Plans for Maybank

 THE Kina Group plans to follow up its acquisition of Maybank by listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), with Morgans acting for it, chief executive officer Syd Yates told The Australian.

“We’ve had a long-term partnership with Morgans,” Yates said.  

“They have provided us a lot of help. They have a big client base, and we get on well with them, we have the same customer-driven philosophy,” he said.

Last month, Kina acquired a banking licence by buying Maybank for K319 million making it PNG’s fourth-largest bank, after Bank South Pacific, Westpac and ANZ.

Yates said: “We believe that investors will find Kina a good way to gain an exposure to PNG, which is a fast-growing economy likely to hit double digits in this first full year of liquefied natural gas production.

“If we make a success of a float, it helps provide opportunities for other PNG firms to follow.”

Yates said he believed further opportunities were at hand for expansion within PNG, partly as a result of tightening regulations and increased compliance costs.

“The Bank of PNG (the central bank) is recognised as a competent regulator by the multilateral institutions such as the IMF, and is considering stepping up to the Basel III framework,” he said. 

“Smaller PNG institutions may find it impossible to comply.”

He added that if Kina went ahead with an ASX float, it would hold its fire for a year while it establishes a sound track record for delivering on promises before considering further expansion, which could involve realising opportunities elsewhere in the Pacific.

“Despite the fall in commodity prices, the expansion of output through further LNG operations and mining projects such as Newcrest’s Wafi, helps provide a level of comfort in continued economic growth going forward,” Yates said.

Kina, formed 30 years ago, was until recently a diversified non-bank financial services group, the largest in PNG. It has funds under management to the value of K4.7 billion and 150,000 people in its superannuation business.

Its Kina Securities offshoot is a foundation member of the Port Moresby Stock Exchange – which is heading for a shake-up later this year aimed at making it more open to further listings, commensurate with the growing ambitions of the country’s business community.

It provides traditional stockbroking, trustee services, corporate advice and finance. It is a major provider of leases and mortgages. 

Kina employs about 200 staff, of which 92.5 per cent are Papua New Guinean, with more than half women, including in management ranks.