CIMB Plans Research Institute To Promote ASEAN Integration
CIMB Group plans to set up a research institute to promote Asean integration with investment of between RM3mil and RM5mil annually.
The CIMB Asean Research Institute (CARI) will be an independent corporate entity focused primarily on Asean economic and social integration.
CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said CARI would promote Asean integration by providing thought leadership and specific views on key issues and action plans.
“There is currently insufficient critical mass support for Asean integration and the efforts of the Asean secretariat and governments need to be supplemented by the private sector,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of the 7th Asean Leadership Forum here yesterday.
Nazir said CARI also aimed to take a pragmatic and problem-solving approach to arrive at strong positions on key areas such as free trade agreements (FTAs), non-trade barriers, financial markets integration and sectoral rules and regulations, besides promoting networking among Asean business leaders.
He added that CARI, funded and incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIMB Group, would be headquarted in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the Asean secretariat is located.
The proposed setting up of CARI is subject to Bank Negara approval.
Nazir also said the board of governance and advisers would comprise the first chairman of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency Glenn Yusuf and former Malaysia and Hong Kong central banker Datuk Seri Panglima Andrew Sheng.
Meanwhile, management consultant and academic John Pang will be appointed chief executive officer.
