans growth. The group is looking to build its business in Singapore, not only for Singaporean companies but companies from Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia. “In a way we are making Singapore as a centre for doing regional business,” he said. On it’s longstanding expansion plans in Indonesia, Khairussaleh said “at this point there is nothing on the table for us to look at”. Analysts and industry observers agree that after the banking group’s unsuccessful attempt to acquire PT Bank Mestika Dharma Tbk, the bilateral agreement has opened doors for the fourth-largest banking group in the country to once again pursue its expansion plans into South-East Asia’s largest economy. In July last year, the RHB Banking Group had failed to get the nod from OJK to buy a 40% stake in Bank Mestika after five years of pursuing a stake in the bank. It had originally proposed to buy 80% of Bank Mestika in 2009 for RM1.16bil but regulatory changes by Indonesia’s central bank has limited foreign ownership to 40%. Khairussaleh said the bank is seeking something that it could “chew and manage”. “We can’t find anything yet but we will continue to look for it,” he added. |
| Country | Malaysia , South Eastern Asia |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Entry Date | 03 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/08/25/no-selldown/ |
