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EPICENTRE - A Special Edition on The Islamic Finance and African Infrastructure Development Business Forum

June 2014 / Ramadhan 1435H

The Business Forum in conjunction with the 11th IFSB Summit took place on 20th May 2014 in Mauritius. Themed "Islamic Finance and African Infrastructure Development", the business forum brought together panelists from various region and business sector to discuss on the opportunities and challenges of the African infrastructure development, and provide valuable insights on how Islamic finance as an alternative financing can support the funding gaps in the region. Other Highlights: Concept Papers: Ijarah and Istisna' Bank Negara Malaysia is issuing two concept papers on Ijarah and Istisna' for public consultation. The concept paper aims to seek feedback from members of the public, Islamic financial institutions and related stakeholders on the Shariah and operational requirements for the application of ijarah and istisna' contracts. READ MORE HERE Malaysia & Hong Kong Enhance Cross Border Partnership on Islamic Capital Market The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) jointly organised a seminar in Hong Kong on Islamic funds in response to the growing interest on Islamic finance, including in the collective investment space, in Hong Kong. READ MORE HERE RHB Asset Management Launches Hong Kong's First Islamic Balanced Fund under Hong Kong and Malaysia Mutual Agreement Scheme RHB Asset Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RHB Investment Bank in Malaysia, has launched Hong Kong's first Shariah-compliant, actively managed Islamic balanced fund; the RHB-OSK Islamic Regional Balanced Fund. RHBAM's offering in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region comes at a time when there is significant interest in Islamic finance by Hong Kong and cross-border investors. READ MORE HERE SocGen’s Maiden Sukuk Rated AAA(s) by RAM – Malaysia’s First Sukuk Issued by a French Bank RAM Ratings has assigned an AAA(s)/Stable rating to the Proposed Multi-Currency Islamic MTN Programme of up to RM1 billion in nominal value to be issued by Société Générale Bank and Trust SA’s (SGBT) wholly owned subsidiary, ALEF II SA – a special-purpose vehicle set up as a funding conduit for SGBT. READ MORE HERE

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the AAA/Stable/P1 financial institution ratings of HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad (the Bank).

Published on 30 June 2014

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the AAA/Stable/P1 financial institution ratings of HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad (the Bank). Concurrently, the AAA/Stable rating of the Bank’s RM3 billion Multi-Currency Sukuk Programme (2012/2032) has been reaffirmed. The ratings are anchored by the Bank’s strategic importance as HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad’s (rated AAA/Stable/P1 by RAM) Islamic banking arm, and also its operating model that is integrated with its parent’s.
HSBC Amanah is the largest locally incorporated foreign Islamic bank in Malaysia, with an established domestic franchise under the Amanah brand. Malaysia is also among the 2 global hubs for HSBC Holdings plc’s Amanah network. Given HSBC Amanah’s strategic importance to HSBC Bank and HSBC Holdings, we believe shareholder support will be forthcoming should the need arise.
After a period of rapid growth during its start-up phase, HSBC Amanah has been expanding more moderately since 2012. Its gross financing expanded 8% y-o-y to RM9.3 billion in fiscal 2013. While the Bank’s gross impaired-financing ratio is in line with the industry’s, its credit-cost ratio remained high due to its still-considerable exposure to unsecured financing (24% of total financing).
Meanwhile, the Bank’s funding profile has improved significantly, underpinned by its rapid branch expansion in recent years that has led to a strong growth in retail deposits. Coupled with slower financing expansion, HSBC Amanah’s financing-to-deposits ratio was more comfortable at 84% as at end-December 2013 (end-December 2012: 101%). At the same time, the Bank’s capitalisation levels were healthy, with respective common-equity tier-1 capital and total capital ratios of 12.3% and 13.1%.

Media contact
Poh Wen Jun
(603) 7628 1038
wenjun@ram.com.my