Maybank pays a premium for BII

The right banking business in Asia can still command premium prices.

Maybank, of Malysia, agreed to pay US$1.5 billion for a 56 per cent stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia.

Temasek Holdings of Singapore put its controlling stake in BII on the market less than two months ago, apparently on the basis of short-term political strife rather than any factors connected to the bank.

The Financial Times reported that the price paid by Maybank for BII was 4.6 times BII's book value, and much higher than recent acquisitions in Indonesia for better-performing banks.

Other bidders, according to the FT, were Bank of China, HSBC and Kookmin, amongst others.