Deliberations are in very early stages, however, the sources said, and any formal negotiations for an acquisition of a stake in a Malaysian bank would need approval from the Malaysian central bank, or Bank Negara Malaysia. "We do not comment on market rumors and speculation," said a spokesperson for DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest lender by assets. Alliance Bank, the second smallest listed bank in Malaysia by total assets, and Bank Negara Malaysia did not respond to requests for comment after business hours on Friday. DBS is the only Singaporean bank without a retail banking presence in Malaysia. Local rivals Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and United Overseas Bank both have retail banking operations in Malaysia.

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Persons: Piyush, Gupta, Tan Su Shan, Anwar Ibrahim Organizations: DBS Group Holdings, DBS, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, Kuwait Finance House's, Bank Negara Malaysia, Temasek, Alliance Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Local, Oversea, Chinese Banking Corporation, United Overseas Bank, Gupta, Malaysian Locations: Malaysia, Singapore, Temasek, Kuwait, Malaysian, Bank, China, India, Indonesia, Taiwan