Khazanah Nasional takes a huge chunk of CIMB Group

Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional triples its ownership in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, one of Malaysia's leading banks.

The company, which describes itself as “a leading regional strategic investment house that drives superior corporate performance,” now owns 29.9% of CIMB, a massive leap from its previous holdings of just 1%.

Sources said the increase in ownership is part of Khazanah's strategy of seeking new sources of growth. It could also be a prelude to a larger objective by the sovereign wealth fund that sees CIMB as a core competitive asset.

CIMB is included in Khazanah's broader strategy of rebalancing its portfolio to conform with current market conditions.

Based in Malaysia, CIMB Group is a regional universal bank operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group claims to have the widest retail branch network in ASEAN.

Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said early this year that the longer term aim for Khazanah and its subsidiaries was to drive them to become regional champions. Among these star companies are CIMB Group and Axiata Group Bhd.