SINGAPORE (Reuters) -RHB Singapore, part of Malaysia’s fourth-biggest banking group RHB, will be key in driving its regional expansion plans and help meet targets which include hitting a return on equity of 12% by 2027, a senior executive said on Friday.
Singapore’s low taxes, political stability and its location as a gateway to the growing Southeast Asian markets are luring ultra-rich investors and financial institutions, making it a top regional financial hub.
RHB Singapore appointed Goh Ken-Yi as its new CEO earlier this year to advance the bank’s digital capabilities and deliver innovative financial solutions, among others.
Pretax profit at RHB Singapore almost doubled last year, jumping 95.6% year-on-year to S$98.7 million ($76.82 million).
“RHB Singapore’s exceptional progress exemplifies the kind of forward momentum we aim to replicate across our key markets,” RHB Group Managing Director Mohd Rashid Mohamad said at a press briefing.
Aside from Singapore, RHB has international operations across southeast Asia in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Brunei.
According to its 2024 annual report, the bank’s return on equity was 10.04% last year.
The bank also aims to reduce its cost-to-income ratio to under 44.8% by 2027, and gross impaired loan ratio of below 1.3% by 2027. Last year, its cost-to-income ratio was at 46.7% and the impaired loans ratio was at 1.47%.
($1 = 1.2848 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui and Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by Rachna Uppal)
