KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): Shares in Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) rose 2.31% in active trade this morning after its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaini Othman last week said the proposed acquisition of Asian Finance Bank Bhd (AFB) by MBSB is "looking good".

At 10.32am, MBSB rose 3 sen to RM1.33 with 13.55 million shares traded.

Ahmad Zaini said the merger is likely to happen this time around.

"So far, we are talking. Nobody is backing out. From the discussion, it looks like they are still interested," he told reporters after MBSB's annual general meeting.

MBSB has completed due diligence on the proposed merger, he added. Bank Negara Malaysia has given until June 21 for the two parties to complete the negotiations.