Malaysian & UK Islamic Banks Agree On More Cross-border Liquidity Management Deals

May 2, 2010

Malaysian and UK Islamic banks have agreed to undertake greater collaboration in cross-border Islamic liquidity management transactions.

The decision was made at the end of the Malaysian-UK Islamic Treasurers Workshop, held at the Westminster Conference Centre in London on April 12-13.

The workshop, aimed at encouraging greater interaction between and harmonising business practices of Malaysian and UK Islamic banks, was attended by over 40 senior treasury officials of both countries.

The workshop was hosted by the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a government agency responsible for promoting international business.

In February last year, Bank Negara Malaysia and the UKTI signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the development of Islamic finance in both countries.

The workshop was part of a four-day business visit to London by a Malaysian delegation led by Datin Zaimah Zakaria, Group Treasurer of RHB Banking Group.

She said the business visit is part of the continuous efforts by Islamic banks in Malaysia to link Kuala Lumpur with other major international financial hubs.

“Before London, Malaysian Islamic banks organised similar business visits to Hong Kong and Jakarta,” she added, in a statement here today.

The visit was supported by Bank Negara and facilitated by the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM).

Besides the workshop, the Malaysian delegation had six meetings with senior business leaders of major British financial institutions and UK-based Islamic banks.

The meetings were to explore business opportunities and form potential alliances in tapping the huge business potential across Asia and the Middle East.

The delegation also met Sir Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive of UKTI and the UK’s regulatory body, the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

In addition to these discussions, the delegation also held talks with the British Bankers Association (BBA) to look into the possibility of developing an international benchmark rate for Islamic finance.

Malaysian bankers and their UK counterparts are confident that cross-border business activities between Islamic banks in both countries, would be further enhanced as a result of the visit.

source : bernama