THAILAND - BANKING - Islamic Bank seeks another soft loan for flood victims.

www.nationmultimedia.com - Islamic Bank of Thailand has asked the central bank to provide it with an additional Bt800 million in soft loans for re-lending to flood victims, president Thirasak Suwanayos said yesterday.
The bank also plans to lend more to support those wanting to do business in Asean.
Flood victims have already applied for loans worth Bt800 million, which is the amount previously made available to the bank under the flood-recovery scheme, he said.
His institution therefore intends asking for another Bt800 million from the Bank of Thailand because of high demand. Borrowers pay a fee of only 3 per cent annually to Islamic Bank for flood-related loans, he said.
The bank also plans to provide more loans to Thai enterprises wanting to do business in the region under the Asean Economic Community, which comes into effect in 2015.  (source)

THAILAND - BANKING - IBank Thailand sets sights on halal export loans

www.bangkokpost.com -The Islamic Bank of Thailand (IBank) plans to increase its focus on halal food exports, with a target of 3 billion baht in loans for the industry this year, says bank president Dheerasak Suwannayos.
The target is a 50% increase from last year, he said. IBank expects to extend 20 billion baht in credit to all sectors this year.
Mr Dheerasak said of Asean's 601 million people, Muslims account for 260 million.
The planned market integration called the Asean Economic Community in 2015 will result in new business opportunities for the Thai halal food industry across the region, he said.  (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)

THAILAND - OPINION - Closing the gap: the next big step for Islamic banking

www.nationmultimedia.com - Fifteen years ago, Muslims wishing to take out a mortgage, use a credit card or deposit money into a current account would have been hard pushed to do so and stay compliant with Shariah law.
With few Islamic banks around - and a limited range of Shariah products - banking as a Muslim invariably involved compromising either your faith or your financial needs.
Today, in many markets, such compromise is no longer necessary. Islamic banking is becoming a part of the mainstream, widely available across financial products and geographies. In 2012, Islamic banking assets are expected to reach US$1.1 trillion (Bt34.7 trillion) globally, up 33 per cent on 2010, according to Ernst & Young. Within just a few years, Islamic banking has transformed into a global industry.
There are three major drivers behind this extraordinary journey - three reasons why I believe Islamic banking will keep on growing far into the next decade. (source)

THAILAND - HALAL - PM meets with Indonesian President for talks on bilateral cooperation

www.pattayamail.com - BANGKOK, 1 June 2012  - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today held a meeting with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on East Asia 2012. 
The meeting is aimed at strengthening their bilateral cooperation on agriculture and food exports, with an emphasis on the Halal food industry. The premier has reiterated that the government is aiming to raise the profile of Thai halal food production and food standards to the world’s 1.9 billion Muslim consumers. (source)

THAILAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Islamic Bank of Thailand sends out RFP for sukuk

www.financeasia.com -The Islamic Bank of Thailand has asked a group of banks to submit proposals for a baht-denominated sukuk by this Friday. However, the formal request for proposals (RFP) has come as a surprise because the deal has been in the works for the past few years and Malaysian bank CIMB has already been working on it.
“I’m not sure why they sent out an RFP. I’m not sure if CIMB has been formally appointed, but they’ve been working on it for a long time,” said one Bangkok-based banker.
Some speculate that Islamic Bank of Thailand wants to go through a formal selection process and that it may also be planning to add more banks to broaden the distribution of the bonds. (source)

THAILAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Thailand Islamic Bank Sukuk Issue 5 Billion Baht

WWW.REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANGKOK - State-owned Bank, Islamic Bank of Thailand, plans to issue Islamic bonds (sukuk) early in the next two months. The value of sukuk issuance has reached 5 billion baht or equivalent to 162.6 million U.S. dollars.

Tenor sukuk issuance is planned for up to five years. Bank CIMB Islamic Bank was appointed as the underwriter. Sukuk issuance market segmentation targeting domestic and corporate investors in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Thailand plans to build the sukuk market to grow the Islamic financial sector. It follows the issuance of tax regulations in May 2011. Sukuk issuance will be used to finance infrastructure projects. (source)

INDONESIA - SINGAPORE - BANKING - Maybank IB sets sights on big IPOs

www.btimes.com.my - MAYBANK Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) is optimistic of handling more higher valued initial public offerings (IPOs) this year.

