RHB Capital: No merger talks with AMMB, it's business as usual

PETALING JAYA: RHB Capital Bhd denied that it has entered into any talks to merge with AMMB Holdings Bhd and is business is as usual.
"RHB Capital Bhd wishes to state that there is no plan currently to enter into merger discussions with AMMB Holdings Bhd.
"It is business as usual at RHB and we will continue to focus on improving our fundamentals," it said in a statement released yesterday.
RHB Capital and AMMB stock prices rose yesterday after a report said a potential merger between the two banks was put on hold in light of the political conditions in the country at present.
RHB saw its share price up 4 sen to RM7.47 on some 333,700 shares done, while AMMB shares gained 7 sen to RM5.66 with some 2.66 million shares changing hands.
A business weekly quoted sources as saying that talks on a merger, which was expected to involve a share swap between the two that values the deal at US$10 billion (RM38.5 billion), had been shelved given the current political climate which did not bode well for a merger.
Earlier this year, talks on a proposed three-way merger involving RHB, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Malaysia Building Society Bhd were called off due to unfavourable conditions. A drop in the price of CIMB's stock was said to have made the proposed share swap deal with RHB more complicated.