INDONESIA - BANKING - Maybank Optimistic It Will Maintain Control of BII

www.thejakartaglobe.com - Kuala Lumpur. Malayan Banking is convinced that it will be able to keep its controlling stake in Bank Internasional Indonesia despite the recent change in bank ownership rules in Indonesia.

Maybank, which bought BII in 2008, owns 97.3 percent of Indonesia’s eighth-largest lender.

Last Tuesday, BII reported that it recorded a 61 percent increase in net income during the first half.

Three weeks ago, Indonesia’s central bank issued new rules limiting ownership in domestic banks at 40 percent. However, it said it would allow waivers if the owners were listed banks that maintained high levels of corporate governance and were in sound financial health. (source)

INDONESIA - REGULATIONS - Indonesia's new bank rules may not hit Maybank, CIMB

www.btimes.com.my - KUALA LUMPUR:Indonesia's central bank has issued new rules limiting single ownership in domestic banks at 40 per cent but allows exemptions that could let Malaysia's top two lenders hold on to their controlling stakes in banks there. Bank Indonesia, in a statement on Wednesday, said public-listed financial institutions will be allowed to keep their current ownership structures in Indonesian banks, provided they maintain high levels of corporate governance and financial health, including a tier-1 capital ratio of over six per cent.

From December 2013, those that see their corporate governance and financial health ratings fall to unacceptable levels for three consecutive reporting periods will have to sell their stakes down to the new limit.  (source)

INDONESIA - REGULATONS - Indonesia’s New Bank Ownership Rules Leave Door Open for DBS Deal

www.thejakartaglobe.com - Jakarta/Singapore. Indonesia’s central bank will cap single ownership of domestic banks at 40 percent under new rules but allow exemptions that could pave the way for DBS Group’s $7.2 billion bid for Bank Danamon to proceed.

The long-awaited regulation announced on Wednesday is aimed at preventing lenders in the fast-growing G20 country falling captive to single interests and ensuring a diverse shareholder base to hold management accountable.

But the rules, which come on the back of ownership restrictions on mining companies, have fueled concerns Indonesia is becoming tougher on foreign investment.(source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Maybank Granted Further Six Months Extension for Sell-Down of BII Shares

www.theindonesiatoday.com - KUALA LUMPUR, Indonesia Today - Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) has been granted a further extension of six months to fulfill the sell-down of Bank Internasional Indonesia (BNII) shares.
Maybank informed Bursa Malaysia Friday (July 6) that on 5 July 2012, the bank received an approval letter dated 29 June 2012 from Badan Pengawas Pasar Modal dan Lembaga Keuangan (Bapepam), wherein Bapepam has granted a further extension of time of six (6) months starting from the date of the Approval Letter for Maybank to fulfill the Sell-Down Requirement (source)

INDONESIA - REGULATIONS - Maybank, CIMB can breathe a sigh of relief

www.btimes.com.my - CLOSE CALL: Indonesia’s 40pc single ownership restriction to affect only new investors
IT looks like the country's top two banks, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group, can heave a sigh of relief as they won't be subject to Indonesia's proposed new rules on bank ownership.

Reuters reported late yesterday that the Indonesian central bank planned to limit single ownership in its banks to 40 per cent, but only for new investments.

"This new regulation will only hold for new initiatives, new investments... there will not be a retroactive regulation," Halim Alamsyah, the central bank deputy governor responsible for banking supervision, told analysts on a conference call, the news wire said. (source)

INDONESIA - REGULATIONS - Indonesia Bank Ownership Plans Seen Hitting DBS Buy

www.thejakartaglobe.com -Indonesia’s central bank on Thursday proposed capping single ownership in the country’s banks at 40 percent for new investment, a rule that would scupper a $7.3 billion bid by Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings for Bank Danamon.

Halim Alamsyah, the central bank deputy governor responsible for banking supervision, told analysts on a conference call that its proposal is for individuals or families to only own up to 30 percent of local lenders, while financial institutions would be able to own up to a maximum of 40 percent. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Indonesia ruling may hurt Malaysian banks' earnings

www.btimes.com.my - KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's top two banks could be dealt a bigger blow than expected if Indonesia limits the maximum stake a single shareholder can own in its banks to below 50 per cent, as news reports from Jakarta suggested. A Reuters report yesterday said Bank Indonesia was set to announce next month a reduction in the single-shareholder threshold from 99 per cent currently to a level below 50 per cent. It quoted unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the plan.

