DUBAI: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) will purchase a 25 percent stake in Indonesian Islamic lender Bank Panin Syariah, it said yesterday, as the United Arab Emirates-based bank looks to expand into the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
Under the agreement, DIB — the largest Islamic bank in the UAE — will “jointly manage and operate” Bank Panin Syariah along with parent Bank Pan Indonesia, which will remain a controlling shareholder, it said in a Dubai bourse filing.
DIB Chief Executive Adnan Chilwan this month said that the bank was in talks to buy a 40 percent stake in an Indonesian Islamic bank, adding that it hoped to conclude a deal before the end of the year using its own cash to fund the purchase.
No purchase price was given for the deal, which will be subject to regulatory approval.
The investment “will involve DIB accumulating around a 25 percent stake in Bank Panin Syariah in the initial phase, with a view to subsequently increasing its shareholding in the bank to 40 percent”, the statement said.
Under Indonesian regulations, foreign ownership of local lenders is capped at 40 percent.
Reuters
