Malaysia's RHB Investment Bank eyes expansion

Kuala Lumpur, Mar 20: Malaysia's RHB Investment Bank plans to set up business in an Asian country as it looks at regional expansion for future growth amid rising competition at home, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

''We have narrowed down the list of countries we're looking at to one or two,'' Chay Wai Leong told Reuters in an interview.

He declined to name them but added, ''It will be where no Malaysian investment bank has gone to.'' Chay also said he expected further consolidation in Malaysia's crowded banking sector, with the number of local banks likely to be reduced to five or six from nine currently.

''The global phenomenon is that size does matter. Don't forget that they must compete with foreign banks like Citibank, Standard Chartered and foreign Islamic banks here,'' he said.

RHB Investment is the investment banking arm of RHB Capital , Malaysia's fourth-biggest lender.

Reuters