CIMB is moving towards this ambitious goal through a series of mergers and acquisitions, which brought PT Niaga Sekuritas and GK Goh Securities and their international business under the CIMB Group’s umbrella. It has also launched a bid for BCB Group.
The judges were also impressed with the bank’s good financial performance and ratios, represented by profit growth of more than 39%, 22% RoE and a lowering NPL ratio.
“We are deeply honoured to have won this award in 2006 which we regard as a year of transformation for CIMB Group,” says chief executive Dato’ Nazir Razak. “The massive transformation followed four major acquisitions totalling RM12.8bn ($3.5bn), which took CIMB from being Malaysia’s leading investment bank to [being] a regional universal bank. In just over 18 months, CIMB Group has been transformed; in terms of staff strength we expanded from 1000 to 20,000; our market capitalisation has increased from RM6.3bn to RM19.5bn; our total assets grew from RM14.7bn to RM155bn with a further RM18bn in third-party funds under management.
“We believe that this award is testament to our bold decision to transform into a universal bank, and the early positive signs from the integration and transformation process. To be given this accolade at the beginning of our corporate journey will strengthen our resolve to ensure the success of our transformation and integration, as well as spur us in our quest to compete effectively in Malaysia and beyond.”
