Proposed RHBCap-OSK merger may take 6 months

THE proposed merger between OSK Investment Bank and RHB Capital Bhd (RHBCap) may take up to six months to be finalised once it receives the go-ahead from Bank Negara, OSK chief executive officer U Chen Hock said.

"We need four to six months to finalise everything," he told reporters during the handover of OSK investment education room to Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TAR College) here yesterday.

He said this when asked whether the deal could be concluded by the third quarter of this year.

RHBCap group managing director Kellee Kam was reported to have said that it hopes to conclude its takeover of OSK in the third quarter after the bank's shareholders meeting earlier this month.

Both companies had applied for the central bank's approval for their merger on January 11.

U said RHBCap and OSK are still waiting for the Bank Negara's response, adding that he will only give an update on the proposed merger upon receiving the approval.

"Recently, during the annual general meeting, we have made our comment on where we are now. Nothing has changed... there is no further progress. We are still waiting for Bank Negara to give us the greenlight. At this stage, that's all we can say," he said.

He also declined to comment on reports that the proposed merger, due to be sealed soon, will be paid via share swaps.

Yesterday, OSK handed over the investment education room to Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TAR College) as part of the prize awarded to the college for emerging top in the campus category of last year's OSK Investment Challenge (OSKIC).

The challenge is an online trading competition designed to educate and inspire students on the workings of the capital market by providing an avenue for them to experience it first hand, as virtual investors, within a simulated stock market.

TAR College beat more than 300 campuses nationwide to emerge champion with the highest combined portfolio calculated based on the total scores of the top 100 participating students from each campus.

U said OSK feels the OSKIC has met its objective, judging from the increasing number of participants since it was launched in 2010.

OSKIC could be held every year in the future, he said, adding that OSK aims to build a new generation of potential investors and create awareness on stock market trading as a viable form of value investing.