Sell maintained. That management spent last year building liquidity and embarking on a cost efficiency drive is a positive, as is Dato' Sri Nazir's closer involvement in CIMB Niaga. Management is also more upbeat this year, which could lead to a little more growth traction. Strong fundamentals notwithstanding, our Sell call is largely premised on expectations of CIMB's valuations narrowing against that of its conventional banking counterparts (avg 1.8x P/BV for 2012), while its still-high foreign shareholding remains a drag, in our view. Our RM6.80 target price (1.8x 2012 P/BV, ROE: 15.1%) is maintained.


Maybank Research 16 Feb 2012

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