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Local Incorporation of Maybank Cambodia

04 April 2012

4 min read

Maybank today reaffirmed its long term commitment to Cambodia with the local incorporation of its operations there, setting its sights on being among the top 5 banks in the Kingdom by 2015.


The launch of the locally incorporated company was officiated by the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, H.E. Dr. Chea Chanto, witnessed by the Prime Minister of Cambodia, H.E. Samdech Hun Sen and Prime Minster of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, at an event in conjunction with the 9th ASEAN Leadership Forum held in Phnom Penh today. Maybank was represented by its Chairman Tan Sri Dato' Megat Zaharuddin and President & CEO Dato' Sri Abdul Wahid Omar.


The bank, to be known as Maybank (Cambodia) Plc., will see its capital raised from US$30 million to US$50 million, in a move to enable it to better support its clients there.


The Bank also announced that it will be investing in a new 10 storey corporate office in Phnom Penh, which is expected to be ready in two years. The new corporate office will house the main Phnom Penh branch and other country operations of the Bank and will be located in Norodom Boulevard, the main commercial street of Phnom Penh.


Maybank which first set up a branch in the country in 1993, has in the last three years aggressively expanded its operations to 11 branches currently. In addition, it has developed an ATM network which is not only inter-linked within the country but also with key regional locations of Maybank such as Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Papua New Guinea, through which cardholders enjoy local cash withdrawal facilities at no cost.


Maybank President and CEO, Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said that the local incorporation will mark a new era for the Group. “This initiative is part of our broader strategy to further develop our operations in the country as well as strengthen our regional footprint in line with our vision to become a regional financial services leader,” he said. Maybank Cambodia is currently ranked 7th in terms of assets among 33 banks operating in Cambodia.


Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid added that Maybank Cambodia had been growing at a healthy pace with assets and deposits doubling in the last 4 years since its branch expansion got underway. Total assets rose from US$129 million in June 2007 to US$313 million in December 2011 while deposits increased from US$100 million to US$231 million and loans from US$30 million to US$168 million.


Revenue in June 2011, meanwhile stood at US$10.2 million from US$0.45 million in June 2007 while profit before tax for the same period rose to US$8.4 million from US$0.38 million. In the recent six months to December 2011, revenue reached US$12.8 million while profit before tax was US$4.47 million.


Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid explained that local incorporation will also provide Maybank greater opportunities to expand its branch network in Cambodia. “We are optimistic about the growth prospects in Cambodia especially in the retail segment and our intention is to operate with an optimum number of branches in key commercial and populated areas by 2015,” he said.


The local incorporation would also enable the Bank to adopt an enhanced governance framework which will provide additional assurance as it further grows its business in Cambodia. The increase of capital to US$50 million will enable Maybank (Cambodia) Plc. to operate at a comfortable capital adequacy ratio above 12% whilst maintaining an aggressive growth strategy in the years ahead.


Maybank had initially operated in Cambodia on a wholesale banking business model with a single branch, serving mainly home based customers doing business in the country. In 2008, this was changed to a commercial banking business model to meet the growing demand of local enterprises and individuals.


Apart from offering traditional banking products and services such as deposit accounts, financing and wholesale banking products, Maybank has recently introduced various niche products such as Yippie children’s account, Premier Current Account, Trade Pack and electronic trade finance under its TradeConnex brand to leverage on the booming business banking and consumer market.


“Our intention is to bring to the market more innovative and value added products and services within this year to tap on the growing demand and increasing affluence in Cambodia,” said Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid. “We will soon be introducing internet banking, agriculture loans as well as more modules of TradeConnex.”


Apart from this, Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid said that the Group was confident there will be greater opportunities to venture into new areas of business in which it had expertise. These include investment banking, insurance, stock broking, debit cards and credit cards which will be in demand as the financial services industry matures.

He also said that Maybank’s commitment to Cambodia extends beyond business. “We are committed to develop Cambodia’s human capital and have provided significant training and development opportunities to our local staff which currently make up 94% of our 172 strong force,” he said. The Cambodian operations is headed by Mr Jubely Pa.


“We are also actively involved in community building through various Corporate Responsibility (CR) programmes such as House Building programme for the very poor families in Cambodia, flood assistance programmes, primary school adoption programmes and many more,” he added.

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