By Jessica Cheam

OCBC Bank has extended its scrip dividend scheme to allow Malaysia-based shareholders to take part.

The scheme, which lets shareholders receive dividend payouts in the form of new shares or cash, had previously been available only to investors with local addresses.

The bank will now allow investors with Malaysia-registered addresses to subscribe to its interim dividend of 14 cents per share announced earlier this month as part of its second-quarter results.

'Based on our understanding, this is the first time that a Singapore-listed company is making available the scrip dividend option to shareholders with registered addresses in Malaysia without requiring them to provide a Singapore address,' said OCBC in a statement.

Shareholders without local addresses have complained in the past about being excluded from similar schemes because the application form could not be mailed to them.

According to the bank's latest annual report, there are about 62,000 shareholders of the ordinary shares.

OCBC said that many Malaysia-based shareholders have already provided registered addresses in Singapore, but there are about 4,000 shareholders who have registered addresses only in Malaysia.

The bank's stock was popular with investors on both sides of the Causeway when the firm listed on the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore.

The bourse split up in 1973 with the Singapore and the Kuala Lumpur exchanges going their separate ways, leaving Malaysia-based shareholders to use addresses of contacts in Singapore to participate in schemes such as rights issues.

OCBC said yesterday that the new development was made possible by 'regular review of the process...to make the scheme available to a broader shareholder base'.

Eligible shareholders will be contacted around Sept 16.

Other foreign shareholders with overseas addresses outside Singapore and Malaysia will still have to provide a local address if they want to participate in the scheme.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.