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At 37 years old, Arsalaan Ahmed is the youngest chief executive in the Malaysian Islamic finance industry. As CEO of HSBC Amanah Malaysia, his vision is to change the industry’s narrative on Islamic finance. So far, the narrative has focused a lot on the technicalities of products and services. Arsalaan says these discussions should be focused on the principles of social justice and create a positive impact on society. He plans to allow retail investors to invest directly in sukuk. Currently, individual sukuk requires an initial investment of RM500,000. By lowering the initial investment amount, investors with sufficient knowledge of the market could invest directly. Arsalaan says 2018 is a good time to democratise sukuk because of China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, which aims to improve the infrastructure of land and maritime routes. According to HSBC, the initiative involves US$4 trillion worth of investments and 900 planned projects.

HSBC Amanah Malaysia has appointed Arsalaan Ahmed as its chief executive officer (CEO). HSBC Amanah announced that Arsalaan will be leading the Islamic banking businesses for retail, commercial and wholesale banking, and reporting to HSBC Bank CEO Mukhtar Hussain. Prior to joining HSBC Amanah, Arsalaan was appointed as the head of capital financing and financial institutions of Barwa Bank in Doha, Qatar, where he led the development of the Islamic debt capital market and wholesale banking platform. Arsalaan has 15 years of experience and has distinguished himself as an expert in syariah-compliant retail, corporate and investment banking.

The former chief executive officer at HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd, Mohamed Rafe Mohamed Haneef, will soon head CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd. In a statement today, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd said Rafe will assume his new post on Jan 4 next year as CEO and executive director of CIMB Islamic Bank and CEO of Group Islamic Banking Division. CIMB group CEO Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz Tengku Abdul Aziz said that Rafe brings with him experience in business and functional positions in three global banks, an international asset management company and a legal firm. Rafe holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the International Islamic University Malaysia and a master’s degree in International Finance and Securities Law from the Harvard Law School.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd is expected to appoint Rafe Haneef, who currently heads HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd, as the new chief executive officer of its Islamic banking arm CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd. It is understood that Rafe has tendered his resignation, after almost five years of helming the foreign Islamic lender. The appointment is still in the process of getting Bank Negara Malaysia’s approval. CIMB Islamic Bank has been without a captain ever since Badlisyah Abdul Ghani resigned as its CEO and board member in July. CIMB Islamic Bank then appointed Mohd Shafri Shahul Hamid as the person in charge of the bank while it looked for a new CEO.

HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd has launched its Islamic Socially Responsible Unit Trusts, the first of its kind in the Islamic banking landscape in Malaysia. The company said the unit trusts are tailored for customers who want to invest and at the same time make a difference in the communities they live and work in. A portion of profits earned from the Socially Responsible Unit Trust proposition will be channelled to the Teach For Malaysia foundation. A contribution of RM10 will be made for every customer placement below RM50,000 into selected funds of the unit trusts and will double to RM20 for placement above or equal to RM50,000. Chief Executive Officer Rafe Haneef said the unit trusts may provide a good return on investment for customers while extending the benefit to children who suffer from education inequity in Malaysia.

The Malaysian Islamic banking arm of HSBC Holdings has raised 750 million ringgit ($205 million) from the sale of 5-year Islamic bonds at a yield of 4.24 percent. The sale is the third tranche of the lender's overall 3 billion ringgit sukuk programme, sold using an agency-based structure known as 'wakala'. HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd pulled in strong demand, with the final book exceeding 1.38 billion ringgit at a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.84 times. Final pricing came at the low end of guidance, which started at 4.22-4.28 percent. As orders poured in, the guidance was tightened to 4.22-4.25 percent within a few hours after books were opened.

Islamic banks in Malaysia and Indonesia are opening new branches in rural areas as they target the newly rich in Southeast Asia’s largest Muslim nations. HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd added 22 outlets in the last three years, bringing the total to 26 across the country. PT BRI Syariah, a unit of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, will set up 94 branches in 2013 to meet demand in smaller cities. The bank predicts its shariah-compliant savings will increase 73 per cent to a record 19 trillion rupiah (US$1.9 billion). Besides, increasing savings may help spur demand for sukuk as banks look to invest their funds and boost returns.