MALAYSIA - BANKING - Maybank IB downgrades BIMB to 'sell'

www.btimes.com.my -Maybank IB Research has downgraded BIMB Holdings Bhd to "sell" from "buy"’ as it sees the recent run-up in the Islamic financial institution’s share price as excessive.

“Much as we continue to view Bank Islam’s and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd’s (BIMB’s units) prospects positively, the recent run-up in BIMB’s share price is cause to pause and take stock,” the research house said in a note on Monday. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank Islam mulling acquisition of Indonesia's Bank Muamalat

www.thestar.com.my -KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia's Bank Islam, the country's second largest sharia bank is still exploring plans for a potential acquisition of a stake in PT Bank Muamalat in Indonesia, said its group managing director and CEO Johan Abdullah.
"We are still collecting data and nothing is concrete yet. We like Indonesia because the market is robust and the infrastructure is readily available for us to go in there," he told reporters after BIMB's AGM on Tuesday.
Johan also said BIMB is looking at an option of listing Bank Islam as part of its aim to unlock the value of its assets. (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 - CAPITAL MARKETS - Indonesia's Bank Muamalat to issue 1.5 tln rupiah corporate sukuk

www.reuters.com - JAKARTA, April 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia's first Islamic bank, PT Bank Muamalat, is planning to issue 1.5 trillion indonesian rupiah ($164 million) of corporate sukuk to expand business and credit financing, the firm's director said on Thursday.

Bank Muamalat director Adrian Gunadi said 800 billion rupiah will be issued as the first tranche in mid 2012, with a 10-year tenure and buyback option on the fifth year. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank Islam sees less robust profit growth this year - Bank Muamalat rumors

www.thestar.com.my - KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd expects its pre-tax profit for the financal year ending Dec 31, 2012 (FY12) to be less robust than last year due to the current global economic slowdown.

Managing director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said this year would be a challenging year for the group because of the external situation but stressed that it was still optimistic to achieved some growth in pre-tax profit.

“We do not think we can achieve the 36% pre-tax profit growth recorded in FY11 for this year financial calendar (FY12),” he told reporters after a signing ceremony for the Corporate Integrity Pledge (CIP) by the bank yesterday. (source)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - Bank Islam may assume BIMB listing status - rumored to look Bank Muamalat

www.btimes.com.my - BIMB have been discussing the pros and cons of such a move. They may want to simplify the BIMB group structure, one source says.

Kuala Lumpur: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, the country’s oldest Islamic lender, may assume the listing status of its parent company BIMB Holdings Bhd, sources said.

BIMB owns 51 per cent of Bank Islam, from which it derives the bulk of its earnings. “BIMB have been discussing the pros and cons of such a move. They may want to simplify the BIMB group structure,” one of the sources told Business Times. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - AmBank Issues Six New Call Warrants - Subsidiary Bank Islam looking for Bank Muamalat

www.4-traders.com - AmBank (M) Berhad ("AmBank") is issuing six new European style cash-settled structured warrants to meet investor demand for investment alternatives and trading opportunities. For AmBank's upcoming issuance, there will be six call warrants ("CW") over the ordinary shares of BIMB Holdings Berhad ("BIMB"), Eastern & Oriental Berhad ("E&O"), MMC Corporation Berhad ("MMCCORP"), Petronas Dagangan Berhad ("PETDAG"), Time Dotcom Berhad ("TIMECOM") and UOA Development Berhad ("UOADEV"). The structured warrants will have tenures of approximately eight months each and will be listed on 22 February 2012 with issue size of up to 100 million each. All six structured warrants will be listed via the market making method. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - BI Yet to Receive Official Statement on Bank Muamalat Acquisition

www.indonesiatoday.com - JAKARTA (IFT) – Bank Indonesia has yet to receive any official statement from Bank Islam of Malaysia. It would like to see if the investor is serious about being a shareholder of Bank Muamalat. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Report Not Accept Bank Bank Malaysia Plan Buy Shares of Bank Muamalat

WWW.REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) has not received reports related to the intention of Bank Islam Malaysia to buy a stake in Bank Muamalat. "No, there has been no report about it (purchases of shares of Bank Muamalat)," said Director of the Directorate of Islamic Banking BI, Mulya Effendi Siregar, Friday (17/2).

However, mention of foreign ownership arrangements, Mulya argue there are no rules. That means, foreign ownership in local banks have not been restricted. BI also does not limit the buyer's Islamic banks have to come from Islamic banks. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Indonesia’s withdrawal of ownership ruling to benefit M’sian banks

www.thestar.com.my - PETALING JAYA: The move by Indonesia to drop a controversial policy that would limit ownership of its banks is good news for Malaysian banking groups with a position there, but the market's reaction has been muted.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, who stand to lose if Indonesia went ahead with the ruling, were unchanged at the close yesterday. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank Islam eyes stake in Indonesian bank

www.bttimes.com.my - Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, the country’s oldest Islamic bank, is in early talks to buy a stake in PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia, sources said.

