CIMB shares drop on investment banking pullout from Australia

[KLSE] Shares of Malaysia's CIMB Group Holdings Bhd fell 1.7 per cent in early trade after it said on Monday it would close its investment banking operations in Australia as part of a business review.

Malaysia's second largest bank by assets had just said on Friday it was reviewing investment banking operations in the Asia-Pacific region with an eye to cutting costs in the segment by 30 per cent this year. "We would like to see more concrete results arising from the shift in business focus, management reshuffle and cost-cutting efforts prior to revising our outlook on the CIMB Group," Tan Ei Leen, an analyst with Kuala Lumpur-based Affin Hwang Investment Bank, wrote in a research note on Monday.

Affin maintained a 'sell' rating on CIMB, with an unchanged target price of 5.00 ringgit per share.

Shares fell to 5.70 ringgit, against the benchmark stock index's 0.2 per cent rise.