CIMB has no plan to lay off more staff

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is said to be hiring Rafe Haneef from HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd to lead its Islamic banking unit.

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holding Bhd said it has no new plan to lay off staff in Malaysia and Indonesia in 2016 after the completion of last year’s mutual separation scheme (MSS), said chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz.

Instead, the focus would be on improving productivity within the group and continuing with its business agenda.

The banking group, however, confirmed that it had let go 32 staff members from its investment banking and equities business arm in Hong Kong. The redundancy exercise reflected the worsening capital markets environment in North Asia.

On the outlook of the banking industry, Zafrul said macroeconomic conditions in the first six months was expected to be challenging.

“However, I think Malaysian banks are all in good shape,” he said when met after the grand finale of CIMB Asean Stock Challenge 2015.

“In terms of capital and equity ratios (of Malaysian banks), we are very compliant to requirements set by both the central and global banks,” he added.

Last year, CIMB introduced Target 2018 (T18) which outlines its strategy to manage costs better and focus on areas where the group can get better market share and profitability.

At the event yesterday, The Abnormals team was crowned as Regional Champion of the CIMB Asean Stock Challenge 2015.

First-time participants Tan Chong Beng, Yeoh Chun Yen and Ong Wen Jun from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, walked away with prize money of US$12,000 and an educational trip to the London Stock Exchange.

Team Flexie from Zaman University, Cambodia, was declared the first runner-up with a cash prize of US$8,000, while Team I Love Bandung from Universitas Telkom, Indonesia, was second runner-up with US$5,000 cash prize.

The stock challenge saw 2,444 teams participating, involving 6,700 students from universities across five Asean countries – Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Talks are underway to include Vietnam in the subsequent CIMB Asean Stock Challenges.

Malaysia Airlines was the official airline for the CIMB Asean Stock Challenge, sponsoring flights for the respective national champions, their lecturers and judges to Kuala Lumpur for the grand finale.

Bursa Malaysia has supported CIMB since the inception of the stock challenge in 2010.