The Major Players in the Hong Leong Cap saga

BY YVONNE TAN AND TEE LIN SAY
Published: Saturday June 29, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM

The Hong Leong Capital buyout saga has thrust certain individuals into the limelight. While those from the Hong Leong Group are well-known in corporate circles, the one low-profile individual Datuk Dr Yu Kuan Chon has this saga to thank for him becoming a big corporate name today. Here are the profiles of the key players:

·Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan is no stranger to the corporate world, having entrenched himself as the face of the Hong Leong group of companies, one of the most prolific business groups in the country.

One of the richest men in Malaysia, he is known as much for his shrewd business ways as for his thrill of taking on personal gambles and high-risk ventures. Going by his recent trail of corporate activities, it appears that there is no slowing down for this 69-year-old tycoon. Among his most recent activity is his investment in TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE), an up-and-coming oil and gas firm that has turned around and is poised to play alongside the big boys.

Series of privatizations

Its international oil company partner is bidding for one of the riskiest service contracts by Petronas, and it recently finalized a joint venture with oil giant McDermott International Inc

Quek is also embarking on a series of privatizations. In December last year, Quek (via his vehicle GuoLine Overseas Ltd) made a takeover offer of his 75%-controlled Guoco Group Ltd at HK$88 (RM35.20) per share. Then in January, he made the attempt via Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) to privatize Hong Leong Capital Bhd. Both deals however have not gone through as minority shareholders have been holding out for higher takeout prices.

There is speculation that Quek could also be looking to privatize HLFG. Analysts say that there are too many “holding company entities” within the group and hence there is a need to simplify the structure. However, there are others who reckon that there could be more up Quek’s sleeve. For example, is all this restructuring a step towards a potential takeover bid for the valuable Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA), Hong Kong’s largest independent local bank?

Known to make good stock trades, Quek has also taken up stakes in the new listings of Kencana Petroleum Bhd and Petra Perdana Bhd and was also an investor in Multipurpose Holdings Bhd and fertility treatment company TMC Life Sciences Bhd.

Quek qualified as a Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple, United Kingdom.

l. Datuk Dr Yu Kuan Chon – the chairman and executive director of publicly-listed and family-run YNH Property Bhd emerged as a substantial shareholder in Hong Leong Capital Bhd (HLCap) in February, just after HLCap ultimate owner Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan made an offer to take the company private.

A low-profile former medical officer of the Government, Yu, 52 had then gone on to accumulate up to more than 8% of HLCap, putting him in a strong bargaining position in relation to the planned buyout of HLCap, and creating a tussle of sorts between him and Quek. The offer has since fallen through.

However, the saga appears to be far from over as the free float of HLCap shares had this week dipped below the 10% threshold, triggering a suspension of HLCap shares in 30 market day’s time.

As a suspension works to the disadvantage of minority shareholders, Yu, who is also a minority shareholder, can sell some of his shares to ensure that the free float stays above 10%.

Savvy investor

Yu, perceived to be a savvy investor is now tight-lipped about his next course of action.

He tells StarBizWeek that he has no comment when contacted.

After graduating with a medical degree in 1988, Yu started work as a horseman in Klang and continued as a medical officer a year later. Subsequently, he has also served as a medical officer in Ipoh and Taiping hospital.

In 1995 he left the government service and started assisting the family business, according to YNH’s latest annual report.

He is also a non-executive and non-independent director of Rapid Synergy Bhd.

·Lee Jim Leng is the managing director and chief executive officer of Hong Leong Investment Bank. She has more than 20 years of financial industry experience specialising mainly in the field of investment banking.

Lee’s last position was as Managing Director with HwangDBS Investment Bank where she was responsible for the overall development of the bank’s investment business in Malaysia. Prior to that, she worked at Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (M) Bhd from 1999 to 2007 and was tasked to spearhead the bank’s investment banking division in Malaysia and the Asean region.

Corporate banking

Starting off her career in Ban Hin Lee Bank, she was initially in corporate banking, but was already fascinated by corporate finance. She was tasked to set up the capital markets division of the bank.

She only made the transition from a corporate banking to investment banking after joining Schroders in 1993. Since then she has made a career of building up investment banking arms.

