Thursday, August 1, 2024

Kuwait Finance House Existing Malaysia

Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd (KFH Malaysia) announced on Wednesday that it has decided to voluntarily withdraw from the Malaysian market after 19 years of operation. 
KFH Malaysia was the first foreign Islamic bank that was granted a license under the Islamic Banking Act 1983 in 2005. It commenced branch operations on Aug 8, 2005.

KFH Malaysia is wholly owned by Kuwait Finance House, the first and largest bank in Kuwait and the second-largest Islamic bank in the world. The bank's major shareholder is the state of Kuwait.

Separately, KFH Malaysia reported that its profit before tax rose 22.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM88.1 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023), on the back of a higher revenue of RM371.6 million against RM364.9 million a year ago.

KFH Malaysia said the decision came following the group's international business strategic review to focus and expand in the Middle East.

While the group has business operations in Bahrain, Türkiye, Jordan, Saudi Arabia as well as affiliates in the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia was the only Asian country it had presence in, making Kuala Lumpur the regional headquarters of Kuwait Finance House in the Asia-Pacific region.

With KFH Malaysia's exit, the country is left with only one remaining stand-alone foreign Islamic bank, namely Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corp (Malaysia) Bhd from Saudi Arabia.




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