INDONESIA - TAKAFUL - Great Eastern looks east

Great Eastern Takaful, one of Malaysia’s top Islamic insurers, has announced that it will be expanding its presence across the Indonesian border in 2012.

GE Takaful hopes that by moving into the nascent Islamic insurance market in the world’s most populous Muslim state that it will rapidly assume a top three market position.  (source)

INDONESIA - TAKAFUL - Great Eastern Takaful eyes top 3 spot in Indonesia

thesundaily.com.my - KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 28, 2011): Great Eastern Takaful Sdn Bhd (GE Takaful) has unveiled a plan to become one of Indonesia's top three takaful players in three to five years, by introducing affordable takaful plans and leveraging on its bancatakaful distribution partnership with Bank OCBC NISP there.

Its CEO Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad said the company will venture into the republic next year, initially in Java and Sumatera. It will then enter other areas such as Kalimantan and Sulawesi.  (source)

SINGAPORE - BANKING - OCBC earns S$577m net profit in Q2 - Hesitant about Indonesia

SINGAPORE - Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), Singapore's second-largest lender by assets, yesterday reported a smaller-than-expected net profit increase of 15 per cent from the corresponding period a year earlier to S$577 million, as the continued growth in its loans business offset pressure on mortgage margins. (source)

INDONESIA - FINANCE - OCBC NISP mortgage performance exceeds Rp 74 m

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Credit OCBC NISP home ownership the Sharia show significant growth. Since its official launch late 2010, the sector that dominated the whole Islamic finance business unit (UUS) is PT Bank OCBC NISP, reached Rp 74 billion.

According to the Head of Syariah Business, Syariah Business Unit OCBC NISP, Koko T Rachmadi, contract strategy is different from most Islamic products into one keungulan. "We use musharaka mutanaqisas, so it is more fair," he said when met Reuters on Wednesday (20 / 7). (source)

BANKING - StanChart, Qatar Islamic to bid for Indonesia's Muamalat

A Standard Chartered Plc affiliate, Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. are among bidders for a controlling stake in PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia, the country’s oldest Islamic bank, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Shareholders of Bank Muamalat plan to sell more than 50 per cent of the lender in a deal that may value it at as much as $600 million, one of the people said, declining to be identified because the talks are private. Second-round bids are due in mid- June, the people said. PT Bank Permata, an Indonesian lender 45 per cent owned by Standard Chartered, is bidding for the stake, one person said. (full story - alrroya)