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Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (“ADCB”) and Aabar Investments PJS (“Aabar”) are pleased to announce today the execution of a binding agreement for the sale of ADCB’s 24.9% stake in RHB Capital Berhad (“RHB”) to Aabar, in a signing ceremony witnessed by H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Y.A.B. Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
The Chairman of ADCB, Eissa Al Suwaidi commented “ADCB is proud to have contributed to the success of RHB since our involvement in May 2008. We are grateful to the Government of Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia for their support and wish to congratulate the management and Board of RHB for their achievements. In particular, we thank our partner in RHB, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), for displaying the highest level of professionalism, co-operation and friendship to us throughout our ownership”
“Our investment in RHB has consistently added value to the shareholders of ADCB via strong dividends and share of profit. At a per share price of RM10.80, this sale is expected to enhance ADCB’s H1 2011 profitability upon completion of the transaction. More importantly, the sale will result in the release of capital. Upon completion of the transaction, based on 31 March 2011 numbers, ADCB’s Tier 1 ratio increases by approximately 2.04% from 12.39% to 14.43% and total Capital Adequacy Ratio increases by approximately 4.08% from 17.03% to 21.11% . Whilst we have benefited tremendously from our ownership of RHB, the management and Board of ADCB are now clearly focused on executing our strategy of being a UAE centric bank, in line with our commitment to our shareholders”, highlighted Ala’a Eraiqat, the Chief Executive Officer of ADCB.
The Chairman of Aabar, Khadem Al Qubaisi commented “Aabar has been closely following the impressive progress achieved under the Economic Transformation Program led by the Prime Minister of Malaysia and we are confident of profitable future growth of the banking industry given the designation financial services sector as a National Key Economic Area. This significant investment by Aabar affirms the commitment of Abu Dhabi to Malaysia and will further enhance the strong and positive relationship between our countries”
“The purchase of this stake in RHB adds a core asset to Aabar’s financial services investments portfolio. We are impressed by the strong performance achieved by RHB and are excited by the opportunity to potentially participate in domestic consolidation and regional expansion. More importantly, the track-record of Bank Negara Malaysia as a world class regulator and the strong legal and regulatory framework provides us with the confidence to invest in Malaysia. Aabar looks forward to working closely with our new partner, the EPF to enhance value in RHB and to explore other areas of mutual co-operation” emphasized Mohamed Badawy Al Husseiny, the Chief Executive Officer of Aabar.
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