Photo shows the team behind OCBC Al-Amin’s branch in Sibu. The bank had set its sights on expanding into East Malaysia since its establishment in 2008.
KUALA LUMPUR: OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd (OCBC Al-Amin) yesterday opened its first East Malaysian Islamic banking branch in Sibu.
The branch, only the third OCBC entity in Sarawak – after the OCBC Bank branches in Kuching and Miri – also features the bank’s first Islamic premier banking centre in East Malaysia. With this, OCBC Al-Amin now has twelve branches nationwide.
Located at Wisma Toh Li Hua Foundation, the 4,700 square-foot branch offers a comprehensive range of OCBC Al-Amin’s Islamic banking products and services for individuals, SMEs and corporates.
It also features safe deposit boxes and a premier banking centre with a comfortable private customer discussion area. Other services include 24-hour electronic banking services comprising ATMs and Cash/Cheque Deposit Machines.
According to OCBC Al-Amin Chief Executive Officer Syed Abdull Aziz Syed Kechik, the bank had set its sights on expanding into East Malaysia since its establishment in 2008 and was pleased to see the plans coming to fruition.
“Expansion into East Malaysia has been a key part of our overall Islamic banking network-building strategy from the start. The move brings us a step closer to being better represented in our key markets.
“We are proud to announce also that our Sibu branch is the very first Islamic Premier Banking Centre in East Malaysia, and only the third nationwide after Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam and Skudai, Johor,” he said.
Commenting on the opening of the first Islamic Premier Banking Centre in East Malaysia, Syed Abdull Aziz said this was a significant milestone in OCBC’s journey toward even greater sophistication in Islamic banking.
“OCBC Al-Amin has grown steadily since our inception in December 2008. With the opening of our first Islamic Premier Banking Centre here in East Malaysia we hope to raise the bar in Islamic banking products and services for the high net worth segment in this region.
“We are eager to be part of the growing affluent community here in Sibu and are pleased to offer our expertise in Islamic banking products and services in a bigger way to the locals.
“We continue to expect further growth in terms of our Premier Banking offerings and we see Sibu as key to reaching the surrounding markets here in Sarawak,” he added.
On the customer developement strategy for Sibu, Syed Abdull Aziz said the bank will focus on engaging the local consumer community, SMEs and larger industry players especially those in infrastructure development, wholesale and trading.
“Key product suites deriving from financing and cash management will continue to underpin our core focus in Sibu,” he said. OCBC Al-Amin has progressively built a stable of 49 products involving 15 key principles of Shariah compliance, ranging from simple deposit and financing offerings to investment banking solutions.
With the opening of the OCBC Al-Amin Sibu branch, OCBC Bank has four branches in East Malaysia, including the three OCBC Bank branches in Kuching, Miri and Kota Kinabalu. Overall, OCBC has 44 branches – 12 Islamic and 32 conventional.