The proposed acquisition supports the mid-sized banking group’s vision to become a universal bank with the expansion into the asset management business.
In a bourse filing today, Affin Bank announced it had entered into a conditional share purchase agreement to acquire 100% or five million shares of Pheim AM from the selling shareholders.
The acquisition, subject to regulatory approvals by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026.
The company was founded in 1993 by award winning fund manager and its executive chairman Tan Chong Koay, 75. It has subsidiaries that are focussed on Islamic asset management and unit trust fund operations.
Affin Bank said the selling shareholders were Tan, the largest shareholder with a 45% stake, Multi-Purpose Capital Holdings Sdn Bhd (20%), Lyndisfarne Holdings Ltd (15%), Azmi Malek Merican (15%), and Japan’s Aizawa Securities Group Co Ltd (5%).
The bank said the acquisition would enhance its competitive positioning by providing a more complete suite of financial products and services.
It will also enable it to develop and distribute its own funds via the group’s distribution channel and business partners.
As at June 30, 2025, Pheim AM managed and administered assets totalling approximately RM875.74 million.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, it posted a profit after tax of RM1.58 million and held RM21.60 million in cash, fixed deposits and bank balances.
Sarawak’s gain
On a broader perspective, the impending acquisition of Pheim AM appears to be a strategic move by the Sarawak government to make further inroads into the financial services industry.
Last November, the state government became Affin Bank’s largest shareholder after acquiring a 27% stake for RM1.78 billion from the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) and its unit Boustead Holdings Bhd, adding to its existing 4.95% interest acquired in April 2023.
Though Pheim AM is a relatively small outfit, its various funds have consistently outperformed many of its local and international counterparts and it has also racked up a multitude of international awards over the years.
For example, its Pheim SICAV-SIF-Asean Emerging Companies Fund has been ranked No 1 by both LSEG Lipper and Morningstar.
The fund has posted a 1,130.9% positive return in US dollars for the 25-year period from 1998 to 2023 and is ranked No 1 among its peers within the Asean Equity Category under the Lipper Global Classification.
Pheim AM also holds the distinction of being EPF’s longest-serving external fund manager, since 1997.
The Sarawak government, via Affin Bank, may well be getting their hands on a gem, at a bargain price.