A Bisnis Indonesia report, also quoting sources, said the central bank planned to limit the ownership in banks to 40 per cent for financial institutions, 30 per cent for non-financial institutions and 20 per cent for individuals. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - DBS bid to take over Danamon in limbo

www.thejakartapost.com -A proposed change to Indonesia's bank ownership limits is threatening to dash DBS Group's bid to take over Bank Danamon.

Sources told Reuters that Indonesia's central bank is planning to limit the maximum stake a single shareholder can take in the country's banks to below 50 per cent, down from 99 per cent now.
This would likely scupper DBS' plan to buy a 67.4 per cent stake in Danamon from Temasek Holdings for $9.1 billion.
But some political observers are optimistic that the final policy change will not be so drastic, as senior Cabinet figures are concerned that foreign investors might be turned off by the move.  (source)

INDONESIA - REGULATONS - Indonesia Set to Cap Bank Owners’ Stakes: Sources

www.thejakartaglobe.com -  Singapore/Jakarta. Indonesia’s central bank is set to limit the maximum stake a single shareholder can take in the country’s banks to below 50 percent, a move that could scupper Singapore-based DBS Group’s $7.3 billion bid for Bank Danamon.

DBS’s acquisition plans were thrown into limbo late last month when the Indonesian central bank said it would not approve the deal until it had published a long-awaited set of rules on bank ownership. Bank Indonesia did not disclose details of the rules at the time. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank Islam remains interested in buying a stake in an Islamic bank in Indonesia

www.thestar.com.my - PETALING JAYA: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd is still keen on buying a stake in a Islamic financial institution in Indonesia, but is awaiting further clarification on the country's shareholding regulations for commercial banks.
BIMB Holdings Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Johan Abdullah said no decision has been made on potential Indonesian acquisitions for now.
“At this juncture, we are still exploring and collecting data,” he told reporters after the group's 15th AGM. (source)

INDONESIA - TAKAFUL - BIMB to potentially gain from Indonesian takaful market

www.theborneopost.com - KUCHING: BIMB Holdings Bhd (BIMB) could potentially see significant takaful contributions in the Indonesian takaful market its stake hold in PT Takaful Indonesia (PT Takaful).
However, pending the outcome of potential regulations by Indonesia’s central bank, the current contributions from the country’s takaful segment would not be significant for the time being.
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) director of Equity Markets (Research) Desmond Ch’ng told The Borneo Post that while there might be uncertainty surrounding BIMB’s 65 per cent owned Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd’s (STMB) shareholding in PT Takaful, he did not expect this to immediately affect Maybank IB’s earnings forecasts or valuations for BIMB. (full story)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank of Indonesia’s plans will hurt CIMB, Maybank

biz.thestar.co.my - Analyst says Indonesia’s moves to impose new shareholding caps will have negative impact
PETALING JAYA: All eyes are now on Malaysia's two biggest banks, CIMB Group Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), as speculation that Bank of Indonesia (BoI) plans to impose new caps on single-shareholder stakes in the country's commercial banks as early as this month has resurfaced.
The news that BoI was seeking to limit single-shareholder stakes for commercial banks was first reported in July last year.
Alliance Research analyst Cheah King Yoong viewed such a development to be potentially negative for CIMB and Maybank, given their majority stakes in their respective Indonesian banks.  (source)

