Malaysian Maybank eyes Pakistan bank stake -paper

KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia's largest lender, Malayan Banking (Maybank) (MBBM.KL: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), is exploring the possibility of buying a strategic stake in Pakistan's MCB Bank (MCB.KA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a Malaysian newspaper reported on Saturday.

MCB is the largest bank in Pakistan, whose strongly performing banking industry ranks among the world's most profitable after five years of financial reform, economic growth and rising incomes.

The strong performance has attracted global and regional banks, including Britain's Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Dutch ABN AMRO AAH.AS, Singapore state investor Temasek [TEM.UL] and Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group 1090.SE.

Malaysia's Maybank is interested in buying a stake of 10 to 20 percent in MCB, the Edge weekly said, quoting unidentified sources.

Shares of MCB Bank trade at almost 6.4 times book value, pricing a 10 percent equity stake at nearly $414 million, Reuters Data shows.

Officials of Maybank, whose shares were sold down heavily last week after it agreed to buy Indonesia's sixth-largest bank for a steep 4.6 times book value, were not immediately available for comment.

Pakistan's banking sector has more than doubled in total assets over the past five years to 4,884 billion rupees ($78 billion), central bank data show.

Standard Chartered, whose local arm Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan (SCBP.KA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange, bought Union Bank for $487 million in the biggest deal in the sector so far, paying 5.6 times net asset value.

MCB reported a 26 percent rise in 2007 net profit in February, fuelled by an aggressive consumer finance drive and low administrative charges, analysts said at the time.

Shares of MCB, which have risen 52 percent over the last 12 months, closed on Friday at 413.50 Pakistani rupees. ($1=3.193 Malaysian Ringgit) (Reporting by Clarence Fernandez; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)