INDONESIA - FOREIGN - Affin up on Bank Muamalat Malaysia stake buy talks

www.btimes.com.my -KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Holdings Bhd, Malaysia’s smallest banking group by market value, rallied the most in a month after obtaining central bank approval to start talks to buy a stake in the country’s second-oldest Islamic bank.

The stock advanced as much as 2.3 per cent in Kuala Lumpur trading to RM3.56. It pared gains to RM3.54 at 11:50am, poised for its steepest increase since July 18. It was the second-biggest increase in the Bursa Malaysia Finance Index, which climbed 0.3 per cent.

Acquiring a stake in Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd may increase Affin’s scale and help strengthen its position in the Southeast Asian nation’s Islamic banking industry, according to a brokerage report by Alliance Financial Group Bhd today. Bank Muamalat was formed in 1999, the second full-fledged Islamic bank set up in the country after Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd.  (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 - 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 - BANKING - Bank Mestika Acquisition Pending, RHB Capital Rights Issue Lapsed

www.theindonesiatoday.com - KUALA LUMPUR, Indonesia Today - RHB Capital Berhad plans to resubmit an application for rights issue upon obtaining the necessary approvals for the acquisition of Bank Mestika Dharma. RHB Capital Berhad informed Bursa Malaysia Thursday (April 19) that the approval from Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad for the extension of time of up to 19 April 2012 to complete the implementation of the Rights Issue has lapsed. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - RHB buyers can enjoy Islamic banking profits (Bank Mestika Dharma)

www.btimes.com.my -

Potential buyers of Malaysia’s RHB Capital Bhd can grab an increasing share of the biggest market for Islamic bonds at a 24 per cent discount to the bank’s rivals.

RHB, whose Islamic banking profits rose ten times faster than total earnings last year, will become Malaysia’s largest stock broker after its acquisition of OSK Investment Bank Bhd, according to data compiled by Malaysia’s stock exchange.  (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - RHB Bank-Mestika Deal Extended Further to June 2012

www.theindonesiatoday.com - KUALA LUMPUR, Indonesia Today - RHB Bank Berhad and PT Mestika Benua Mas agreed to extend the period to satisfy or waive the conditions precedent of the acquisition of Bank Mestika Dharma to June 30, 2012.

Both parties had earlier agreed to further extend the period to satisfy or waive the conditions precedent of the conditional sale and purchase agreement of Bank Mestika Dharma from December 2011 to February 29, 2012. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Indonesia drops plan to lower foreign ownership in banks

www.thesundaily.my - PETALING JAYA (Feb 15, 2012): Malaysian banks with stakes in Indonesian financial institutions no longer need to sell down their holdings as Indonesia is reportedly not going ahead with a plan to limit ownership.

According to a Reuters report yesterday, Indonesia's state deposit agency (LPS) said the country will not implement a planned regulation to limit ownership in domestic banks because it does not want to scare away potential foreign investors from the sale of state-owned Bank Mutiara.  (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Jakarta stake cap will affect Malaysian banks

KUALA LUMPUR: A possible move by the Indonesian central bank to cap foreign ownership in banks would affect CIMB Group Holdings Bhd more than Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), says an ECM Libra Investment Research analyst yesterday.

 

Current rules in Indonesia make it possible for foreigners to hold up to a 99.9 per cent stake in banks. Those rules, however, are being reviewed. (source)