KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corp Malaysia Bhd (Al-Rajhi) announced it has appointed Low Kok Ang as its new director of corporate and investment banking.

“The appointment will strengthen Al-Rajhi Bank’s positioning in meeting the demands associated with corporate banking and investment. We believe that Low has got the talent and capabilities to take the business to the next level,” the group said in a media statement this evening.

Al-Rajhi said Low has more than 23 years of experience in commercial banking, transactional banking, wholesale banking and branch banking. Prior to the appointment, Al-Rajhi said Low was the director and head of commercial branches in an international bank in Malaysia.

Al-Rajhi — together with its rival Kuwait Finance House Malaysia Bhd (KFH) — are two Middle East banks operating here that have yet to appoint their chief executive officer (CEO).

Al-Rajhi saw its previous CEO Datuk Azrulnizam Abdul Aziz resign, after helming the bank for two and half years from February 2012 to September 2014. Currently, Selamat Sirat is Al-Rajhi’s acting CEO.

Meanwhile, KFH announced in November last year the surprised resignation of CEO Datuk Seri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz, barely one and half years after his appointment in March 2013.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14), KFH’s net profit slid 5.7% to RM88.98 million, from RM94.39 million a year ago; while revenue remained flat at RM457.62 million, from RM462.11 million in FY13.

A check on Al-Rajhi’s website revealed it has yet to announce its FY14 financial results. But its net profit for the nine months ended Sept 30, 2014 (9MFY14) was down 41% at RM2.05 million, compared to RM3.45 million a year ago; while revenue was up a marginal 4% to RM261.58 million, from RM251.91 million in 9MFY13.

Al-Rajhi currently has 24 branches nationwide, while KFH has 16 branches.