Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said the group, which started operations in Sri Lanka this year, is now providing investment banking and corporate advisory services.
"Our capital is small at US$2 million which involves hiring people for advisory work in Sri Lanka," he told "Invest Sri Lanka: Opportunities in a New Era" conference jointly hosted by CIMB Group and Colombo Stock Exchange.
CIMB Group holds 51 per cent stake in the joint-venture share capital via its wholly-owned subsidiary, CIMB Securities International Pte Ltd, with the remaining 49 per cent held by Lovell and Dangalla.
According to market sources CIMB is likely to face tough competition from well known investment bank and specialized investment advisory firms such as Asia Capital PLC , John Keells Corporate Finance and Frontier Capital Partners Ltd.
"We do not foresee much competition from CIMB Investment Bank as our strength lies in specialized knowledge and personalized service" said the Head of Frontier Capital Partners Ltd, Nishan Sumanadeera who had been instrumental in concluding most of the major M&A deals so far during this year. "Sri Lankan market is very different to many other countries, it operates on personal relationships and more localized knowledge. CIMB will take considerable time to get acclimatized with the local setup" he further added.
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