Malaysia's Maybank Q1 profit beats expectations

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Malaysia's biggest lender Malayan Banking (Maybank) said on Thursday its first-quarter net profit rose more than half as the rebound in Asian economies boosted fee-based income and its loan book.

Maybank, with a market value of $14 billion, posted July-September net profit of 881.8 million ringgit ($260.6 million) compared with 572.2 million ringgit a year ago.

The earnings were higher than the average forecast of 720 million ringgit by four analysts surveyed by Reuters.

The lender, 65 percent owned by government-controlled agencies, has launched an ambitious restructuring plan this year to win a place among the top five banks in Southeast Asia following a series of expensive acquisitions in 2008.

Maybank shares have gained 50 percent this year, outperforming the 46 percent rise in the broader market index , but lagging the more than 100 percent gain by Malaysia's top deal maker CIMB.

(Reporting by Soo Ai Peng; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Niluksi Koswanage)

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