KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): Agrobank has appointed Syed Alwi Mohamed Sultan as the government-owned agricultural development bank’s new president and chief executive officer. 

Syed Alwi has vast experience in the Islamic banking and finance business with more than 20 years of experience in the industry, the bank said in a statement.

He previously held senior management positions with Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd, The Islamic Bank of Asia Ltd and HL Bank Singapore. 

Syed Alwi has a Bachelor of Accounting and a first-class MBA in Islamic Finance from the International Islamic University of Malaysia. 

Agrobank chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Zabidi Zaina said Syed Alwi “is the right chief to lead the next exciting phase, as Agrobank is shifting its gears of strength to continue to transform the bank for the future”. 

Syed Alwi, meanwhile, has shown strong performance for the past few years under the first phase of transformation, Agrobank added in its statement.

In 2015, Agrobank became a full-fledged Islamic bank that provides shariah-compliant banking products and funding to cater for the halal food industry and agriculture-related activities.