KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19- Maybank Islamic Bhd recently secured Pound Sterlling cross-border financing, making it the first Malaysian bank to have such financing instruments in London.
Its Chief Executive Officer Muzaffar Hisham said the bank has been appointed by its corporate client as the jointly led arranger for the purpose of buying properties in London.
“The deal will most probably be announced during the ninth World Islamic Economic Forum in London in October,” he told reporters after the soft launch of its new retail mortgage product here Wednesday.
He said the bank is in the final stages of launching the Islamic foreign currency property financing product for London properties, expected in the fourth quarter this year.
“There is increasing interest by Malaysian investors in diversifying their investment portfolios into the United Kingdom and particularly London, and Maybank Islamic is well placed to encourage such opportunities,” he said.
Muzaffar stressed the strategic importance of Islamic finance in London as an opportunity to tap into a new source of capital, assets and liquidity in Islamic markets for London’s future growth and global ambitions.
He said UK corporates wishing to issue funds should also consider Shariah-compliant instruments as they expand to new frontiers, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and ASEAN/Malaysia.
– BERNAMA
