After resigning from the PMO in 2004, Khairy joined a merchant bank, ECM Libra. In 2005, one year after Abdullah became prime minister, Khairy helped in the merger between ECM Libra Capital Bhd and the Malaysian government-owned Avenue Capital Resources Bhd. A year later in 2006, the three founding members of ECM Libra – Lim Kian Onn, Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan, and David Chua – announced that they were each selling 1% of the company shares they owned to Khairy. The deal was transacted at 71 cents per share for a total of approximately US$2.6 million where Khairy was able to finance it through a soft loan from the founders.