Mumbai: Malayan Banking (Maybank), Malaysia's largest lender, is weighing plans to acquire a strategic stake in Pakistan's MCB Bank, media reports said.

Maybank is interested in buying a stake of 10 to 20 per cent in MCB, the Edge weekly said, citing unidentified sources.

MCB, the largest bank in Pakistan, ranks among the world's most profitable banks.

Its strong performance amidst five years of financial reform, economic growth and rising incomes, has attracted global and regional banks, including Britain's Standard Chartered, Dutch ABN AMRO, Singapore state investor Temasek and Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group 1090.SE.

MCB reported a 26 per cent rise in 2007 net profit in February, fuelled by an aggressive consumer finance.

Pakistan's banking sector has more than doubled in total assets over the past five years to 4,884 rupees ($78 billion), central bank data show.

Maybank last week had agreed to buy Indonesia's sixth-largest bank, PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII), for a steep 4.6 times its book value.