She led the team which built up UOB’s investment banking department. She was also responsible for building up HwangDBS Investment Bank Bhd when it transformed from universal broker to full-fledged investment bank.

 In a surprise move, Datuk Yvonne Chia, the group managing director and CEO of Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB), retired from her position with the banking group with effect from June 30, this year. She has held this position since Nov 10, 2003.

Market talk has it that Chia may resurface in the banking industry as her experience is extremely sought after and she is known to be one of the most outstanding bankers around.

Leading positions

Chia is an Economics graduate with more than 26 years experience in the financial services industry, having held leading positions in foreign and local institutions. She started her career at Bank of America and held various roles in Asia.

In 1996, she joined RHB Bank Bhd as CEO and under her helm, she brought RHB from sixth to third largest bank in Malaysia. Chia was appointed an Executive Director of HLB on March 17, 2003.

She was re-designated as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of HLB on Nov 10, 2003 and had led the growth of HLB to be the fourth largest bank in Malaysia in May 2011.

Chia is also a Certified Risk Professional (CRP). In 2005, she was appointed to the Wharton Fellows, and in 2008, CNBC nominated her as a finalist in the Asia Business Leaders Awards.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/06/29/The-major-players-in-the-Hong-Leong-Cap-saga.aspx
Related story: 
Queks poker game for HLCap 

Quek's poker Game for HLCap

BY RISEN JAYASEELAN
Published: Saturday June 29, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM 

AS corporate takeover sagas go, Hong Leong Capital Bhd (HLCap) will go down as one of the more colourful ones in Malaysia’s corporate history. The usually savvy tycoon Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan ought to have wrapped up the privatization of the investment banking and asset management unit of his group by now.

But alas what he is faced with is a HLCap share price that had risen up to several hundred percent more than the price he had offered to pay, although the share price has seen some softening over the last few days.

To recap, Quek used his flagship holding company Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) to make the buyout offer of HLCap on Jan 14. The offer had failed as at the closing date of acceptance, Feb 25. HLFG only had 81.33% of HLCap shares.

The thorn in Quek’s side is low-profile property developer Datuk Dr Yu Kuan Chon, who has accumulated 21.3 million HLCap shares, giving him a stake of 8.65% at last count.

The saga has now drawn in one of Quek’s key lieutenants, the investment banker Jim Leng. Jim Leng, as she is better known, heads Hong Leong Investment Bank (a key asset of HLCap) and filings showed that Jim Leng had on June 19 exercised 1 million HLCap stock options at a price of RM1.20 a piece.

The implications of this were significant.

By Jim Leng doing so, the enlarged share base of HLCap increased by 0.4%.

And as Jim Leng is considered a key member of Quek’s management team, she isn’t being considered as part of the public shareholding of HLCap.

Hence the exercise of her warrants nudged the free float of HLCap to below the 10% threshold, thereby enabling HLCap, in accordance with Bursa’s listing rules, to announce that it intends to suspend its shares on Aug 12, being 30 market days post the 10% threshold being hit.

Recall that just recently, in March, HLCap had issued the same notice, only for Bursa not to go ahead with the suspension as the free float had gone back up to the 10% level within that 30 market day period.

In that instance, it was the savvy Yu who had ensured that happened. He simply sold down some of his shares to ensure that the free float stayed above 10%.

For those unfamiliar with Yu and his involvement in the HLCap saga, Yu had suddenly emerged with a substantial stake in HLCap at just about the time the buyout was being announced.

Yu also continued accumulating HLCap shares since then and is probably the main reason why HLcap shares are now trading at a whopping RM5.50 per piece which is three times the RM1.71 Quek offered to buy them out.

HLCap shares had hit a high of RM7 a piece on June 14.

The suspension of trading of a stock is always bad news for minority shareholders as it means they can no longer sell their shares in the open market. Hence the threat of suspension had worked to force minorities in buyout situations to throw in the towel in the past.

But is Yu that kind of a minority shareholder?

In other words, maybe he doesn’t mind staying on as a nagging minority shareholder of HLCap, even if the stock is suspended from trading, until a good deal is offered to him by Quek and Co for his shares.

