Kuala Lumpur: Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd is still keen to merge with a rival to build a mega Islamic bank, despite its failed attempt at courting Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid said the bank's pursuit of Bank Islam was driven by its largest shareholders' need to pare its stake in the bank and the desire by both its shareholders to create a bigger entity that is more relevant in the market.
Late May, Bank Islam's parent, BIMB Holdings Bhd, said it was no longer interested in a union with smaller rival Bank Muamalat.
DRB-HICOM Bhd owns a 70 per cent stake in Bank Muamalat, while Khazanah Nasional Bhd owns the other 30 per cent.
"That was the idea (behind it) and that idea is still with them (DRB-HICOM and Khazanah Nasional), that perhaps being a bigger and more relevant bank in this market will bring about faster growth.
"As to whom they go with and what they are going to do I am not privy, and I have no answers to that," Mohd Redza told the NSTP group newspapers on Wednesday.
The bank, however, is not in talks with any party currently.
Mohd Redza ruled out looking for a partner abroad, expressing his wish to build a "little more" expertise in the local market before venturing abroad.
On the qualities Bank Muamalat would look for in a partner, he said it would be partial to one with interest overseas, and that is strong in the area of corporate or investment banking.
Mohd Redza, who is also Association of Islamic Banking Institution of Malaysia president, is a proponent of a local mega Islamic bank himself.
"Size is important. It's important to go abroad too, and secondly, to fund large Economic Transformation Plan projects, which runs in the billions of ringgit. If you are a small bank you can't lend your balance sheet to do big sukuk issuance like that and this is why I feel there is a need for it," he said.
Mohd Redza believes that rather than issuing mega Islamic banking licences and crowding the market further, existing players should get together and form a bigger and more relevant mega Islamic bank.
There are 22 foreign and local Islamic banks operating in Malaysia currently.
Read more: Bank Muamalat still in merger mood http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/pmua1-2/Article/#ixzz1OpwC86gC
Its chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid said the bank's pursuit of Bank Islam was driven by its largest shareholders' need to pare its stake in the bank and the desire by both its shareholders to create a bigger entity that is more relevant in the market.
Late May, Bank Islam's parent, BIMB Holdings Bhd, said it was no longer interested in a union with smaller rival Bank Muamalat.
DRB-HICOM Bhd owns a 70 per cent stake in Bank Muamalat, while Khazanah Nasional Bhd owns the other 30 per cent.
"That was the idea (behind it) and that idea is still with them (DRB-HICOM and Khazanah Nasional), that perhaps being a bigger and more relevant bank in this market will bring about faster growth.
The bank, however, is not in talks with any party currently.
Mohd Redza ruled out looking for a partner abroad, expressing his wish to build a "little more" expertise in the local market before venturing abroad.
On the qualities Bank Muamalat would look for in a partner, he said it would be partial to one with interest overseas, and that is strong in the area of corporate or investment banking.
Mohd Redza, who is also Association of Islamic Banking Institution of Malaysia president, is a proponent of a local mega Islamic bank himself.
"Size is important. It's important to go abroad too, and secondly, to fund large Economic Transformation Plan projects, which runs in the billions of ringgit. If you are a small bank you can't lend your balance sheet to do big sukuk issuance like that and this is why I feel there is a need for it," he said.
Mohd Redza believes that rather than issuing mega Islamic banking licences and crowding the market further, existing players should get together and form a bigger and more relevant mega Islamic bank.
There are 22 foreign and local Islamic banks operating in Malaysia currently.
Read more: Bank Muamalat still in merger mood http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/pmua1-2/Article/#ixzz1OpwC86gC
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