Nazir Razak to step down from CIMB

The long-serving Chairman of CIMB, Nazir Razak, is to step down by the end of the year, Malaymail reports.

CIMB, Malaysia’s second largest bank, will activate its succession plan after Razak announced he will leave all positions within the group, ending a career spanning nearly thirty years. Razak has been with CIMB since 1989, including working as CEO for 15 years and Chairman since 2014.

Razak is a brother of former PM Najib, who is facing an array of charges under the new governments 1MDB corruption investigation.

The Straits Times reports that Nazir was among one of the first names listed by Pakatan Harapan to be forced out of their position after their surprise election victory. In June, however, Council of Eminent Persons Chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin said it was up to Nazir if he wanted to end his Chairmanship of CIMB before the role’s official end in August 2019.

Announcing his departure, Nazir said he felt it was an appropriate time to step down due to the successful end of T18 – CIMB’s four-year calibration plan.

According to the Jakarta Post, Nazir plans to focus on a regional private equity fund he set up with several other Southeast Asian business leaders, that would seek to raise up to US$1 billion.

In a message to CIMB staff, Nazir confirmed that following his departure he would continue to work in the region. “As you know, I am very passionate about ASEAN integration, and now I would like to fully commit to pursuing other opportunities in this arena,” he said.

CIMB announced that the board would decide on a successor chairman and handover date in due course. Meanwhile The Star reports that Datuk Nizam Razak, another brother of Najib, resigned as a director of Petra Energy on Monday.

His move continues a string of executives who have exited government-linked companies (GLC), including  former central bank governor Muhammad Ibrahim, savings fund Permodalan Nasional chairman Wahid Omar, and sovereign wealth fund Khazanah’s board of directors, including managing director Azman Mokhtar.

Asia House has been covering the transition in Malaysia since the General Election on 9 May, including an insights report and expert commentary.

Nazir Razak also visited Asia House shortly after the election to give a briefing to Corporate Members.