Furthermore, if Yu remains a minority shareholder in the suspended HLCap, he would have a big say during HLCap’s next AGM later this year, especially when voting on related party transactions (RPTs) within the Hong Leong group. (In RPTs, the related parties would not be allowed to vote, and that includes HLFG that owns just over 81% of HLCap at last count).

Then again, it is likely that Yu or parties linked to him have been aggressively selling their shares yesterday, considering that HLCap shares dipped by around RM1 or 15%. Yu is likely offloading those shares to ensure that the free float rises to above 10%, something that he successfully did in the past.

The question is, will Yu be able to keep selling enough shares to ensure that the free float stays above 10%? Or will there be more Esos exercises by high-ranking officials of the Hong Leong group?

According to HLCap’s 2012 annual report, there were a total of 4.475 million of stock options granted under the company’s ESOS to directors and chief executives of within the HLCap group of companies and that all options had remained outstanding as at June 30, 2012. The annual report also said that no options were exercised during its financial year ended June 30, 2012.

According to filings by HLCap, Jim Leng had on 16 Jan 2013 been given options to subscribe to 2 million HLCap shares.

Filings also showed that Jim Leng had on Feb 22 exercised 450,000 of those options at a price of RM1.42. And significantly, filing two days later showed that Jim Leng had then “sold” those 450,000 shares into the buyout of HLCap by HLFG.

Hence the recent exercise of her 1 million options is the balance from the 2 million she was granted earlier this year. It is also understood that Jim Leng had been given another 1.5 million options earlier.

It is likely therefore that Jim Leng has another 3 million options on HLCap shares to exercise.

Jim Leng’s stock options

But the question remains as to why Jim Leng did not exercise all of her options during the buyout period and turn that into acceptances from HLFG’s buyout of HLCap. Wouldn’t that have helped the case of Quek’s buyout of HLCap?

To be noted is the fact that Jim Leng, after forking out the RM1.2mil to exercise the 1 million options recently, had sold 34,000 of those shares into the market at prices ranging from RM6.83 to RM6.96 a piece, giving her gross returns of some RM234,260. The question is will she be selling more shares into the market or will she be holding on to the bulk of those HLCap shares, a move which will have an impact on the free float of HLCap shares.

Incidentally, there are also some market rumors that this whole HLCap saga has had some collateral damage to other key Hong Leong personality, although this theory could not be verified.

Stalwart banker, Datuk Yvonne Chia, resigned as CEO of Hong Leong Bank Bhd in March.

The reason cited then was simply that she was retiring.

But now rumours are circulating that Chia may have had to leave because she had failed to support HLFG’s buyout by selling her holdings or stock options into the HLFG buyout of HLCap.

All parties related to this story could not be reached for comment.

The market will be watching closely now how the HLCap unfolds and what other cards will be pulled or placed out by the savvy corporate players in this game of poker.

Related story:
The major players in the Hong Leong Cap saga

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/06/29/Queks-poker-game-for-HLCap-An-Esos-exercise-may-have-been-a-calculated-move-by-Quek-and-Co.aspx

Malaysian billionaires’ paving the way for Sons

Published: Monday May 13, 2013 MYT 8:48:00 AM           
BY GURMEET KAUR
TAN Sri Quek Leng Chan's investment in TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE) is the second recent example of a tycoon paving the way for his heir apparent to get a taste of the real business world.

Last week, Quek, via GuoLine Capital Ltd (GCL), bought 10% or 92.79 million shares in THHE via a private placement for RM41.8mil. Part of that was directly through his youngest son Quek Kon Sean, who will subscribe to 27.8 million shares. GCL is a unit of Quek's flagship Hong Leong Co (M) Bhd.

Clearly, the 33-year-old Quek junior is going to play a bigger role in THHE, going forward. Quek's move is similar to what another billionaire had done not too long ago.

In July 2011, Tan Sri AP Arumugam, a shrewd and savvy entrepreneur, emerged with a 6% stake in Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, the first special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to be listed on Bursa Malaysia. Arumugam, who is the founder and chairman of Sri Inderajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd that has significant investments in six major industries globally, subsequently raised his stake in the company to 8.8% a couple of months later.

