KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Commerce Asset-Holding Bhd wants to expand its footprint beyond Malaysia and Indonesia to become a regional bank, its new chief executive said.
"We are committed to having some kind of presence within the region as it grows and continues to integrate,'' Rozali Mohamed Ali told The Star newspaper in an interview Monday.
The group's regional ambition in some ways stems from its successful acquisition of a 51 percent stake in PT Bank Niaga in Indonesia, whose performance has surpassed all initial expectations.
Profit from the Indonesian bank accounted for 16 percent of the group's pre-tax profit for its financial year ended December 2003. Rozali said he believed that Bank Niaga would be able to chalk up double-digit growth over the next two to three years.
