Affin Holdings Bhd/Hong Leong Group ...Nov09

Malaysia’s Affin Holdings (AHB) says it is not in talks with Hong Leong Bank on merger.

AHB Group continuously looks at measures to further enhance the performance and value of AHB Group for the benefit of its shareholders.

However, at this juncture, the board of AHB is not involved in any negotiations on any potential acquisition or merger relating to the banking operations of the AHB Group.

Should Guoco take over Bank of East Asia, then there is a possibility that Affin may merge” with either Hong Leong Bank or Bank of East Asia.

Affin, Malaysia’s smallest domestic commercial bank by market value, is 36 per cent-owned by Malaysia’s Armed Forces Superannuation Fund.

Any success by Quek to take over Affin will depend on Affin’s biggest shareholder, Ang said.

Quek would want to run the bank and that may become a problem unless they come up with a compromise and jointly run it. Or they could jointly appoint a professional to run the merged bank.