Nazir : Negotiations between CIMB and San Miguel not scrapped

Business & Markets 2013
Written by Bernama
Thursday, 16 May 2013 14:56
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KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): CIMB Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri
Nazir Razak said the negotiations between the bank and San Miguel
Corp on the proposed acquisition of a stake in Bank of Commerce
(BoC) in the Philippines are expected to be finalised in less than a
month.
"We are still in final negotiations with San Miguel on that transaction and
the final decisions should come soon, maybe in the next few days or
week.
"We will make the final decisions whether to proceed because the
regulatory approval are already being obtained.
"It's just for the two parties to agree or disagree to go ahead," he told
reporters on the sidelines of the 10th Islamic Financial Services Board
(IFSB) Summit here today.
Nazir was responding to a news report which stated that that San
Miguel might walk away from the agreement to sell its majority stake in
BoC to CIMB Group.
In May last year, CIMB Group announced the acquisition of 60 per cent
stake in BoC for RM881 million, which will be settled in cash.
BoC is the 16th largest commercial bank in the Philippines by asset size
with 122 branches nationwide.
The summit, themed "The Future of the Islamic Financial Services Industry: Resilience, Stability and Inclusive Growth", is
hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia.
Meanwhile, on Malaysia’s first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.1 per cent, Nazir said that the growth was
within expectation.
"With the political stability and certainty back, I think companies will start doing things again, investment will have clear run
and people who are holding back investment will now move forward, so I think the next few quarters (GDP) will be better," he
added.