Islamic banking in the heart of Geylang Serai

Julie Quek

juliequek@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

The bank did not disclose the details of the new Islamic financial products at Friday’s launch but confirmed they were in the pipeline and formed part of its strategy to grow its Islamic banking business beyond its domestic market in Malaysia.

The new Islamic banking branch in Singapore is located in the heart of Geylang Serai, home to a large base of Muslims.

It is part of Maybank’s bigger plans for its Islamic banking unit as it aims to be the leading Islamic bank in Asean.

Malaysia’s biggest lender also said it hoped that earnings from outside its home country would contribute a higher percentage to its overall profits over the next five years.

Maybank chief executive Abdul Wahid Omar said: “The idea here will be to grow our profit to make up about 40 per cent from our international operations by 2015.”

Apart from the Asean region, the bank also expects demand coming from the Middle East, China and India.

Analysts say that oil-enriched Middle Eastern investors are attracted to Asia as the outlook for the United States and Europe remain sombre.

Mr Raj Mohamad, managing director of consultancy firm Five Pillars, said: “Asia is very well-positioned now to offer what is commonly known as Syariah-compliant products, to attract these monies from the Middle East.”

With about two-thirds of the world’s Muslim population in Asia, there is a huge potential for retail Islamic banking products to grow, analysts said.— Maybank Singapore has launched the first dedicated Islamic banking branch here and plans to roll out home loans and motor insurance products that are based on Syariah principles.

GIC ‘eyeing $3.2b stake in Brazilian bank’

SAO PAULO

GIC declined comment when contacted by

Banco BTG Pactual, controlled by billionaire Brazilian Andre Esteves, was created in 2009 after BTG took over UBS Pactual from the Swiss bank.

It is the largest independent investment bank in Latin America and has regional offices in key global financial capitals such as London and Hong Kong to leverage on its expertise in emerging markets.

The bank operates in the areas of investments, asset management and wealth management.

GIC already is the largest shareholder in Switzerland’s UBS and one of the biggest in United States’ Citigroup, with its stakes in the two banking giants estimated at some $12 billion at current market prices.

If it takes the stake in BTG, it will be spreading its multi-billion bets beyond Europe and North America into the South American market.— The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) is in talks to buy a 16-per-cent stake in Brazilian investment bank Banco BTG Pactual for US$2.4 billion ($3.2 billion), the Brazil-based Exame magazine reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the negotiations it did not name.Bloomberg, while spokespeople for BTG Pactual in Sao Paulo were not immediately available for comment.

Are you ready for the IPO? 

GIC planning roadshows for $4b IPO: Sources

SINGAPORE

The sources said GIC would launch the IPO at the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter. Nomura has been appointed to market the IPO in Japan, they said. GIC is likely to file the IPO prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore in early September, said a source.

“It’s moving fast,” the person said.

A GIC spokesperson did not respond to MediaCorp by press time.

If successful, the IPO would be the biggest in Singapore in 17 years since SingTel listed in 1993 and raised $4 billion in three tranches. It would also trump CapitaMalls Asia’s US$2 billion IPO last year.

The sources said GIC planned to list its ProLogis assets in Japan and China in addition to some of its assets in South Korea.

In 2008, GIC Real Estate bought ProLogis interests in Japan and China in a deal worth US$1.3 billion to consolidate its existing portfolio in Japan and embark on expanding its logistics property business in China, according to wire reports. ProLogis is a global distribution facilities provider with 475 million sq ft of industrial space across North America, Europe and Asia.

GIC Real Estate also bought Star Tower, a 45-storey office building in Seoul from Lone Star Funds in 2004.— GIC Real Estate, the property arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, is planning global roadshows late next month for an initial public offering (IPO) of its overseas assets worth around US$3 billion ($4.06 billion), Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday citing unnamed sources.

Thot this time round, signal from MOM - CPF 50 years celebration. wish thinking can get S$5,000 in ours CPF.
Got notthing lehh

NSF got S$9,000