Soon after, his son, Roushan Arumugam, then aged 39, was appointed as a director of Hibiscus.

For now, it remains to be seen whether Kon Sean would seek a board seat at THHE. Kon Sean had emerged as the heir apparent to the vast Hong Leong empire some six years ago and is the only one of Quek's three children to follow in his father's footsteps in the banking business.

It is likely that these tycoons are opting to place their sons in companies owned by others to give them the necessary exposure, something that may not necessarily happen when they emerge in positions in their fathers' companies.

The emergence of these tycoons in these comparatively small companies has the added attraction of bringing some pizzazz to these companies. Notably, Hibiscus and THHE are still in their growth phase, which means both Arumugam and Quek are taking on some risk by putting their money there.

However, the total amount invested in these companies is small compared to the coffers of these tycoons. The cigar-chomping Quek is the country's sixth-richest man with a fortune valued at US$4.2bil (RM14.25bil), according to Forbes' richest Malaysians list, while Arumugam is also said to be worth several billions.

So, some people have dubbed the situation as father's little “tuition fees” for junior to cut his teeth in the real business world, without the protection of dear old dad. This is a departure from the norm where tycoons are known to place their children in cushy positions within their own groups.

Bankers say Arumugam has created the necessary catalyst for other investors to put their money into Hibiscus. To be noted is that SPACs is mere shell companies, with no business to speak of other than a plan to buy corporations that would be folded into the entity after an initial public offering (IPO). Hibiscus is touted as a SPAC success story that other similar vehicles are hoping to emulate, by virtue of having raised a whopping RM235mil from its IPO back in 2011.

Hibiscus expects to drill the oil well in its Oman concession, which was bought as part of its acquisition of Lime Petroleum plc, some time soon, and this is poised to reverse its loss-making position in financial year 2014.

Similarly, in the case of THHE, since the announcement of Quek's entry, the mid-cap stock has shot up by some 22.5% to close at 57 sen on Friday. The Lembaga Tabung Haji-controlled company, which is involved in the fabrication of offshore steel structures for the oil and gas industry, is on the mend, having recently exited its PN17 status. It is clear that Quek sees upside, more so since the company turned around last year and is eyeing a risk service contract with Petroliam Nasional Bhd for marginal oil fields.

In about a month's time, THHE will seek shareholder approval for a 30% share-swap between Berlian McDermott Sdn Bhd, the local arm of McDermott International, and TH Fabricators Sdn Bhd, in a deal worth US$25.4mil. This signals a new direction for the company, and gives shareholders, including Kon Sean, the opportunity to ride the upside.

Deputy news editor Gurmit Kaur is wondering how Quek's banking consolidation which is experiencing a hiccup is faring currently.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/05/13/Malaysian-billionaires-paving-the-way-for-sons.aspx

Quek increases stake in Bank of East Asia

Published: Saturday July 6, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Saturday July 6, 2013 MYT 7:31:16 AM

BY TEE LIN SAY

PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan has increased his stake in Hong Kong’s family-run Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA) to 15.02% from 14.99% via vehicle Guoco Group Ltd.

In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 4, Guoco had bought 740,000 shares at an average price of HK$27.41 (RM11.29) on June 26.

Guoco continues to be the second-largest shareholder of BEA, behind Spain’s CaixaBank, which has a 16.13% stake.

Shares of BEA have risen 4.07% in the past two days to HK$28. 15 (RM11.57) since the announcement.

It’s a known fact that Quek has had an interest in BEA, one of Hong Kong’s largest independent local banks with total consolidated assets of HK$692.1bil (RM284.38bil) as of Dec 31, 2012. BEA operates one of the largest branch networks in Hong Kong, with 88 branches, 63 SupremeGold Centers and seven I-Financial Centers throughout the city.

So far, Quek has been unable to take over BEA, partly due to its institutional and diversified shareholding base. BEA is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index.

Many have speculated that Quek’s reason for taking his Hong Kong-listed Guoco Group private was to give him more control over its 15% stake in BEA, and more cash for any attempt to make a go for the bank.

