Folks,
Few weeks back, I went to BIMB Holdings Bhd's extraordinary general meeting.
BIMB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of pilgrim fund Lembaga Tabung Haji. The group also owns Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Islamic insurance outfit Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd and investment firm BIMB Securities (Holdings) Sdn Bhd.
Initially, BIMB group managing director Encik Johan Abdullah refused to be interviewed, but then he agreed for a quick 5-minutes. He is a tough, no-nonsense man but a friendly person.
Among the questions I asked him was, "are you not unfazed and unperturbed by the proposed creation of mega Islamic bank in Malaysia?".
To this, he said that there is a lot of room for organic growth, and the group is "not fixated in numbers."
And furthermore, Johan also said that BIMB is keen to penetrate Indonesia, but the plan is preliminary with "nothing on the table."
I think that this will be a good move, given that BIMB may reap benefits from the large populations in the island country and the growing middle-class there.
Currently, two Malaysian banks are present in Indonesia - CIMB and Maybank.
RHB attempted to penetrate there, but pulled-out. But then, it does not have to worry as RHB is in the process of undergoing a tripartite merger with CIMB and Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) which will create a banking giant in Malaysia with total assets worth RM614 billion.
It is worth noting too that some analysts have said that the banking environment in Malaysia has reached a saturated state.
Whether this is true or not, I leave that to you to judge.
But on a personal note, I think there is some truth in it, as there are quite a number of banks operating in a sizable market in the country.
Perhaps, further consolidation through merger and acquisition may excite the "somewhat dull" banking scene in Malaysia.
Few weeks back, I went to BIMB Holdings Bhd's extraordinary general meeting.
BIMB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of pilgrim fund Lembaga Tabung Haji. The group also owns Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Islamic insurance outfit Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd and investment firm BIMB Securities (Holdings) Sdn Bhd.
Initially, BIMB group managing director Encik Johan Abdullah refused to be interviewed, but then he agreed for a quick 5-minutes. He is a tough, no-nonsense man but a friendly person.
Among the questions I asked him was, "are you not unfazed and unperturbed by the proposed creation of mega Islamic bank in Malaysia?".
To this, he said that there is a lot of room for organic growth, and the group is "not fixated in numbers."
And furthermore, Johan also said that BIMB is keen to penetrate Indonesia, but the plan is preliminary with "nothing on the table."
I think that this will be a good move, given that BIMB may reap benefits from the large populations in the island country and the growing middle-class there.
Currently, two Malaysian banks are present in Indonesia - CIMB and Maybank.
RHB attempted to penetrate there, but pulled-out. But then, it does not have to worry as RHB is in the process of undergoing a tripartite merger with CIMB and Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) which will create a banking giant in Malaysia with total assets worth RM614 billion.
It is worth noting too that some analysts have said that the banking environment in Malaysia has reached a saturated state.
Whether this is true or not, I leave that to you to judge.
But on a personal note, I think there is some truth in it, as there are quite a number of banks operating in a sizable market in the country.
Perhaps, further consolidation through merger and acquisition may excite the "somewhat dull" banking scene in Malaysia.
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| The Edge Financial Daily, Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 |
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