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)

MALAYSIA - BANKING - CIMB takes aim at Goldman, JPMorgan

www.btimes.com.my - CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Southeast Asia’s top-ranked investment bank over the past three years, is taking aim at a bigger market following its acquisition of some of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s operations in Asia.

The Malaysian company can now compete with rivals including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co for Asia- Pacific deals, Chief Executive Officer Nazir Razak said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. CIMB agreed in April to buy most of Edinburgh-based RBS’s investment banking and cash equities businesses in the region for US$142 million.

The acquisition, which initially seemed to be an “audacious” idea, will complete the bank’s operations and help CIMB boost market capitalization to more than RM100 billion (US$31 billion) by 2015, Nazir said. That’s about 75 percent more than its current value. The Kuala Lumpur-based lender also targets becoming one of the top three Southeast Asian banks by assets and return on equity.  (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 - BANKING - Islamic Commercial Banking in Indonesia and Malaysia

www.livetradingnews.com - CIMB Islamic, HSBC Amanah and OCBC Al-Amin said the biggest challenge to the growth of Islamic commercial banking is a lack of awareness and the need to explain the advantages of Shariah-compliant financing from an economic perspective.
Islamic trade financing isn’t competitive, Mohamad Nedal, former secretary-general of the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions in Bahrain, said in an interview last year.
“Having a multinational corporation convert to Islamic financing would need a majority of management to believe in Islam,” said Fares Mourad, head of Islamic finance at Bank Sarasin & CIE, the Swiss wealth manager controlled by Rabobank Groep, said. (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)

WORLD - FINANCE - Give Islamic benchmark rate a chance: Bankers

The launching of the Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate (IIBR) by Thomson Reuters in Bahrain last week is the latest manifestation of how the technical architecture of the global Islamic financial industry is maturing. To many the pace of maturity remains frustratingly slow, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, while Asia is galloping ahead, which has resulted in a lob-sided West Asia and East Asia fault line. (source)

THAILAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Thai Islamic Bank Seeks Tax Clarification Before Baht Sukuk Sale

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Islamic Bank of Thailand is awaiting clarification from government regulators on tax breaks for Shariah-compliant bonds before proceeding with the country’s first sale of baht-denominated sukuk.

“We need to know if the tax exemptions cover both land and properties,” Dheerasak Suwannayos, president of the state-owned Islamic Bank, said in an interview today in Bangkok. “We have been told by the Securities Exchange Commission that they will get back to us in a month.” (source)

MALAYSIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - IFR-Khazanah readies yuan-denominated sukuk

(The following story was in IFR Asia magazine, a Thomson Reuters publication, on Sept. 17.)

By Nethelie Wong

HONG KONG, Sept 17 (IFR) - Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional is set to make history through a small, but path-setting sukuk in the offshore renminbi market. Last week, the government investment arm mandated BOC International, CIMB Bank and RBS to lead the first-ever Islamic financing in Hong Kong's booming Dim Sum market. (source)

INDONESIA - CAPITAL MARKETS - Indonesia Has Short-Listed Banks for Possible Global Sukuk Issuance

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian government has short-listed four banks as possible arrangers for a global sukuk issuance planned for later this year, bankers said Thursday. Two bankers told Dow Jones Newswires the four banks are CIMB, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citigroup.
The latest development marks further steps taken by the government to tap the offshore Islamic bond market after it decided in June to delay the planned issuance to around September or October from an initial plan of July as it was still seeking approval from parliament on the assets it could use to back up such bonds.
Finance Minister Agus Martowarodjo said in April the government would seek to raise up to $1 billion from a global sukuk issuance in the second half of 2011. (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Limbo in Indonesia (Affin breaking up Ina Perdana deal)

KUALA LUMPUR: The brewing uncertainty over changes to the rules governing Indonesia’s bank ownership limits has claimed its first casualty. Affin Holdings Bhd announced yesterday it has shelved plans to acquire a controlling stake in one of Indonesia’s smallest banks, PT Bank Ina Perdana (Bank Ina). (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)

BANKING - CIMB Niaga Distributes Rp 38 T Commercial Loans

CIMB Niaga signed an e-chain financing cooperation with Galva Group valued at US$ 16 million. (IFT/STANLIE) JAKARTA (IFT) - Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (BNGA) posted an outstanding commercial loan of Rp 37 trillion - 38 trillion. This is 35 percent of the bank's total loans which is comprised of corporate loans (32 percent), retail loans (31 percent) and Islamic finance (2 percent).  The high growth of commercial loans is mainly due to the high demand for working capital, said Handoyo Soebali, Commercial Banking Director of CIMB Niaga.(full story)

SINGAPORE - Islamic finance has strong growth potential in S'pore

SINGAPORE : With a supportive regulatory and tax framework, it is only a matter of time before Singapore becomes a major player in Islamic finance, according to experts.

Industry watchers said Singapore also stands to gain from its proximity to large Muslim populations in its neighbourhood.

They said sukuk, or Islamic bonds, and Syariah-compliant real estate investment trusts are two products that have strong growth potential in Singapore. (full story)

BANKING - CIMB Islamic Appoints Achmad Independent Non-Executive Director

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd has appointed Achmad Riawan Amin as independent non-executive director effective Oct 6.

In a statement here Wednesday, CIMB Group chief executive, Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, said the appointment of Achmad, an Indonesian, underscored the critical importance of Indonesia to the group's Islamic banking business.

FINANCE - Malaysian bankers push for Islamic finance to guide banking reforms

LONDON, Oct 8 — The push for reforms to the global financial sector after the recent crisis would gain from studying the principles of Islamic finance, according to leading bankers from Malaysia, the premier hub for this sector.

CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak (picture) and Bank Muamalat chairman Tan Sri Munir Majid spearheaded a panel discussion on Islamic banking at the World Muslim Leadership Forum that detailed how the principles of strict collateral, profit and risk-sharing and real economic activity that underpin Islamic financial transactions would help to bring in the required ethics and into conventional financing where sub-prime financing was seen as a leading cause of the global collapse of the last three years.

SUKUK - Opinion - Sukuk Edged Out Again by Emerging Debt in August

Soraya Permatasari Khalid Qayum

New York. Islamic bonds lost to emerging-market debt for the fourth-straight month in August and fund managers say returns wont catch up until trading increases and Persian Gulf companies restructure their debt.

Shariah-compliant notes rose 1.4 percent last month, down from 2.6 percent in July, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index. They have underperformed emerging-market bonds for the longest stretch since JutyOWrBebt in developing nations climbed 2.4 percent, add ing to the 4.1 percent return in the prior month, JPMorgan Chase said.

BANKING - Time to buy Asia resources stocks-sharia fund manager

(Reuters) - Shares of resource companies in Asia and Latin America offer good buying opportunities for Islamic investors seeking to profit from emerging market growth, a sharia asset manager said on Monday.