Affin awaits clear decision by Indonesian regulators

KUALA LUMPUR: Affin Bank Bhd is still waiting for the Indonesian government to make a clear decision on foreign ownership of its banks.

Managing director and CEO Datuk Zulkiflee Abbas Abdul Hamid said that the agreement between Affin and PT Bank Ina Perdana for the former to acquire at least a 51% stake in the Indonesian bank had been terminated by nature as the agreement expired last year.

“However, we are still keen to relook at it once we are clear on the foreign ownership issue,” he said after the launch of Affin Bank’s new 24-hour online service, the Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) Fund Top Up service via its online banking website, affinOnline.com here yesterday.

He said the bank expected to attract 10,000 customers, including 5,000 new ones, for its new ASNB Fund Top Up service by the yearend.

Affin Bank is one of four banks in Malaysia to offer ASNB funds’ additional subscription online, and only the second bank to provide this as a 24-hour service.

He said the bank offered 80 sen per transaction from now until Aug 31, after which the normal fee of RM1 per transaction applied.

The bank also has 45,000-50,000 active users of its online services, which began in 2008.

Asked if its shareholder Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA) is interested in increasing its interest in Affin Holdings, he said: “Its stake has been growing but whether it will take it to the next level, that is something that we don’t know.

“But we think it is pretty happy with the stake it has right now.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hinted at the Invest Malaysia 2012 conference that the current 30% cap on foreign ownership of local banks could be raised in the near future.

BEA, which holds some 23% of Affin Holdings, is the biggest foreign bank in China. — Bernama