KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Maybank's decision to acquire a controlling stake in PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII) was made before the global economic downturn, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

Therefore, he said, it was too late for Maybank to back out of the acquisition.

Asked if the move was a good idea considering the current state of the global economy, the deputy prime minister and finance minister said the decision was a commercial one which was up to Maybank to decide on without government intervention.

Najib, however, insisted that the move was still a good one for the country.

"It (Maybank) will own the fifth largest Indonesian bank and become a regional bank," he said at the cabinet's open house at the Putra World Trade Centre on Wednesday.

Maybank shelled out RM4.26 billion for a 55.6 per cent stake in BII on Tuesday.

It was given a RM759 million rebate after the original price was deemed too high given the current economic scenario.

The initial price was more than four times the book value of the bank, resulting in several parties demanding that a new deal, at two to three times the book value, be hammered out.

Maybank stood to forfeit its RM480 million deposit from the original tender if it pulled out of the deal.