JEDDAH, 19 May 2004 — Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI), an Indonesian Islamic bank, is preparing to offer shares to Saudis in an effort to raise its capital base, said BMI’s assistant director, corporate relations and special staff to the president director U. Saefuddin Noer.
“The bank, in which the Islamic Development Bank is a part owner, plans to raise approximately Indonesian 200 billion rupiah, by offering shares to Saudis,” he told Arab News during a seminar on investment opportunities in Indonesia. The seminar was organized by the Consulate General of Indonesia in cooperation with the Jeddah and Makkah chambers of commerce and industry.
BMI has more than 374 million shares classified into three categories, the assistant director said. As of Dec. 31, 2003, BMI’s total assets amounted to 3,312 billion rupiah, and net profit was 352 billion rupiah.
“The purpose of the new share offering is to allow BMI to increase its paid up capital in order to maintain a capital adequacy ratio above 12 percent,” Noer said. “The bank intends to invite potential strategic partners in order to enhance its business in the future,” he added.
Total shareholders‚ equity reached 312 billion rupiah as of end-2003, and BMI plans to increase it to 600 billion rupiah by the end of 2006.
Established in 1991, it was the first purely shariah compliant bank in Indonesia with status as a foreign exchange bank. “It performed well during the crisis, and its survival created confidence in the business community that Islamic economy and business is one of the solutions,” he explained.
At the end of last year, BMI had 156 branches and service outlets, and nearly 350,000 customers.