INDONESIA BANKING - All BII divisions boost Maybank unit

www.thestar.com.my - JAKARTA: Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) Indonesian unit PT Bank Internasional Indonesia Tbk (BII) recorded a 78% increase in its net profit to 267 billion rupiah (RM87.95mil) for the first quarter ended March 31, due to strong loan growth, better performance of the bank’s core businesses, and improvement of the overall banking operations.
Maybank said in a statement yesterday that the decline in provision expenses due to improving asset quality also contributed to the stronger bottom line.
The bank also continued to book strong loan growth in the first quarter.  (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Maybank Islamic eyes region

www.thestar.com.my - THE buzz of activity at Maybank Islamic Bhd is a sign that's most welcome to its CEO Muzaffar Hisham. It is the largest Islamic bank in the country which had seen assets grow to US$23bil (RM70.32bil) at the end of last year and the hectic movement within the corridors of the bank is an indication of the momentum it has built.
Having built its position through the Islamic window at parent Malayan Banking Bhd's branches, Maybank Islamic is now looking to branch out its success formula into the region.
Looking at a wider regional perspective, Muzaffar says there are still pockets of opportunities for the bank to expand and grow its presence. 
“The key markets that we like to focus on are Singapore and Indonesia, and we saw that when we were able to grow our cross-border financing to Indonesia to US$500mil to US$600mil from basically nil after changes in the tax structure,” he says.  (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Maybank Islamic targets 15-18% growth

www.thesundaily.my - KOTA KINABALU (April 21, 2012): Maybank Islamic Bhd is targeting to grow its assets in the region of 15-18% this year, says chief executive officer Muzaffar Hisham.
He said the bank now enjoys growth in both the corporate and customer segments, although they are still cautiously optimistic about growth this year.
"This is the advantage of our business as the growth is coming from both sides. We have a target for our bottom line which has been reported, and we hope to touch a pre-tax profit of RM1 billion.
"However, we have three more quarters to go and I'm extremely cautious on the economy but we still want to grow, although we want to grow cautiously and responsibly," he told the media in conjunction with Permodalan Nasional Bhd's unit trust week here today. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Maybank says to delay stake sale in Indonesia's BII

www.reuters.com - (Reuters) - Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) will delay the sale of a 10.7 percent stake in PT Bank Internasional Indonesia because of weak investor interest, the companies said on Thursday.
Maybank, Malaysia's biggest lender by assets, said in January it had appointed UBS to handle the sale of the stake in BII. It is required by the Indonesian capital market regulator to reduce its stake to 80 percent from 97 percent currently. (source)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - Maybank Islamic unveils card for the affluent

www.btimes.com.my - KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank Islamic Bhd has unveiled Maybank Islamic Ikhwan Visa Infinite, a card that it claims offers the best one-for-one privileges from flight tickets, dining to golf.

The card, launched at the World Halal Research Summit last week, is for the affluent market of 35-years-old and above with an income of RM240,000 a year.

Maybank Islamic chief executive officer Muzaffar Hisham said the launch is in line with the bank's commitment to empower card members with its suite of privileges that extend from luxury travel to fine dining. (source)

PHILIPPINES - BANKING - Maybank may be bidding for Philippines’ Islamic bank

biz.thestar.com - PETALING JAYA: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) said it is keeping its options open in bidding for Al Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, the country’s only Islam-oriented commercial bank, a Philippine’s based newspaper reported.

Al Amanah Islamic Bank is looking for a strategic partner through the sale of a 49% stake or the entire bank to a foreign entity with expertise in Islamic banks.

Maybank told the Philippine’s based newspaper that it wanted to expand further in the Asean region while strengthening its hold in the Asia-Pacific region. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Indonesian Politicians Criticize Bank Danamon Takeover Bid

www.thejakartaglobe.com - Lawmakers from two of Indonesia’s most powerful political parties voiced opposition on Tuesday to a bid by Singapore’s DBS Group to takeover local lender Bank Danamon, and said they wanted to bar heavy foreign ownership of local banks.

But they signaled they may not be able to stop the $7.2 billion deal that would be the largest ever foreign takeover in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, at least for now.

Local investors and bankers in Jakarta also told Reuters they would lobby against the bid by DBS, even though there seemed to be no regulatory obstacles. Several complained Indonesian banks were not given a level playing field overseas. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Maybank turns in record performance

www.btimes.com.my - Top lender Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) posted a 20 per cent
increase in net profit for the last financial year comprising just six months and announced a better-than-expected final dividend.
 
It was a shorter financial year as the group changed its year-end to December 31 from June 30. (source)