Maybank Kim Eng to grow Thai business

BANGKOK: Regional investment banking group Maybank Kim Eng aims to grow its brokerage market share in Thailand to up to 13 per cent this year from 11.8 per cent in 2011, in a bid to remain as the country's top broker.

The group, owned by Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), has been ranked the top broker here for each of the past ten years through its local unit Maybank Kim Eng Securities (Thailand).

"Our target is to grow market share to about 12 per cent to 13 percent this year," the Thai unit's chief executive officer Montree Sornpaisarn told reporters here at a press conference on Monday.

He said the firm would strive for "quality" growth and avoid client-pinching as a means to grow.

"We don't want to create pressure in the industry by setting too aggressive a target," he added.

Maybank Kim Eng Securities, which has 45 branches including its head office, currently accounts for 28 per cent of the Maybank Kim Eng group's revenue. The unit made a net profit of 654 baht last year, on the back of revenue of 3.2 billion baht.

It will add three new branches this year and will start wealth management and offshore trading services for its clients as it looks to cement its lead in Thailand.

Maybank president and CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, who was also present, said Thailand is an important component of the Maybank group given that the country is the second largest economy in the Southeast Asian region. An economic growth of about 5 per cent is expected in each of the next five years, he said.

"This is part of the reason why we acquired Kim Eng Holdings," he remarked.

Maybank bought into Kim Eng Holdings early last year in a move that immediately gave it an investment banking and brokerage presence in the region.