CIMB NIAGA EXPECTED TO BE THE BIGGER CONTRIBUTOR TO GROUP BY 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) – PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk, the Indonesian unit
of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is set to overtake its Malaysian counterpart in
earning contribution to the group by doubling it to 40 per cent by 2015 from 20
per cent currently.

Its Group Chief Executive Officer, Nazir Razak said there is
huge potential in micro-lending, investment banking, rupiah based bond issuance,
hire purchase, credit card and Islamic finance.

"We are strong in domestic currency bond," he said after the company’s
Annual General Meeting (AGM) here, Friday.

Currently, the Malaysian operation contributes about 74 per cent of the
group’s earning. This, however, is expected to go down below 40 per cent amid
the potential growth in Indonesia.

Nazir said CIMB Thai’s contribution was expected to rise to 10 per cent by
2015 from one per cent now. Another 10 per cent will come from other regional
operations, including Singapore, he said.

Elaborating on its potential in Indonesia, CIMB Niaga’s chief executive
officer, Arwin Rasyid said the growth of bank loans in Indonesia would be in
line with the industry target of 20 per cent.

The Indonesian unit is also looking at increasing its branch numbers to 700
from 650 now. It also plans to increase its pawn business to 60 branches by
year-end.

Nazir also said that the group might have more credit card holders in
Indonesia as compared to Malaysia.

"Potentially by end of this year, we may have more credit card holders in
Indonesia than in Malaysia. The Malaysian market is shrinking as the government
has introduced service tax. Whereas in Indonesia we are new and growing fast,”
he said.

He said there were about 700,000 CIMB credit card holders in Indonesia,
while in Malaysia it is one million, down from 1.2 million previously.

--BERNAMA




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