KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank Group) has ruled out any potential mergers and acquisitions for now, said group chief executive officer Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir today.
During a virtual media conference after announcing AmBank Group’s financial results for the full-year ended March 31, 2022 today, he said the possibility of Grab Holdings Inc acquiring stakes in AmBank was only a rumour.
“It is clear that they have a license now and are working with the Kuok Brothers to establish a digital bank. So the question is, would they want to invest in a physical bank?
“This remains a conjecture. Nothing is on the table as yet, hence, I do not see it happening for the time being,” he said when asked to comment on the news that Grab Holdings Inc is eyeing a stake in the bank.
Also present was group chief financial officer, Jamie Ling.
According to news reports, Grab is said to be looking to acquire a stake in AmBank, and the sellers are likely to be the banking group’s two largest shareholders — Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) which owns a 21.68 per cent stake, and Tan Sri Azman Hashim who holds 11.83 per cent equity interest.
Sulaiman also added that there had been no talks on the possibility of a merger between AmBank and RHB Bank Bhd, and stressed that the acquisition of banks, especially the physical channel, would be an expensive exercise as it involves consolidations between entities.
“That would not be the flavour of the current banking industry. The aim now is to expand the customer base and (going) digital is certainly a more viable way to do it.
“As of now, we are not in talks with any banks about any merger or acquisition,” he added. — Bernama
