CIMB Sees Growth in Its Singapore Ops in the Coming Years

Malaysian lender's CEO cites the city state's status as a wealth and treasury hub in Asean

- Sheila Chiang

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian lender CIMB Group anticipates growth in its Singapore operations in the coming years, said its chief executive, citing the city state's status as a wealth and treasury hub in Asean.

Singapore accounted for 14 per cent of the banking group's profit before tax in the first quarter of 2025, up from 11 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

Speaking at a media briefing on July 21 at CIMB's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, group CEO Novan Amirudin said: "We envisage this percentage to grow over the next five, six years because of the role that Singapore plays today within the Asean market. It's clearly been a very successful wealth centre, and we have also been beneficiaries of that.

"Singapore has also been an established treasury centre. A lot of multinational companies or regional companies are using Singapore as their hub to manage treasuries."

He added that the bank sees the Republic as an important wealth and treasury hub to connect the wider Asean business.

CIMB is Malaysia's second-largest lender and South-east Asia's fifth-largest banking group by assets.

Mr Amirudin said the bank has been very active in the Singapore market, catering to a range of clients, from individual consumers in retail banking to large corporations in corporate banking.

He noted that CIMB needs to find its niche in each market, such as selling to certain segments and sharpening its focus, rather than trying to be a more universal player.