Malaysia leans to Kuwaiti bank in RHB bid battle

 

 

 Kuwait Finance House appeared on Thursday to have won state backing for its $4 billion plan to turn the country’s fourth-largest lender, the RHB group, into the world’s largest Islamic bank.
Kuwait Finance House, as leader of a consortium of foreign and local investors, had been battling with a rival bidder, local lender EON Capital Bhd, for control of RHB, but events on Thursday seemed to swing firmly in favour of the consortium.
Malaysia’s state pension fund snatched control of RHB’s parent firm on Thursday, buying another third of the company and putting it in position to block EON Capital’s $3.4 billion bid for the entire group, comprising parent Rashid Hussain Bhd and banking unit RHB Capital Bhd.
In elbowing EON Capital out of the way, the pension fund did not say whether it was acting in concert with Kuwait Finance House, but the Kuwaiti bank left little room for doubt later in the day, when it issued a statement welcoming the fund’s move.
“Subject to regulatory approvals, the consortium is confident that it would have a role to play in this new development, to create the world’s largest, most innovative and respected global Islamic bank,” it said.
“The consortium would like to thank all parties including (central bank) Bank Negara Malaysia, the Ministry of Finance and other parties for their support,” it added.
Malaysia wants to become a global hub for Islamic finance, and the central bank chief recently told Reuters she would welcome the emergence of a global Islamic bank here. Malaysia is already home to the world’s largest Islamic bond market.

 

 
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