IslamicFinance.de

Maybank Islamic’s move into branch banking in the Middle East aims to attract Gulf investors to Southeast Asia. The Malaysian bank opened its first overseas branch at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in February. Maybank Islamic deputy CEO Nor Shahrizan Sulaiman said the new Dubai branch would serve as a the bank’s gateway not just to the UAE but to the wider GCC. The bank pursues further growth in Singapore and Indonesia, which it sees as home markets outside of Malaysia. The international business expansion is not new, as it has always been one of the focus areas of Maybank Islamic from early on. Maybank Islamic was granted a full Islamic banking licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority last July, allowing it to open the DIFC branch. It replaces Maybank Islamic’s office in Bahrain, which has closed down.

Maybank Islamic Bhd has so far secured major mandates valued at RM9 billion. More clients are expected to come on board by end of this year, which will bring the assets under custody to RM13 billion, its Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Product Management Nor Shahrizan Sulaiman said. He said assets under management of Malaysia's institutional investors, government-linked companies and sovereign wealth funds were valued at about RM1.4 trillion. Nor Shahrizan said Maybank Islamic's custody services also provided Islamic performance measurement and attributes, and compliance monitoring for both domestic and global funds' portfolios.