Tuesday 19 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 21): BIMB Holdings Bhd, which owns Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, is targeting to offer shariah-based financial solutions as well as environmental, social and governance (ESG) or Syariah-ESG products by 2025, based on its five-year post restructuring plan, according to Bank Islam chief executive officer Mohd Muazzam Mohamed.

Speaking at a media briefing today, Muazzam highlighted that Bank Islam will continue to strengthen its business flow through five business drivers, namely wealth management, social finance, digital bank, enterprise and wholesale banking.

"The restructuring exercise will simplify and streamline the shareholding, corporate and governance, structures for efficiency, agility and synergy of the group.

"It also will provide an opportunity for investors seeking exposure in a pure-play Shariah-compliant banking counter," he said.

Muazzam added that currently, the progress of the restructuring exercise is at 20% and is on track for completion by August this year.

Following the restructuring plan, the group also has no plans to retrench or reposition its staff.

"BIMB staff will be reskilled and absorbed into Bank Islam for other positions available that suit their competency.

"From the initial stage, we have never considered any retrenchment as part of the whole scheme," he said.

To recap, BIMB is in the midst of a restructuring exercise that will see Bank Islam take over its Main Market listing status.

BIMB announced the restructuring exercise more than a year ago in December 2019. The corporate exercise was reportedly delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, the group also disclosed that it would issue 222.22 million new shares, representing 12% of its issued share capital, under its private placement exercise that would raise approximately RM800 million.

"We are pleased to announce that our private placement exercise has been oversubscribed 1.7 times by existing shareholders and new investors," he said.

Muazzam also pointed out that despite the strong demand for the share placement, the group can only allocate small portions of shares to new investors.

"We need to give priority to our existing investors and shareholders who have been supporting us all this while.

"The profile of new investors are mainly institutions and fund managers and mainly they are locally based," he stressed.

At the time of writing, shares of BIMB traded six sen or 1.5% lower at RM3.93, valuing the group at RM7.34 billion.

Edited ByLam Jian Wyn
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