<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published September 3, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Analysts hail DBS's choice of Piyush Gupta as CEO
Investors await new chief's strategy for bank
By CONRAD TAN
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DBS Group's choice of Citigroup's Piyush Gupta as its new chief executive bodes well for the bank, analysts said yesterday.
<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>Positive move: Mr Gupta's appointment ends the uncertainty that has hung over DBS since Mr Stanley's death </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>His extensive commercial banking experience in South-east Asia and Hong Kong - which together contribute about 90 per cent of DBS's income and net profit - is widely seen as making him a good fit for the group.
More fundamentally, his appointment ends the uncertainty that has hung over DBS since former CEO Richard Stanley died of cancer in April.
'It's positive, because finally they have a leader, and that will restore investors' confidence in the company,' said Pauline Lee, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities. 'And Piyush Gupta comes across as being very experienced in commercial banking and he's not new to leadership roles.'
Now, 'all eyes will focus on the strategy he has for the bank', she added. 'Hopefully, he can come up with a clear direction.'
DBS's share price ended 2 cents or 0.16 per cent higher at $12.74 yesterday, defying a slide in the broader market.
Some think Mr Gupta will focus his energy on finding ways to improve the integration of the group's existing businesses to make it more efficient.
From his working experience, 'he seems to be very much an operations man and his focus seems to be very much in South-east Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia', said CIMB banking analyst Kenneth Ng.
'We don't think there'll be major changes. But we think there will be a focus on risk-management and controls within its existing platform, because that's one of his strong points. If there are any mergers or acquisitions, we're expecting DBS to focus more on its own backyard, rather than in far-flung places.'
Overall, 'it's a good choice, right for the times', Mr Ng said. 'DBS has spent the past decade trying to buy great platforms in major markets but hasn't really grown them in a big way yet, so getting an operations man in is a good thing.'
Mr Gupta, 49, started his career at Citibank in India in 1982 but has spent the past two decades in South-east Asia and Hong Kong, including eight years in Singapore.
He was most recently Citi's CEO for South-east Asia-Pacific, covering all of its operations in Asean, Australia, New Zealand and Guam.
'The choice of someone with a lot of experience in South-east Asia might be telling us something about the focus of DBS' in the months ahead, Mr Ng said.
'Specifically focusing on South-east Asia is not a bad thing, if that's what the board is saying by its appointment.
'Malaysia has recently said it will further liberalise its financial sector, while Indonesia has said that potentially there are stakes in Indonesian banks for sale.'
Another analyst, who declined to be named, said big changes in strategy at DBS are unlikely.
'It looks like it will be a continuation of what Richard Stanley was trying to carry out - more focus on the consumer banking franchise, especially POSB. I don't think we're going to hear anything different from this new guy.'
Leng Seng Choon, an analyst at DMG & Partners Securities, said in a note that Mr Gupta's experience in South-east Asian markets will be 'a major asset' to DBS, though the potential benefit from his appointment 'will take time to flow through'.
'In the meantime, we continue to be concerned with DBS's asset quality, following its strong loan expansion over the past few years,' Mr Choon said.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Analysts hail DBS's choice of Piyush Gupta as CEO
Investors await new chief's strategy for bank
By CONRAD TAN
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>DBS Group's choice of Citigroup's Piyush Gupta as its new chief executive bodes well for the bank, analysts said yesterday.
<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>Positive move: Mr Gupta's appointment ends the uncertainty that has hung over DBS since Mr Stanley's death </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>His extensive commercial banking experience in South-east Asia and Hong Kong - which together contribute about 90 per cent of DBS's income and net profit - is widely seen as making him a good fit for the group.More fundamentally, his appointment ends the uncertainty that has hung over DBS since former CEO Richard Stanley died of cancer in April.
'It's positive, because finally they have a leader, and that will restore investors' confidence in the company,' said Pauline Lee, an analyst at Kim Eng Securities. 'And Piyush Gupta comes across as being very experienced in commercial banking and he's not new to leadership roles.'
Now, 'all eyes will focus on the strategy he has for the bank', she added. 'Hopefully, he can come up with a clear direction.'
DBS's share price ended 2 cents or 0.16 per cent higher at $12.74 yesterday, defying a slide in the broader market.
Some think Mr Gupta will focus his energy on finding ways to improve the integration of the group's existing businesses to make it more efficient.
From his working experience, 'he seems to be very much an operations man and his focus seems to be very much in South-east Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia', said CIMB banking analyst Kenneth Ng.
'We don't think there'll be major changes. But we think there will be a focus on risk-management and controls within its existing platform, because that's one of his strong points. If there are any mergers or acquisitions, we're expecting DBS to focus more on its own backyard, rather than in far-flung places.'
Overall, 'it's a good choice, right for the times', Mr Ng said. 'DBS has spent the past decade trying to buy great platforms in major markets but hasn't really grown them in a big way yet, so getting an operations man in is a good thing.'
Mr Gupta, 49, started his career at Citibank in India in 1982 but has spent the past two decades in South-east Asia and Hong Kong, including eight years in Singapore.
He was most recently Citi's CEO for South-east Asia-Pacific, covering all of its operations in Asean, Australia, New Zealand and Guam.
'The choice of someone with a lot of experience in South-east Asia might be telling us something about the focus of DBS' in the months ahead, Mr Ng said.
'Specifically focusing on South-east Asia is not a bad thing, if that's what the board is saying by its appointment.
'Malaysia has recently said it will further liberalise its financial sector, while Indonesia has said that potentially there are stakes in Indonesian banks for sale.'
Another analyst, who declined to be named, said big changes in strategy at DBS are unlikely.
'It looks like it will be a continuation of what Richard Stanley was trying to carry out - more focus on the consumer banking franchise, especially POSB. I don't think we're going to hear anything different from this new guy.'
Leng Seng Choon, an analyst at DMG & Partners Securities, said in a note that Mr Gupta's experience in South-east Asian markets will be 'a major asset' to DBS, though the potential benefit from his appointment 'will take time to flow through'.
'In the meantime, we continue to be concerned with DBS's asset quality, following its strong loan expansion over the past few years,' Mr Choon said.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
