KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 25): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB), Malaysia’s second-largest bank by assets, on Thursday announced partnerships to accelerate infrastructure and environmental, social and governance (ESG)-linked financing, as well as cross-border trade settlement frameworks in the Asean Plus Three region.

The partnerships were formalised through two joint statements on Asean economic cooperation and cross-border collaboration, signed separately among members of the China Asean Interbank Association (CAIBA) and the ASEAN Plus Three Inter Bank Cooperation Mechanism (APTIBCM), according to CIMB in a statement.

CAIBA member banks comprise CIMB Group, China Development Bank, and one representative member bank from each Asean country. Meanwhile, APTIBCM member banks are from CAIBA with the inclusion of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Korea Development Bank.  

Asean Plus Three consists of the 10 Asean countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, in addition to China, Japan and South Korea.

The partnerships were announced during the 15th CAIBA and 6th APTIBCM meetings, which were co-hosted by CIMB and China Development Bank in Kuala Lumpur.

The CAIBA and APTIBCM meetings brought together one member bank from each Asean country, along with China, Japan and South Korea, for in-depth discussions on economic cooperation and cross-border collaboration in financing, payments and treasury — aimed at accelerating regional trade, commerce and investment.

"Our purpose is to advance customers and societies, to foster inclusion and be a reliable partner to connect the member banks in CAIBA and APTIBCM and their clients to Asean and beyond, supporting dynamic economic development across the region,” said CIMB Malaysia chief executive officer Gurdip Singh Sidhu.

He said CIMB’s strength lies in its workforce of 33,000 across 10 countries, serving over 30 million customers, including clients of the two regional banking groups. “We match long-term capital with regional projects, improving local currency access and strengthening the rails for trade, infrastructure and sustainable development deeply, sustainably and inclusively”.

Shares of CIMB were trading down four sen or 0.55% at RM7.25 at the time of writing on Thursday, valuing the banking group at RM77.95 billion.