A CHAPTER CLOSES BUT NEW STORIES BEGIN

Transformations aren't done overnight. It takes a combination of clear thinking, defined strategy and a hard slog, together with the ability to see the opportunity cost, the need for balance and more importantly how it effects your investors, shareholders and employees. Congratulations Andrew Khoo on this deal and your recent deal with the Lim brothers at Exsim Group, testimony that transformation at MUI Group happens.
PM Securities has been, at any one time over the last 20 plus years, an ally, a competitor and surprisingly a target. It remains the last and only Universal Broker left, an experiment to transition a consolidating stockbroking industry in the late 1990s to investment banks. The others either stayed independent like Kenanga Investment Bank all (with one exception) topped up their capital base and were later absorbed, Hwang DBS into Affin Hwang, ECM Libra into AmInvestment, OSK into RHB, and KLCity Securities into Alliance.
So does this close the financial services chapter which at one time included a bank (now Hong Leong Financial Group) and, at least as an observer, the transformation into a focused hospitality and retail group?
So what's next? Will we see the emergence of a new rival to the incumbents in the Investment banking landscape? A RTO for a listed Exsim Group with possible injection of an impressive portfolio of property developments including reviving Empire City Damansara has been denied.
Exiting times in corporate Malaysia. What a start to the year!