PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission (SC) has approved a proposal by Affin Holdings Bhd to dispose of a minority stake in Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd to Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group Inc.
Affin Holdings told the stock exchange that it had received the approval from the SC via a letter dated November 2.
“Affin and Daiwa Securities will review and deliberate on the terms of SC’s approval. We will make further announcements on any subsequent development in due course,” it said.
In the filing with Bursa Malaysia, Affin Holdings said the approval was subject to certain conditions, including the finalisation of the shareholders’ agreement and related documentations to effect the proposal in accordance with Bank Negara’s approval.
It said the condition also included Affin Hwang Investment Bank obtaining the necessary approvals from other regulatory authorities, including the SC, with regard to the proposed change in shareholder. Affin Holdings made the application to Bank Negara on Feb 26, 2016.
The collaboration between Daiwa and Affin Holdings first started at the end of 2013 through a business alliance when Affin Hwang Investment Bank’s research reports were shared with Daiwa’s global client base and similarly Daiwa’s research reports were shared with Affin’s client base on a co-branded basis.
The business arrangement then also provided additional revenue to Affin Investment as Daiwa Securities had channelled all its clients’ trades for shares on Bursa Malaysia through the former while the same was also applied vice versa.