Maybank is pleased to announce today the appointment of Mohammed Rashdan Mohd Yusof as Chief Operating Officer of Aseambankers Malaysia Berhad (“Aseambankers”) and Feisal Wan Zahir as Head of Investment Banking, Aseambankers effective 1 September 2008. Subject to approval from Bank Negara Malaysia, the Securities Commission and other relevant authorities, Rashdan has been identified to succeed Surachet Chaipatamanont, the current Chief Executive Officer of Aseambankers upon completion of his term on 30 September 2008.
Rashdan and Feisal are the Managing Director and Executive Director respectively as well as shareholders of BinaFikir Sdn Bhd (“BinaFikir”). BinaFikir is holder of a Capital Markets Services Licence and is licensed to conduct investment advisory business.
Consequent to the recruitment of Rashdan and Feisal, Aseambankers, the investment banking arm of Maybank, also today entered into a share sale agreement with Rashdan and Feisal for the purchase of the entire issued and paid-up capital of BinaFikir to ensure the continuity of the existing mandates of BinaFikir. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission. The share sale agreement is expected to be completed once the necessary approvals have been obtained.
Maybank President and Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said, “We are delighted to have the BinaFikir founders join us and eventually bring in best in class talent to join our investment banking group. It is indeed a boost for Aseambankers given the challenging investment banking environment. We are confident that with their strong drive, vast experience and solid institutional support from the Maybank Group, we will be able to tap more opportunities to significantly strengthen our position in the market.”
“This move is part of our strategic thrust to become a talent and execution focused company and realise our aspirations to become a leading regional financial services group. Our aim is to be recognized among the top-quartile employer of talent in each of our markets,” he added.
Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid further added. “We are very grateful to Surachet for initiating the transformation of Aseambankers into a full-fledged investment bank over the past three years. Indeed Surachet has laid the necessary strong foundation for Rashdan and Feisal to build from. We thank Surachet for his contributions and wish him every success in his future undertaking.”
Mohammed Rashdan Mohd Yusof, 37, is a co-founder of BinaFikir and has been its Managing Director since 2004. His experience portfolio in BinaFikir encompasses strategic consulting, corporate and industry restructuring, merger and acquisitions advisory and structured finance, especially in Islamic Finance. Prior to BinaFikir, he accumulated more than ten years experience in audit and business advisory services in PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) both in London and Kuala Lumpur, specialising in financial services. He left PwC Malaysia as an Executive Director in the Assurance & Business Advisory Services (ABAS) division and Leader of the Financial Risk Management (FRM) group in late 2001.
With over 16 years experience covering auditing, business advisory, financial risk consulting, strategic consulting, restructuring and reorganisation, corporate finance and M&A activities, Rashdan is a specialist in financial services, derivatives and structured finance which he acquired as both an auditor and consultant whilst in PwC. At BinaFikir, he further acquired specialist knowledge in the aviation sectors, mainly airlines, airports and aircraft financing as well as in public transportation, electricity, water and technology sectors.
He holds a ‘double First Class’ honours degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge. He is a Chartered Accountant, i.e. an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). Rashdan is also an Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) of the United Kingdom and holds an Investment Representative license from the Securities Commission of Malaysia.
Feisal Wan Zahir, 38, joined BinaFikir as an Executive Director in September 2004. Prior to this, he was Vice President in Citigroup Global Market’s Investment Banking Division based in Hong Kong and Singapore (formerly named Salomon Smith Barney) from 1997 to 2004, where he was responsible for coordinating the M&A and capital markets business development and execution efforts for key target clients in the Industrial sector in the Asian region. He started his career with KPMG plc, London from 1993 and was Assistant Manager in the Audit Division. At KPMG, Feisal worked on various assignments including audit, investigative accounting, and business advisory services.
Feisal has over 15 years experience in investment banking and business advisory. Feisal’s investment banking experience covers a wide range of industry sectors including Banking, Insurance, Power, Oil & Gas, Airlines, Shipping, Pulp & Paper, Steel and Building Materials, Technology, Telecommunications.
Feisal graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, majoring in Accounting and Finance, at the London School of Economics in 1992. He is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) and is a licensed Investment Representative from the Securities Commission of Malaysia.