Public Bank's Islamic ops to start in March 2008

OUR Islamic subsidiary is expected to commence operations in March 2008, said Public Bank's chairman and founder Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow.  

We are in the final leg of preparations to ensure a smooth migration of our Islamic banking business from the existing window-based operations under BAFIA to a full-fledged Islamic bank under the Islamic Banking Act 1983.  

Public Bank's Islamic assets stood at RM12.4bil as at June 30, 2007 and were the second largest in the banking system (excluding Islamic banks).  

The bank's Islamic assets have experienced an average annual growth of 25% for the past five years.  

Our Islamic financing and customers' deposits stood at RM9.9bil and RM9.5bil respectively as at the end-June while pre-tax profit from Islamic operations of RM155mil contributed 11% to group pre-tax profit.  

There is a strong and growing demand for syariah compliant products in the country.  

Although Islamic banking has gained popularity, it still has huge potential.  

With the introduction of innovative products to complement the needs of individuals and commercial enterprises, increasing customer awareness and strong regulatory support, we are confident that the bank's Islamic banking business will grow exponentially