Dear i*Trade@CIMB customers,
CIMB Group Holdings Berhad (“CIMB” or “the Group”) and China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. (“China Galaxy Securities Group”) announced on 6 June 2017 that they, through their wholly-owned subsidiaries CIMB Group Sdn Bhd and China Galaxy International Financial Holdings Limited (“CGI”) respectively, have signed a share purchase agreement to formalise their strategic partnership across CIMB's stockbroking business.
The partnership will see CIMB, a leading ASEAN universal bank, and China Galaxy Securities Group, one of the largest Chinese securities companies, becoming 50:50 shareholders in CIMB Securities International Pte Ltd (“CSI”), the holding company of CIMB's ex-Malaysia stockbroking business comprising institutional and retail brokerage, equities research and associated securities businesses (“stockbroking business”) across Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, United Kingdom and the United States .
With the entry of China Galaxy, CSI stands to benefit from China Galaxy's market access, capital strength, technological know-how, as well as experience and expertise in being one of the top 5 digital stockbrokers in China. This creates greater focus to leverage on available resources and capabilities to generate more revenue, improve service offerings and realise greater efficiencies, allowing CSI to remain relevant and competitive in the stockbroking industry.
The signing marks the beginning of a long term strategic partnership with the China Galaxy group and we look forward to deepening the collaboration as both parties see great potential and opportunities to leverage on each other's strengths, as well as to initiate and facilitate greater capital and investment flows between ASEAN and China.
Following the signing of the ex-Malaysia share purchase agreement, the parties will work towards obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals with a target to complete by the fourth quarter of 2017. We will also continue our discussions with China Galaxy on the Malaysia cash equities business, which is part of CIMB Investment Bank and with some parts (such as share margin financing) being operated by CIMB Bank. As such, this will take a bit more time, and will be executed in accordance with the rules and regulations of Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission.
Clients' securities accounts with CIMB will not be affected. Product and service offerings will be the same, if not better, through access to China Galaxy Securities Group’s research or products.
The Proposed Partnership will be the catalyst for the creation of a specialist broker with access to the customer base of a universal bank. The Proposed Partnership is expected to pave the way for greater collaboration between the two groups.
We look forward to your continued support.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
CIMB Investment Bank Berhad (18417-M)
(A Participating Organisation of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad
About CIMB Group
CIMB Group is Malaysia's second largest financial services provider and one of ASEAN's leading universal banking groups. It offers consumer banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, asset management and insurance products and services. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the Group is now present in nine out of 10 ASEAN nations (Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos). Beyond ASEAN, the Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, the US and UK.
CIMB Group has the most extensive retail branch network in ASEAN of over 900 branches as at 31 March 2017. CIMB Group's investment banking arm is also one of the largest Asia Pacific-based investment banks, offering amongst the most comprehensive research coverage of more than 1,000 stocks in the region.
CIMB Group operates its business through three main brand entities, CIMB Bank, CIMB Investment Bank and CIMB Islamic. CIMB Group is also the 92.5% shareholder of Bank CIMB Niaga in Indonesia, and 93.7% shareholder of CIMB Thai in Thailand.
CIMB Group is listed on Bursa Malaysia via CIMB Group Holdings Berhad. It had a market capitalisation of approximately RM49.4 billion as at 31 March 2017. The Group has around 39,000 employees located in 15 countries.
About CIMB Securities International
CSI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIMB Group Sdn Bhd, and is the holding company for the cash equities business comprising institutional and retail brokerage, equities research and associated securities businesses in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
About China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd.
China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. is one of the leading integrated service providers in the PRC for the securities industry. Established on 26 January 2007, China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd provides comprehensive securities services including brokerage, sales and trading as well as investment banking and investment management.
With 360 securities brokerage branches spread across 31 provinces in the PRC, China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. boasts the largest securities distribution network in PRC in 2016. It also services one of the largest client bases in the PRC of over 8.7 million brokerage customers.
China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. is a joint stock limited company listed on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 06881) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 601881), with a total registered capital of RMB10.1 billion.
About China Galaxy International Financial Holdings Limited
China Galaxy International Financial Holdings Limited was incorporated in Hong Kong on 9 February 2011 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd. China Galaxy International, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, provides brokerage and sales, investment banking, research, and asset management services to global institutional clients, corporate clients and retail customers in Hong Kong.
China Galaxy International Financial Holdings Limited serves as the base for China Galaxy Securities Co. Ltd.’s operations outside of the PRC. As at 6 June 2017, it has HKD1.0 billion in paid-up capital.
