Bank Islam mulling acquisition of Indonesia’s Bank Muamalat
KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Bank Islam, the country's second largest sharia bank is still exploring plans for a potential acquisition of a stake in PT Bank Muamalat in Indonesia, said its group managing director and CEO Johan Abdullah.
"We are still collecting data and nothing is concrete yet. We like Indonesia because the market is robust and the infrastructure is readily available for us to go in there," he told reporters after BIMB's AGM on Tuesday.
Johan also said BIMB is looking at an option of listing Bank Islam as part of its aim to unlock the value of its assets.
Bank Islam is a 51 per cent owned unit of Islamic financial group BIMB Holdings Bhd. Business Times reported in February that Bank Islam was in early talks to buy a stake in PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia.
The local paper also reported that the oldest Islamic lender might assume the listing status of its parent company BIMB in a move that will simplify BIMB's group structure and potentially improve valuations. — Reuters
