April 16, 2009 at 5:51 am
Al Rajhi Bank KSA, the largest Islamic bank in the world has recently been awarded its second banking license in Malaysia. The new license, an International Islamic Banking license issued under the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) was granted to Al Rajhi Bank KSA to operate as a branch office (ARIIB).
ARIIB’s Principal Officer & Director of Investment Banking, Leong See Meng said the platform will serve as the banking group’s regional Islamic Investment Banking base to support the growing demand for Islamic Investment Banking services in the region and to complement the strong franchise built by Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia. Al Rajhi Bank started its operations in Malaysia in October 2006 and has 19 branches spread through out the country.
Over the past two years, Al Rajhi Bank KSA has achieved a leading position in the areas of Project and Structured Finance, Advisory, Islamic Debt Arranging and Corporate Finance as well as Asset Management and Brokerage. It is primarily in the fields of Project and Structured Finance in which Al Rajhi has excelled, bringing innovation and Shariah structuring skills to project Sponsors in the Middle East.
CEO of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia, Ahmed Rehman said, “The MIFC provides an excellent platform to enable us to provide Islamic Investment Banking services to cater to the growing sophistication demanded by top tier players in the region. ARIIB is looking at introducing Islamic Structures and advisory services based on global best practices that appeal to Malaysian, regional and Middle Eastern customers and investors in recognition of Malaysia as a true international Islamic banking hub”.
ARIIB’s focus will be on leveraging on the parent’s capabilities in Leverage Finance, Mergers and Acquisition advisory, Islamic Sukuk, Corporate Finance advisory, Private Equity, Sales & Distribution, Equity Capital Markets and Structured Finance.
The time is ripe for the Group to broaden its proliferation into the region amid the slower global economic growth as ARIIB intends to nurture and promote Islamic Investment Banking as a viable alternative to conventional finance as governments and corporate in the region embark on their initiatives to move ahead of the challenging times.
“We have the technical capability and more importantly, the human capital and the Islamic Finance intellect to make this a reality through the MIFC platform”, Leong said.