Published September 11, 2008

Malaysia okays RHB's Viet buy

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia's fourth largest lender RHB Capital has won the central bank's approval to buy a stake in a Vietnamese brokerage firm, the company said yesterday.

RHB Capital, controlled by Malaysia's state pension fund, announced in March it would pay RM13.3 million (S$5.5 million) for a 49 per cent stake in Vietnam Securities Corporation.

The acquisition is now subject to approvals from the Vietnam authorities, it said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

Malaysian companies have been keen investors in nearby Vietnam in recent years although Vietnam's deteriorating macroeconomic conditions of late have also led to some short-term hiccups.

Malaysia's largest lender Maybank, which in March announced a plan to buy a 15 per cent stake in Vietnam's An Binh Bank, said on Tuesday that it would pay a lower price of RM327.1 million for the stake, down from the earlier agreed price of RM430 million.

Maybank said that the acquisition sum was cut in view of the change in economic environment in Vietnam.

Vietnamese inflation is expected to top 25 per cent this year, according to government projections. Consumer prices jumped 28.3 per cent last month from a year ago, mainly due to a spike in food and fuel prices.



Vietnam has been a magnet for foreign investment in recent years, thanks to the large supply of low-cost labour and the government's opening-up policy. -- Reuters