Malaysia’s largest lender by assets Maybank Group is interested to bid for the entire 47.58 percent stake in Siam City Bank Plc from the Bank of Thailand’s rescue arm Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), a news source involved in the matter reported.

He said SCIB’s financial advisor Tisco Securities Plc is in the process of share price valuation for the country’s seventh largest bank and possible deal could be announced as soon as the second quarter of 2010.

SCIB has said four or five investors were interested in bidding for the stake.

The news source said Thailand’s Thanachart Bank, whose 49 percent owned by Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia, remains the most potential bidder for the bank.

Thanachart has collectively bought up to 20 percent stake in SCIB from individual investors.

Thanachart announced in October it would raise capital to help fund the bidding.

Shares of SCIB went up 2.06 percent at 24.80 baht on Tuesday, hitting a near-five-week- high of 25.25 baht after a newspaper report of Malaysia’s Maybank’s move.