CIMB Eyes Large Sale Leaseback of Bank Branches and Offices in Malaysia

Business Times - September 9, 2009

CIMB Group is eyeing sale-and-leaseback exercise for its properties, said group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Tun Razak.

"We are engaging a few potential buyers and they are financially, potential investors," he said.

According to Nazir, the transactions for all its buildings, especially CIMB branches and some other offices, would be completed by the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2010.

Early this year, the group had signed an agreement with Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd (PHBB) for the sale and leaseback of the new 630,000 sq ft 39-storey Menara Bumiputra Commerce. The group is now the sole tenant of the building, he said.

"The transaction with PHBB was worth RM460 million. On top of that, we spent about RM80 million for internal refurbishments," he told reporters after the opening of the building by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin today.

The Menara Bumiputra-Commerce, which cost RM400 million, was constructed by IJM Corp Bhd. It began in October 2004 and was completed early this year.

It will serve as the headquarters for commercial banking, franchises of CIMB Group, CIMB Bank and CIMB Islamic.

Nazir said the investment banking and capital market arm would be located in Menara CIMB, which was still under construction in Kuala Lumpur Sentral.

He said construction was expected to be completed in 2012.

Nazir said today also marked the completion of CIMB Group's multi-year branch re-branding exercise.

"South-East Asia's largest retail network of 1,150 branches across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand have now all assumed the CIMB icon, its red and green colours and consistent branch look and feel," he said. Sphere: Related Content