On Dec 12 last year, Quek, via vehicle GuoLine Overseas Ltd, made a takeover offer for his 74.5%-controlled Guoco Group Ltd at HK$88 per share. Subsequently, the bid was revised to HK$100 per share after shareholders said the initial bid was too low.

Quek is Malaysia’s fifth-richest billionaire with a net wealth worth some US$4.8bil (RM14.4bil). While he heads the Hong Leong Group in Malaysia, he derives the biggest portion of his fortune from Guoco Group.

His recent attempt to take the investment banking arm Hong Leong Capital Bhdprivate wasn’t successful, as shareholders chose to hold out for a better price.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/07/06/Quek-increases-stake-in-Bank-of-East-Asia.aspx

TH Heavy soars on stake buy by Quek-related parties

Published: Wednesday May 8, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM                         
BY JOHN LOH

PETALING JAYA: Parties linked to banking billionaire Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan have bought a sizeable stake in mid-cap fabricator TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE) through a private placement announced on Monday, sending its stock up a sharp 15% to 53.5 sen.

Some 39.6 million shares changed hands at prices ranging from 47 sen to 54.5 sen, making it the fifth most active counter across Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The stock has soared 24% from a trough of 43 sen on May 2.

It is not yet clear what drove Quek to take up the placement at 45 sen a share but THHE is seen to be on the mend, having recently exited its PN17 status.

THHE managing director and chief executive officer Nor Badli Mohd Alias could not be reached for comment at press time.

The firm, which fabricates offshore steel structures for the oil and gas (O&G) industry, had billed 2012 as a “turnaround year”. It posted earnings of RM24.2mil on a revenue of the RM190mil last year, reversing 2011’s dismal RM11.4mil net loss and RM23mil turnover.

The group is also said to be eyeing a risk service contract with Petroliam Nasional Bhd for marginal oilfields as well as the West Sepat gas field.

THHE is currently expanding its fabrication yard in Pulau Indah, Port Klang, by nearly five times to 104ha from 23.01ha.

It also has fabrication yards in Pasir Gudang, Johor, with a capacity of 129,000 tonnes per annum, making THHE the country’s largest fabricator in terms of yard size and capacity.

The company, formerly known as Ramunia Holdings Bhd, told the stock exchange two days ago that it would place out 92.8 million new shares, or 10% of its existing share capital, to GuoLine Capital Ltd and Quek Kon Sean.

GuoLine is a subsidiary of Hong Leong Co (M) Bhd, while Kon Sean is Quek’s youngest son and the only one of his three children to have ventured into banking.

The London School of Economics-educated 33-year-old started his career as an analyst with Goldman Sachs, followed by another year-long stint as a debt market analyst with HSBC, both in London, according to public records.

Thereafter, he joined the family business and assumed directorships in several of his father’s listed entities, including Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd, Hong Leong Capital Bhd (HLCap) and Hong Leong Bank Bhd.

In its filing, THHE said the placement shares were priced at a 0.64% discount to the company’s five-day volume weighted average market price up to May 6. GuoLine and Kon Sean will subscribe for 65 million shares and 27.8 million shares, respectively.

They would effectively hold 9% of THHE’s enlarged share base of 1.02 billion shares once the placement, which is set to raise gross proceeds of RM41.8mil for working capital and potential investments, are completed by June.

Following the exercise, THHE’s largest shareholder, pilgrim fund Lembaga Tabung Haji, will see its interest diluted to 29.09% from 32%.

This is not the first time Leng Chan has dabbled in O&G. He had acquired stakes in Kencana Petroleum Bhd, Petra Perdana Bhd (since renamed Perdana Petroleum Bhd) and Singapore-listed subsea and drilling services providerMermaid Marine Public Co Ltd during the latter’s listing in 2007 together with Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir, who is now chairman of SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd.

The 70-year-old Quek, at one time Kencana’s No. 2 shareholders, ceased to be a substantial owner of the fabricator in August 2009. He had bought into Kencana and Petra Perdana when they were newly-listed and riding high.

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2013/05/08/TH-Heavy-soars-on-stake-buy-by-Quekrelated-parties.aspx

What’s billionaire Quek up to now?

