CIMB Group CEO Nazir Razak, third left, CIMB-GK Securities head of investment banking Sitthichai Mahaguna, left, CIMB-GK Securities head of equity sales Christian Sano, second right, and CIMB-GK Securities head of research Kasem Prunratanamala, right, pos

Its parent firm is the CIMB Group, Malaysia's second-largest financial institution. The CIMB Group moved into Thailand in July 2005 and later established CIMB-GK Securities after it acquired full securities licences in April 2006.

CIMB Group CEO Nazir Razak said the group had invested Bt600 million in the Thailand's brokerage industry.

Thailand has the potential to grow if its political uncertainty is resolved, he said.

CIMB-GK Securities will concentrate on investment banking, while the group has specialised in mergers and acquisitions. The broker now employs 35 staff.

"We want to be a Thai broker, so the majority of our staff are local people. We believe locals will have better information than foreigners and working as a team will create value for shareholders. We aim to have a market share of 0.5 per cent in the stock-trading business this year," Razak said.

Sitthichai Mahaguna, head of investment banking at CIMB-GK Securities, said the company had been appointed by CAT Telecom to act as a financial adviser for its Code Division Multiple Access 2000 1-x cellular project. It has also clinched many deals in seeking funds through initial public offerings, public offerings and bond issuance.

The broker has met with about 60 companies, and most are interested in expansion, but their plans have been postponed, mainly because of the political situation.

"We are ready to provide a full array of financial services to customers and have CIMB's network to support our business," Sitthichai said.

Christian Sano, head of equity sales at CIMB-GK Securities, said the company would achieve its target of becoming one of the top five brokers in Thailand, given the support from the group's securities business in Southeast Asia.

"The company will focus on institutional investors, and I believe we can compete with others, even though brokerage commission fees will be liberalised in the near future," he said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said full deregulation of brokerage commission fees would be imposed in 2012.

The CIMB Group is listed on the Malaysia Exchange through Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings and has a market capitalisation of more than US$11 billion (Bt380 billion).

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation