Malayan Banking (Maybank), the country's biggest lender, will seek opportunities in Southeast Asia and China as part of its regional expansion plan ahead of financial liberalisation in a few years, a report said today.

Maybank will look for new opportunities to acquire banks in the region after failing in its bid for control of Indonesia's PT Bank Permata, chief executive Amirsham Aziz said in the New Straits Times .

"Our radar screen is very much in the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region and China ," he said.

"It's a question of the right bank at the right price. In terms of capital, we are strong and are in the position to acquire."

Maybank already has a branch operating in Indonesia and would consider acquiring banks in the country when opportunities arise, he added.

Maybank teamed up with cash-rich state investment arm Khazanah Nasional and an Indonesian partner to bid for a 51 percent stake in Indonesia's seventh largest bank but lost out to Standard Chartered Bank and its partner automotive distributor Astra Int. The Permata stake was worth 2.77 trillion rupiah (US$305 million).