AFB group to invest in Malaysia

AFB group to invest in Malaysia

The Asian Finance Bank (AFB), only three months after its soft opening, has already received interest from Middle East investors keen to buy Malaysian equities and real estate.

In addition to catering to local investors, AFB plan to target some products to Middle East investors, to tap their interest in Malaysian equities and real estate.

“We will invite the Middle East investors to participate in some of the structures and products that we would be coming up with,” Faisal Alshowaikh, AFB chief executive officer recently told StarBiz in an interview.

The current excess liquidity in the Middle East has seen a growth of regional investment interest, with one recent Malaysian investment, the Four Seasons Resort in Langkawi by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin AbdulAziz AlSaud for RM435million.

As reported in StarBiz recently, according to Faisal, AFB also wants to work with Malaysian financial institutions in strategic partnerships to tap the Middle East as the bank brings “value, strength and distribution capabilities” and can serve as a “conduit between the Malaysian institutions and Gulf investors”.

“We have begun working with some local banks and would like to expand our strategic partnership with more local banks,” added Faisal.

AFB´s growth strategy will keep Malaysia as it´s Asian hub while cautiously expanding in the short and medium term with offices in Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia. AFB also wants to explore opportunities in China, Japan and Vietnam.