KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesia's conventional bank PT Bank Ina Perdana, which is being acquired by Affin Holdings Bhd , will be converted into an Islamic bank - a process that will likely take two years.Affin Islamic Bank chief executive officer (CEO) Kamarul Ariffin said the conversion of all 25 branches of the medium-sized Indonesian bank will be done "slowly". (full story)
He added that the conversion will not be costly for Affin Holdings, which has estimated to spend RM138 million on its acquisition of PT Bank Ina Perdana.
Kamarul told reporters after Affin's annual general meeting here yesterday that with the acquisition in its final stage, the focus for the next two years will be on the conversion.
"And then we will start looking at other opportunities in Indonesia," he said.
Affin got its nod for the acquisition from Bank Negara Malaysia last December and is awaiting approval from the Indonesian authorities, which it expects to obtain by the second half of this year.
The acquisition will give Affin Bank a direct shareholding of 80 per cent in the little-known Indonesian bank.
Kamarul said the medium-sized bank, which has an asset size of between RM500 million and RM600 million, is strong in retail banking.
Earlier at a press conference, Affin Holdings deputy chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, when asked for his views on consolidation among local banks, said even if there is no merger opportunity on its plate, Affin Bank will continue to be relevant.
"If we can achieve our loans and deposits growth of between 15 and 18 per cent this year, we can still be relevant and we will still be able to grow. (And) we are not really looking at merging now."
He added that the group's loan growth last year was respectable, customers' deposit base was good and its non-performing loans remained reasonable.
"If we do not get the opportunity to merge with another, we will continue to grow our business," he said, adding that the bank will add two more branches this year.
This year, the group aims to meet its 1.1 per cent return on assets target from 1 per cent last year.
For 2010, the group made a 28.2 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to RM637.5 million, with a bulk of that or RM521.9 million contributed by Affin Bank.
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