Wednesday January 16, 2013

RAISON D'ETRE - RISEN JAYASEELAN

Hong Leong Group executive chairman Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan (left) having a chat with Dongcheng district party secretary Yang Liuyin during the opening ceremony of Guoson Mall in Beijing on May 15 2011.-- CHOW HOW BAN/The Star

TWO corporate exercises in a month squarely put Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan in the limelight. I can't recall the last time the savvy banking tycoon sought to privatize two of his listed vehicles in such a short span of time. No wonder the market is abuzz with questions as to whether the two deals are related. Or more importantly, could these deals be a precursor to an even bigger deal by Quek? For example, could Quek be readying his assets in a potential takeover bid for the valuable Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA), Hong Kong's largest independent local bank?

For now though, all that remains is pure speculation. To recap, on Dec 12, Quek (via his vehicle GuoLine Overseas Ltd) made a takeover offer of his 75%-controlled Guoco Group Ltd at HK$88 (RM35.20) per share. Then this week, his 78%-controlled Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) said it wanted to buy the rest of the shares in Hong Leong Capital Bhd (HLCap) at a price of RM1.71 per share (HLFG already owns 80% of HLCap.)

Minority shareholders of both Guoco Group and HLCap will have to decide if they want to take up Quek's buyout offer.

Very interestingly, the share prices of both Guoco Group and HLCap have traded above the offer prices. Rarely does this happen. It could possibly mean that minority shareholders are betting that Quek will raise his offer price.

But why the privatization in the first place?

Sources close to the group have said that the two privatization deals are unrelated. There are specific reasons for both, they say. In the case of Guoco Group, the stated rationale was this: “The privatization of Guoco Group will simplify the shareholding structure of Guoco Group and improve corporate efficiency. Full ownership of Guoco Group by Hong Leong will facilitate integration between Hong Leong and Guoco Group, and will provide Hong Leong with greater flexibility to support the future business development of Guoco Group.”

As to why take HLCap private, that also is possibly linked to them wanting to create a more efficient structure, reducing the listed financial institutions of the group from three to two. It is also believed to be in line with the requirements of the soon-to-be-in-force Financial Services Act, which seeks to impose greater obligations on financial holding firms and which will help strengthen regulation, supervision and governance of financial services groups.

But is Quek offering a fair price?

Both Guoco Group and HLCap have historically traded at low prices, which analysts attribute to a lack of liquidity and interest in the stock.

Because of the low prices, Quek's cash offer for both the companies do look good on paper a 20.4% premium over the last traded price of HLCap and 24.8% over Guoco Group's last traded price. But dig deeper and you will see the problem in Guoco Group's case, its net asset per share is a whopping HK$134. 32. So Quek's offer of HK$77 is a significant 34% discount to that. The offer for HLCap is a mere one sen above its book value. So, is that a fair price? But while shareholders and their advisors are busy thinking this through, the affairs of both deals could be mopping their target shares from the open market. And if and when they hit the 90% threshold a not-too-difficult feat considering they already control the bulk of these target company shares any opposition to the buyout becomes academic, as the offerer can simply compulsorily acquire the balance shares and de-list the company, which is the stated intention.

Hence, this is possibly the more plausible explanation as to why both the shares of Guoco Group and HLCap have surpassed the buyout prices.

The more fascinating scenario that may unfold is when Quek, using his Guoco Group and Hong Leong vehicles after efficiently restructuring them, makes a go to BEA. The Guoco Group already has 15% of BEA and loads more cash for any attempt for a BEA acquisition.

But so far, Quek hasn't been been able buy up BEA, partly due to the institutional-led shareholding base of the Hong Kong bank. Still, with the support of the Hong Leong group, there's always the possibility that Quek's attempt for BEA could be the banking merger and acquisition story of the year.

BEA operates one of the largest networks of any foreign bank in Mainland China and that should give one a taste as to why this asset is worth a go for.

News editor Risen Jayaseelan wonders if it would be Spain's CaixaBank, driven by problems in its home country, that could be a willing seller to Quek of its 17% stake in BEA.

http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx?file=%2f2013%2f1%2f16%2fbusiness%2f12581614&sec=business