"There was a dramatic slowdown in last year's IPO trend but we see big ones coming up this year," said Maybank IB chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Zafrul Aziz. (source)

MALAYSIA - PUBLICATIONS - Islamic Finance News : THE GUIDE 2012

Country Reports

Australia: The wait continues
Brunei Darussalam: Islamic banking and finance
China: The dragon stirs
Hong Kong: The gatekeeper
Indonesia: Playing catch-up
Japan: Reviewing priorities
Korea: Government intervention crucial
Malaysia: Cautiously optimistic
Singapore: High expectations
Thailand: Focusing on capital markets

The Full Guide 2012

THAILAND - BANKING - Islamic Bank has ambitious growth plans

www.nationmultimedia.com - The Islamic Bank of Thailand plans to issue bonds worth Bt5 billion in the second quarter, launch a property fund for Bt1.5 billion in the third quarter and expand its retail borrower base, Dheerasak Suwannayos, president of the bank, said yesterday.  (source)

THAILAND - BANKING - IBank aims to break into Asia's top three

www.bangkokpost.com - The state-run Islamic Bank of Thailand has set a goal to be among the top three Islamic banks in Asia with asset size of 300 billion baht within the next five years, said president Dheerasak Suwanyos.

The target is ambitious considering it has been in business for only 10 years. At present, Maybank Group is the largest Islamic bank in Asia with assets of 200 billion baht, followed by CIMB Bank and RHB Bank. All three are based in Malaysia.  (source)

INDONESIA - TAKAFUL - Up close and personal with Hans De Cuyper

www.thestar.com.my - FOR someone who had never aspired to work in insurance, Hans De Cuyper has come a long way.

The 42-year-old CEO of Etiqa Insurance and Takaful - Malayan Banking Bhd's (Maybank) insurance arm - grew up in Belgium where he read mathematics and actuarial science in university.

“If you come out as a mathematician, the world is not very exciting,” he tells StarBizWeek in an interview. “And once you do actuarial science, you have more or less chosen your profession because 90% of actuarists go into insurance.”  (source)

MALAYSIA - FINANCE - Public Mutual launching new Islamic fund tomorrow - Indonesia on the list for investments

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Mutual, Malaysia's largest private unit trust company with 91 funds under management, is launching a new Islamic fund, Public Islamic Savings Fund, tomorrow.

"As the fund focuses its investments mainly in the domestic market, it offers investors an opportunity to capitalise on Malaysia's resilient economic growth prospects in the medium to long-term," said its chief executive officer Yeoh Kim Hong in a statement today.  (source)

THAILAND - FINANCE - Islamic Bank's B1bn loan draws scrutiny

The Finance Ministry has launched an investigation into Islamic Bank executives who approved an unusual loan worth one billion baht to eight projects even though their collateral values were less than the amount of the loan, said a senior finance official.

The ministry set up a committee chaired by Amnuay Preemonwong, inspector-general of the Finance Ministry, and representatives from other state agencies, such as the Office of the Attorney General. (source)

ASEAN - CAPITAL MARKETS - Islamic Bond Alert

PT BANK SYARIAH BRI: The Islamic banking arm of Indonesia’s second-largest lender by assets may sell sukuk in the next one to two years to support expansion, President Director Ventje Rahardjo told reporters in Jakarta. 

PT BANK MUAMALAT INDONESIA: Indonesia’s second-largest Islamic bank will sell $50 million of dollar-denominated sukuk with a maturity of not more than five years in 2011, Hendiarto, chief financial officer at the bank, told reporters on July 21. The lender is also planning to sell 800 billion rupiah ($89 million) of local-currency Islamic bonds in 2012, Hendiarto said.  (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)

INDONESIA - FINANCE - Thailand Distributes $ 1 Billion For BMT Indonesia

Jakarta (22 / 9) liquidity support to Baitulmaal Waa Tanwil (BMT) Indonesia is not just of Islamic banking but from abroad also did not want to lose. This is evidenced by Thai financial institutions are ready to disburse the fund amounting to Rp 1 trillion. BMT as Chairman of the Association of Indonesia (Absindo) Aries Mufti today confirmed that if he formed a partnership with Thai banks. (source)

INDONESIA - MALASYA - THAILAND - Market Review

INDONESIA: The government will likely sell a global sukuk later than September, Rahmat Waluyanto, director general at the finance ministry’s debt management office, said in Jakarta. Indonesia doesn’t have urgent funding needs and is looking for the right timing for the sale because of global market conditions, Waluyanto said. The government will sell a “maximum” of $1 billion of Islamic bonds, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said Aug. 23.  (source)

MALAYSIA - JAPAN - Mizuho To Make Malaysia Global Hub For Islamic Finance

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd (MHCB), one of the oldest banks in Japan, will make Malaysia its global hub for Islamic finance once it receives Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) approval.

MHCB, part of Mizuho Financial Group Inc, is one of the world's largest full-service financial conglomerates. (source)

MALAYSIA - HALAL - Malaysian Islamic Chamber To Explore Halal Business Opportunities In Thailand

HAT YAI, July 27 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce plans to explore halal business opportunities in Thailand as the country was serious in developing the industry.

Vice-President Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Awang said Thailand was very committed to the cause despite being a non-Muslim country and has emerged as the world's sixth largest producer of halal products. (source)