Bank Negara awards Islamic banking licences

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara awarded two foreign currency Islamic banking licences to companies in Kuwait and Indonesia as it seeks to broaden the country’s syariah finance success beyond the domestic market.

Kuwait’s Al-Aqeelah and Bank Muamalat Indonesia had been granted licences to do Islamic banking business in Malaysia with residents and non-residents in foreign currencies and limited ringgit transactions, central bank deputy governor Datuk Mohd Razif Abdul Kadir said yesterday.

“The process of setting up takes time, a few months perhaps,” Mohd Razif said. — Reuters