Noor Islamic Bank mulls Malaaysian expansion

Noor Islamic Bank is mulling an expansion to Malaysia to tap opportunities in Southeast Asia.

Hussain AlQemzi, CEO of the Dubai-based bank, said they are currently exploring the market and establishing contacts in Malaysia.

"It's also an opportunity for the Southeast Asia region, through Malaysia to be linked with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries," he told Bernama.

"We want to create a channel to reach out to banking groups here to build our network," he said. Noor Islamic Bank is the only bank from the GCC to have Shariah scholars from Malaysia.

AlQemzi said the GCC and Southeast Asia region are two large Islamic hubs but the transactions between them are very low.

"We share experiences but there are not many transactions between the two. This is what doesn't make sense to us," he said.

AlQemzi singled out infrastructure development, tourism, food and beverages as among areas with tremendous growth potential in the two regions.