Islamic Bank denies merger with GSB, seeks injection
The Islamic Bank of Thailand denies a planned merger with the Government Savings Bank, but is asking for a capital increase of about Bt7 billion for rehabilitation on expectation for being an alternative funding source for investment within three years.
Chaiwat Utaiwan, chairman of iBank, insisted that it had no plan to merge with GSB as rumoured. Instead, iBank will ask the Finance Ministry to inject Bt7 billion in capital after an assessment of its performance, which is expected to be completed by November 30.
After that, the bank will look for allies to strengthen itself and expand its business. Foreign banks have contacted it for negotiations in this regard.
Within three years, iBank hopes to be an alternative funding source for investment and a driver of the Thai economy, Chaiwat said. The bank has the potential to help Thai companies make investments abroad once the Asean Economic Community is in place.
Currently, iBank’s outstanding loans total Bt110.18 billion. Eight per cent
of its customers are Muslims. Total deposits amount to Bt106.99 billion; of its 600,000 depositors, 51 per cent are Muslim.
The bank’s non-performing loans are 30-40 per cent of the total outstanding.
