DRB-Hicom says yet to finalise buyer for stake in Bank Muamalat

DRB–Hicom has yet to finalise the new party for its divestment of a 30 per cent stake in its banking unit, Bank Muamalat Malaysia. The dilution of the stake in the country’s third largest Islamic lender has been a prolonged process as the conglomerate is looking into a strategic partnership or an exercise that could add value and increase the bank’s penetration into the Islamic financial business in Malaysia. It was reported earlier that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had mandated DRB-Hicom to dilute some of its 70 per cent stake in Bank Muamalat. It was also reported that DRB-Hicom had negotiated with Affin Holdings on a potential acquisition but talks were called off due to pricing issues. The bank remains sidelined as it currently has no new products to introduce or new branches to launch.