ASIAN Finance Bank is pitching for mandates to develop Islamic products for South Korean companies that are keen to expand in the Middle East, its chief said.

Chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil said the bank is now talking to several investment houses in South Korea.

"There could be a possibility of our bank being appointed as syariah adviser and we are now working very closely with government- related companies and established investment houses in Korea."

In an interview in Kuala Lumpur recently, Mohamed Azahari said AFB has also been hired by a local property developer to help sell their super condominiums to South Koreans.

"About 30 to 40 Korean buyers have been identified and we want to provide the end-financing to them."

Demand for Islamic finance products is rising in newer markets such as South Korea, he said.

AFB, owned by Qatar Islamic Bank, is actively looking for opportunities in other markets such as China, India and naturally the Middle East due to "our Islamic common values".

The bank may also arrange the listing of Malaysian companies in Dubai and Qatar, providing them with a dual listing status.

It is already in talks with the stock exchange authorities.

"This will allow them to raise capital for their expansion in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)," said Mohamed Azahari.

AFB has been operating in Malaysia for two years now and Mohamed Azahari joined the bank about five months ago, making him the first Malaysian to head a foreign Islamic bank.

"I would say that we have achieved quite a lot in two years, especially in terms of creating visibility in the market," he said.

"To address the bottomline is still a long way as it takes time for us to model structures and of course we are now looking at the returns. But in terms of targets to do deals in the market, it has been within our expectations."

Mohamed Azahari said AFB has no plans to increase its capital base of RM355 million "as we are not looking at volumes so much.

"We are looking at quality assets, and responsible lending should be the key word in this very difficult environment," he said.

(c) 2009 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.