Malayan Banking (Maybank) CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias has said the group sees opportunities to expand its business in the Philippines. The bank had in May sold its operations in Papua New Guinea for RM418mil following a strategic review of its operations. Farid said investments in the Asean region was expected to grow positively despite the current global headwinds. In 2014, the Asean region has attracted some US$136bil in foreign direct investments, with around 20% coming from intra-Asean investment. Maybank, he said, saw opportunities in the Philippines’ large demographic dividends that would push growth higher for several decades. The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economics in Asia with average growth domestic product growth sustained at about 6% for the last five years.