CIMB Thai shares jump again, hit 3-yr high

BANGKOK: Shares in CIMB Thai Bank soared as much as 26% on Wednesday, Nov 18, extending Tuesday's surge after its parent, Malaysia's CIMB Group announced a plan to list in Bangkok, according to Reuters.

The stock rose 30% on Tuesday -- the maximum permitted daily rise -- as the listing plan stoked speculation the Thai unit might delist, putting a premium on its stock.

By 0401 GMT, the stock was up 24.14 percent at 2.88 baht, coming off its highest since August 2006 of 2.96 baht in early trade. The main Thai index was up 0.39 percent.

The low liquidity of CIMB Thai stock exaggerated its rise, analysts said.

CIMB Thai said on Wednesday that 6.85% of its paid-up registered capital, or 914 million shares, was free to trade and that CIMB Group owned 93.15%.

Some analysts felt the stock wouldn't go much higher.

"It's already too expensive as the price is now at five times book value. I see no point snapping up the stock again. There's no fundamental drive," said Worawat Saisuphatphol, a banking analyst at KGI Securities (Thailand).

CIMB Group, which owns 94 percent of the Thai unit, plans to raise about 4.5 billion baht (US$136 million) by selling up to 35 million of its own shares in an initial public offering in Thailand by mid-2010.

Malaysia's second-biggest lender by assets will tap a stock market that has climbed 57% this year, while building momentum for its regional brand and grabbing a bigger slice of the lending business in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, industry analysts said.