KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- CIMB Investment Bank Berhad, CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad and Unit Usaha Syariah PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (CIMB Niaga Syariah) (collectively “CIMB” or “the Group”) have been honoured at the Alpha Southeast Asia Best Financial Institution Awards and Best Islamic Finance Awards 2022 with multiple awards that attest to CIMB’s leadership in banking and finance, demonstrating its strengths in the bond and sukuk markets, SME and Islamic finance, and wealth management.
The recognitions received by CIMB include the following:
• Best Bond House (Malaysia, 11th win in 16 years)
• Best Islamic Finance Sukuk House (Malaysia)
• Best Islamic Finance SME Bank (Malaysia and Indonesia)
• Best Islamic Finance Wealth Management Bank (Indonesia)
Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Group Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Group said, “We are honoured to be once again recognised as a leader in banking and finance in Malaysia and Indonesia, which are two of CIMB Group’s key markets. Our continued strength in the bond markets with 11 wins over 16 years speaks strongly of the confidence of our clients, who benefit from the deep industry expertise of our leading wholesale banking franchise and strong relationships in the region. Concurrently, we remain committed to entrenching Islamic and sustainable finance as a valuable proposition, leveraging innovation while being guided by practices aligned to value-based intermediation in meeting clients’ varied needs. Our sincere thanks to all our clients for their support and trust over the years which have made these recognitions possible.”
According to Alpha Southeast Asia, CIMB was awarded as Best Bond House in Malaysia as it was the front runner for ringgit-denominated bond deals in Malaysia with the highest market share in terms of deal value, covering the Bloomberg, Dealogic and Refinitiv league tables.
The publication mentioned, “From foreign currency bonds to ringgit sukuks and local currency issues denominated in MYR, IDR or THB, CIMB leads from the front bringing its meticulous sense of innovation to the table for corporates, sovereigns and multi-laterals. Despite intense market competition in Malaysia and regionally from global banks, CIMB excels thanks in large part due to its astute understanding of market timing and key bench of highly experienced bankers stationed across the region. With a growing track record in ESG and sustainability-linked financing transactions, CIMB is likely to continue propelling forward for many more years to come.”
Commenting on CIMB as Best Islamic Finance Sukuk House, Alpha Southeast Asia said, “Its Islamic finance capabilities are second to none in the whole of Asia, dominating profitably and driven by innovation. The unrivalled sukuk house has also scored many “firsts” over the years from green sukuks, asset-backed issuances to ESG & sustainability-linked facilities. With a dominant 22.7 percent market share of sukuks in Malaysia, CIMB is an Islamic finance powerhouse unlike another when it comes to sukuks, green financing, FIGs, ABS issues as well as perpetuals and project financing.
CIMB’s Islamic Commercial Banking business (both in Malaysia and Indonesia) has also been actively supporting the long-term sustainability and resilience of micro and small and medium enterprise (“MSME”) customers through various payment assistance and financing schemes, including government and statutory body-led financing initiatives.
Most recently, CIMB announced a commitment of RM100 million in financing through the Low Carbon Transition Facility (“LCTF”), established by Bank Negara Malaysia in January 2022 to empower businesses, including SMEs, to adopt low carbon and sustainable practices for business resilience.
CIMB GreenBizReady is a one-stop sustainability solution which endeavours to help SMEs progress on their sustainability journey, empowering them with sustainability-linked financing and access to sustainability service providers, training and capacity building, certification and advisory services as well as added opportunities through business matching with support from industry leaders and government agencies. CIMB also continues to support SMEs through its CIMB HalalBizReady to help enable businesses become fully halal-ready along the entire value chain and connect to regional and global halal opportunities through the CIMB Trade Club.
In Indonesia, SMEs were able to benefit from financing products such as Pembiayaan Rekening Koran (“PRK”) which is based on a Musyarakah Mutanaqisah contract. It is the first Islamic banking product in the country with a refinancing feature for working capital financing.
Meanwhile, driving the growth of wealth management in Indonesia, the recent launch of CIMB Preferred Syariah brings optimised growth and portfolio protection according to Shariah principles for CIMB Niaga Syariah’s Preferred customers, supported by the added advantage of managing investment portfolios on the go through CIMB Niaga’s digital super app, OCTO Mobile.
