KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): The family of Public Bank Bhd (KL:PBBANK) founder Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow has undertaken its first restricted offer for sale of shares in the group to directors and employees.
The family, through Consolidated Teh Holdings Sdn Bhd, disposed of 250.9 million shares, equivalent to about 1.9% of the bank’s stake, on June 9, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing on Friday.
In October 2024, Hong Piow’s youngest daughter, Diona Teh Li Shian, announced plans for the family to pare down their shareholding in Public Bank via a restricted offer for sale to 10% over a five-year period.
The move is aimed at complying with the Financial Services Act 2013, which caps shareholdings by individuals and family-controlled entities in financial institutions at 10%.
Hong Piow, who passed away on Dec 12, 2022 at the age of 92, held a stake of more than 10% before the law came into force.
He was granted an exemption from the shareholding requirement due to his role as the bank’s founder — a concession commonly referred to as “grandfathering rules”.
Following the June 9 disposal, the Teh family’s shareholding fell slightly to 21.38%, comprising a 20.73% stake held via Consolidated Teh Holdings and a 0.64% stake via Hong Piow’s estate.
It remains the bank’s largest shareholder, followed by the Employees Provident Fund with 3.28 billion shares or a 16.92% stake.
Public Bank shares rose five sen, or 1.1%, to close at RM4.83 on Friday, giving the banking group a market capitalisation of RM93.8 billion. Year to date, the stock has gained more than 6%. According to AskEdge, the stock is currently trading at an average price-earnings ratio of 12.8 times, the highest in three years.