Flash CIMB Group seeks dual listing of shares on Thai bourse

Flash CIMB Group seeks dual listing of shares on Thai bourse
Written by Joseph Chin
Monday, 16 November 2009 13:49

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd will pursue a dual listing of its shares on The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), which will set a record as the first foreign listing there.

CIMB Group said in a statement on Monday, Nov 16 that it is the first foreign corporation to announce a listing plan since the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) and SET approved their new guidelines for foreign listings in October 2009. The regulations will be effective from 1 December 2009.

“This move amplifies our commitment to Thailand,” said the group chief executive of CIMB Group, Datuk Seri Nazir Razak. “The listing will enhance our profile to investors and the general public in Thailand and make it easy for them to be able to invest in the growth of a regional bank,” he said.

SET President Patareeya Benjapolchai said the Stock Exchange of Thailand truly welcomes CIMB Group as its first foreign listing.

“As CIMB Group is a leading financial group in the region, its listing will offer Thai investors an alternative worthy of consideration and will raise the profile of the Thai market in the eyes of fund managers worldwide. We are ready to support the company in the listing process to realise its intention,” she said.

Based on CIMB Group’s market capitalisation of US$13.7 billion (455.9 billion baht) as at the close of trading on Nov 13, the company would be among the three largest
companies on SET and the largest financial services group.

CIMB Group is already present in Thailand via its 93.15%-owned subsidiary, CIMB Thai Bank PLC, which is also listed on SET.