Business

Wednesday March 11, 2009

Bank Muamalat completes RM500mil capital raising


KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd has successfully completed a capital raising exercise amounting to RM500mil of Tier-1 capital.

The exercise relates to the issuance of 500 million shares to its shareholders, DRB-HICOM Bhd (70%) and Khazanah Nasional Bhd (30%), effectively raising the bank’s total capital to RM1bil.

In a statement yesterday, Bank Muamalat said its risk-weighted capital ratio had strengthened to about 18.2% compared with 12.6% at Dec 31, 2008.

“This has put the bank in a strong capital position with capital ratios above the minimum regulatory requirements,.

“The bank’s core capital ratio had similarly improved, increasing to an estimated 14.3% from 8.5% in the same period under review,” it said in the statement.

The exercise will further strengthen Bank Muamalat’s balance sheet in a period where preference had shifted towards Islamic financial institutions, thus offering the bank improved platform in contributing to Malaysia’s robust Islamic banking system, which now accounts for 17.4% of the total banking assets in the country.

The bank added that the enhanced capital position would provide it with a competitive advantage to strengthen existing relationships, seek out new markets, and selectively expand its business.

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story
  • Bookmark and Share