Bank Muamalat is Indonesia’s second largest Islamic lender.  “The size of the stake could be slightly below the mandatory general offer trigger level (of 33 per cent)... it ultimately depends on Bank Muamalat’s shareholders,” one of the sources told Business Times. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank Islam Eyes Expansion In Indonesia, Bangladesh

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 (Bernama) - Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd is eyeing opportunities for expansion in Indonesia and Bangladesh, which have sizeable Muslim populations and adequate Islamic banking regulatory policy and supporting infrastructure in place to facilitate Shariah-based financing and banking operations.

Managing Director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said that as mergers and acquisitions are on Bank Islam's agenda for inorganic growth and corporate expansion, the bank is on the lookout for suitable candidates but has not initiated any discussions on mergers or acquisitions. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Bank Islam (Malaysia) To Expand To Indonesia, Bangladesh

PASIR PUTEH, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd plans to expand its operations overseas especially to countries where there is a majority of Muslims.

Its Managing Director, Datuk Seri Zukri Samat, said the bank was keen to invest in Indonesia as the potential for the bank there was especially high considering that while Muslims formed the majority of its 240 million population, the number of them using Islamic based banks amounted to only three per cent. (source)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - Alkhair (ex UNICORN) eyes Malaysian bank

The Bahrain-based lender, Alkhair International Islamic Bank Bhd, is looking for a small, boutique bank 

 

Kuala Lumpur: Alkhair International Islamic Bank Bhd, formerly known as Unicorn International Islamic Bank Bhd, is seeking Bank Negara Malaysia approval to start talks to buy a local bank. (source)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - Bank Islam eyes 100,000 depositors for Al-Awfar Junior Account-i Read more: Bank Islam eyes 100,000 depositors for Al-Awfar Junior Account-i

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd expects to attract 100,000 depositors and deposits of RM50 million within the first year of the launch of Al-Awfar Junior Savings Account-i for young customers. 

Its general manager for consumer banking, Khairul Kamarudin, said consumer banking business contributed 70 per cent to the group's assets. "With the launch of this new product, the bank expects a minimum growth of 15 per cent in its assets from RM9.2 billion last year," he said at the launch of the product here today. He said Al-Awfar Junior would allow the bank to further expand its customer base to include the younger generation. "With the introduction of the Al-Awfar Junior Savings Account-i, Bank Islam has taken a big step towards enhancing its position as the leader in the Islamic banking industry and ensuring that syariah-based financial products and services are available at every level," he said. (source)

MALAYSIA - 'Islamic banks in Malaysia should start merging'

KUALA LUMPUR: Islamic banks in Malaysia should start merging to form stronger entities, says the chief of Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, the country's oldest Islamic lender.

 

There are currently 16 Islamic banks in the country, of which 10 are local, the largest being Maybank Islamic Bank Bhd.

Maybank Islamic, with an asset size of RM59.6 bil lion, is also the region's biggest. Bank Islam has some RM31 billion in assets. (source)

OPINION - MALAYSIA - Where is Malaysia's mega Islamic bank?

Industry executives agree in private that there are too many Islamic banks in Malaysia with a population of 27 million. This means that local Islamic banks, ideally, can merge and become bigger entities that can grow across borders.

 

IT LOOKS like we probably have to wait a little bit longer to find out who will win the two licences to set up mega Islamic banks in Malaysia. With a requirement of at least US$1 billion (RM3 billion) in capital, the announcement has been delayed since last year.

The two are set to be foreign-owned. News reports have talked about Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group's plan to head a group that will launch a US$10 billion (RM30 billion) Islamic bank.(full story)

BANKING - Bank Islam gives up on Muamalat

Sources say Bank Islam decided not to bid for a controlling stake in the Indonesian lender because it was looking too pricey.


Kuala Lumpur: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (5258) has, after two years, given up its pursuit of Indonesia's oldest Islamic lender PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia. (source)

BANKING - Bank Muamalat Targets $1.7 Billion Remittance Transaction

Theindonesiatoday.com - Bank Muamalat Indonesia, the country’s oldest Shariah-compliant lender, in cooperation with Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, targets to absorb remittance transaction of up to US$1.7 billion, kontan.co.id reported yesterday (March 6).

Arviyan Arifin, Bank Muamalat's director, said of total 2 million Indonesian workers living in Malaysia, the bank targets 10% or around 200,000 customers.

Bank Muamalat yesterday signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (Bank Islam) for developing remittance business along with the increasing number of Indonesian workers seeking jobs in Malaysia. (source)

BANKING - Bank Islam keen on Bangladesh market (Bank Muamalat)

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, the country's oldest Islamic lender, is likely to buy a stake in a bank in Bangladesh this year with a partner from the South Asian nation, sources said. 
 
The lender, which may be the first from Malaysia to enter that market, is said to be keen to tap the Islamic banking potential in the Muslim-majority state. (source)