He may eventually sell his banking stake but the entrepreneurial spirit in him will keep the 79-year-old active in other fields.
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PETALING JAYA: Banker Azman Hashim has reiterated that while he will eventually sell off his stake in AMMB Holdings Bhd, he is in no rush to quit the banking scene.
This is despite an announcement by AMMB in January last year that Azman, who will be 79 in July, will be retiring from six entities in the AMMB group in stages over a two-year period.
He is also expected to retire as chairman of the key banking unit, AmBank (M) Bhd, and AmInvestment Bank Bhd by the end of this year.
However, in an interview with The Edge, Azman, who is also a property developer pointed out that he would still be chairman of AMMB, the holding company.
“I could be there (at AMMB) another 10 years if I survive. If I am chairman, I will still be holding my stake.
“If I have no stake, I won’t stay,” said the chartered accountant-turned-banker in Cambodia recently where he attended an event organised by the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, of which he is chairman.
Azman said he was “not in serious talks” with any potential buyer for his stake although he would eventually have to think about selling it as none of his family members was in the banking business.
Azman’s 12.97% stake, held via his family vehicle Clear Goal Sdn Bhd, makes him the second largest shareholder in AMMB.
ANZ, or Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, is AMMB’s largest shareholder and it is widely known that the group is exploring options to sell its 23.78% stake.
Azman has the right of first refusal on ANZ’s stake but he has no plans to acquire it.
“I don’t have the money for it, and I’m not allowed (by the regulator) to increase my shareholding.
“I’m not considered an institutional shareholder, so I can only hold up to 10%,” he told The Edge while explaining Bank Negara Malaysia’s shareholding rules for financial institutions.
Even if he is no longer a banker, don’t expect Azman to just sit quietly at home. By his own admission, Azman is an entrepreneur at heart.
“I’m an entrepreneur. My thing was building up the bank (from when I started in 1982), from 200 staff to over 11,000, and from just an investment bank to a complete financial services group. That was my main role, actually,” he said in the interview.
Azman believed that his entrepreneurial spirit may be better suited to things outside banking.
“Banks are big organisations … they require corporate thinking. I think individuals like me are probably more suited outside now.
“I can do my own thing, not be regulated too much,” he said.
For that reason, when he quits the banking industry, Azman said he would continue to keep his major shareholding in his other public-listed businesses – RCE Capital Bhd and Amcorp Properties Bhd.
RCE Capital, in which Azman has a 60.68% stake via Cempaka Empayar Sdn Bhd, is in the general financing business. It provides financing to various cooperatives and foundations, which then lend to civil servants via personal loan schemes with direct salary deductions.
Amcorp Properties is a property development and engineering company in which Azman holds a 70.88% stake via his family vehicle, Clear Goal Sdn Bhd.
“Banking, I don’t want to stay there because I’m getting on. I think it’s too big for me. So, if I sell my stake, I’m out. The others – I’m the majority shareholder; they’re not 10% to 20%-type stakes.
“And the business there is unlike banking… it’s not as strictly regulated. I’m in my entrepreneurial element there,” said Azman.
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