Interesting article published on Business Times, 'Maybank directors have to go if deal falls through'
- 'Maybank directors have to go if deal falls through'
Published: 2008/08/07
The Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group says it is against the BII deal for three reasons: the bank was late in entering the market, the pricing and the timing
THE directors of Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) should be held responsible if the PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) deal falls through and RM480 million deposit is forfeited, the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) said yesterday.
"They (the directors) should resign. No question. If it happens (Maybank loses the deposit), the whole board has to go. It's my money, it's the rakyat's money.
"We were against the deal (for three reasons). Number one, they were late (to enter the market), others have already gone in. Number two is the pricing. Number three, timing ... you could have gotten (it) cheaper (when market goes down). What's the hurry?
"Before you go into any venture, you have to assess the risk," MSWG chief executive officer Abdul Wahab Jaafar Sidek said in Kuala Lumpur.
He believes Maybank should not get compensation from Bank Negara Malaysia, if the deal fails to go through.
Abdul Wahab, however, agreed that Maybank chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar should be excluded from blame as he came on board after the acquisition was announced.
Meanwhile, in an apparent response to MSWG's comments, Maybank said in a statement later yesterday that its board of directors "had conducted itself professionally in the best interest of the bank and its shareholders, adhering at all times to standards of good governance and integrity.
"The proposed acquisition has been evaluated and considered by the board as a strategic initiative to strengthen Maybank as a regional bank," it added.
Maybank said the proposal was presented to shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting on May 15, where they voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed acquisition.
"As explained in an earlier announcement to Bursa Malaysia on July 29, the move by Bank Negara Malaysia to revoke its earlier approval for the proposed acquisition of BII followed the recent changes of the new regulation on Take-Over Rule IX by Badan Pengawas Pasar Modal dan Lembaga Keuangan, which was enacted on June 30 2008" it said.
I fully agree and I will go one step beyond and recommend that the directors should be sacked immediately!
Hey if you do agree, do post a simple comment on this blog posting, ok?
The whole deal was so shambolic!
Well I am not going to say more since many had been written on this utterly appalling and shambolic deal.
Here's one good posting: Just The Facts, Ma'am - Maybank's Purchase
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5 comments:
"Maybank said in a statement later yesterday that its board of directors "had conducted itself professionally in the best interest of the bank and its shareholders, adhering at all times to standards of good governance and integrity.
"The proposed acquisition has been evaluated and considered by the board as a strategic initiative to strengthen Maybank as a regional bank," it added."
This is the most hilarious bit. And there appears to be a standard trend amongst Malaysia's bigwigs, be they corporate chieftains or politicians, to adopt this approach.
What value really is there in a statement like the above? Surely, it is not for Maybank to assess itself and its board of directors. That is the job of the independent bodies and investing public. Do we really expect Maybank to come out with a contrary assessment to what is stated above?
Bottom line: someone created a mess, and should pay for it.
I second that
Is there prawn behind the rock (udang di sebalik batu) for this deal ? To buy a bank without any clause on subject to approval seems intriguing. Or is it our Malaysia's largest bank really doesn't have one smart enough board members to see that a need to protect them in case BNM rejected it ? I would say one of the controversial deal of the year. The other was what's unfolding on MMC buyout of Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd (SATS)
bijue.blogspot.com
noticed that the size of scadals is actually becoming smaller LOL
BMF to RHB to BIMB and now MBB
I agree - Maybank Board of Directors clearly and simply don't have shareholder's best interests at heart, based on their published actions this year.
The problem is who can sack the entire Board of Directors.
As disclosed in 2007 Annual Report, the Top 5 shareholders are Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera (41%), EPF (8.3%), PNB (6.8%), Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (2.8%) and Felda (2.6%).
Collectively, the Top 5 owns 61.5%.
The Top 3 owns more than 50% of the votes.
Do you think that the Top 3 shareholders will sack the entire Board of Directors?
Will the Chairman sack the entire Board including himself?
At this level, the Board is obviously well connected with the ruling politicians in this country.
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