Malayan Banking Bhd aims to capture a bigger share of Islamic bond underwriting following its purchase of Kim Eng Holdings Ltd, said the Malaysian firm’s head of investing banking.

Maybank, Malaysia’s biggest lender, will use Kim Eng’s offices in Singapore and Indonesia to improve its standing after slipping to fourth from second this year for sukuk sales, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, chief executive officer of the investment bank unit, said in a May 24 interview. The Kuala Lumpur-based lender arranged 9 per cent of global issuance this year, while HSBC Holdings Plc took the top spot with 24 per cent, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Sukuk sales climbed 37 per cent to US$6.7 billion in 2011 as economic growth accelerated in Asia and Persian Gulf borrowers completed debt restructurings. Maybank is a lead arranger for Malaysia’s sale of 10-year dollar Islamic bonds planned for this year along with HSBC and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

“The big boys like CIMB, HSBC and Maybank have the muscle to underwrite the bigger deals,” Elsie Tham, Kuala Lumpur-based senior manager at Manulife Asset Management Sdn Bhd, who oversees more than US$1 billion in assets, said in an interview yesterday. “Maybank has the financial strength, but it depends on how aggressive they are in getting the business.”

Maybank completed the S$798 million (US$639 million) acquisition of a 44.6 per cent stake in Kim Eng, a Singapore- based securities and investment-banking group, on May 10. The acquired company has offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, London, and New York, according to its web site.

Source : Business Times