CIMB looks to regional expansion

THERE IS MUCH about Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad, better known as CIMB, that belies its size. Apart from a small acquisition in Indonesia, the investment bank, a subsidiary of local financial conglomerate Commerce Asset Holding Berhad, has no meaningful presence outside Malaysia. Yet it already claims to be southeast Asia’s largest investment bank. Its total assets were M$13.26 billion (US$3.49 billion) at the end of 2003 and its market capitalization is almost US$1.25 billion.