KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Maybank has bought American Express' (Amex) entire charge card business in the country for 80 million ringett to consolidate its position as this southeast Asian nation's top lender.
With the purchase, Maybank now is Malaysia's top credit and charge card issuer commanding a quarter of the market share, roping 1.3 million card members and upto 45,000 merchants, a media report said.
''The credit card and charge card businesses are expected to register a growth of upto 20 percent in the next year, '' Maybank president Amirsham Aziz said.
Amex will, however, continue to operate its other businesses in Malaysia, including travel service network, travellers cheques and global network services, the Business Times said.
Kuala Lumpur will remain the base for Amex global service centre which provides card and merchant services to Amex global offices in ten countries.
