KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 —CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s shares on Bursa Malaysia took a hit today on news of its connection with troubled oil trader Hin Leong Trading, which owes almost US$4 billion (RM17.5 billion) to more than 20 banks.
At the close, CIMB Group’s shares slipped 12 sen to RM3.49, with 44.74 million shares transacted.
Recent news report said that CIMB Group is believed to be the Malaysian bank which has an exposure of approximately US$120-US$130 million to Hin Leong.
AffinHwang Capital said that other global banks with major exposure to Hin Leong include HSBC Holdings Plc, ABN Amro Bank and DBS Bank Ltd.
“We understand that Hin Leong and its sister company, Ocean Tankers which owns more than 100 cargo ships, have both filed for bankruptcy protection last Friday, which will give the companies 30 days to restructure their debt.
“The Singapore police had also announced that they have launched an investigation into Hin Leong after the group’s US$800 million oil losses,” AffinHwang Capital said in a research note today.
It added that the gap between the company’s assets and its liabilities was reportedly at US$3.34 billion.
Meanwhile, according to the latest news report, Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad, former chief executive officer (CEO) of Permodalan Nasional Bhd, has been tipped to be the next CEO of CIMB Group Holdings.
Quoting sources, the report said that the position has been vacant since early last month when Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was appointed as Finance Minister on March 9.
In response to the news, CIMB said it does not comment on reports which are speculative in nature, adding that the succession for the post was in progress and that the group would inform the market once it has material updates. — Bernama
