KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd has teamed up with Pos Malaysia Bhd to launch its new Visa Credit Card-I on Wednesday, targeting over 30,000 sign-ups of the new card across the country by the end of this year.

The shariah-compliant credit cards are available in either Visa Infinite-i or Visa Platinum-i,  which offer its holders cash rebates, discounts and 0% profit rate instalment payment plans, according to Bank Muamalat chief operating officer Zury Rahimee Zainal Abiden at the launch.

“This strategic approach leverages Pos Malaysia’s substantial customer base, which currently accounts for over 350,000 credit card transactions at their terminals. Bank Muamalat aims to issue 30,000 cards by the end of 2024, primarily targeting customers who frequently transact at over 700 post offices and Pos Laju branches nationwide,” he said, adding that the move will bolster the bank’s revenue and accelerate its business growth in Islamic banking.

For FY2022, Bank Muamalat posted a record profit before zakat and tax of RM306.7 million, up 20.3% from RM254.9 million a year ago, as revenue increased by 18% to RM1.34 billion from RM1.14 billion previously.

Bank Muamalat’s management, meanwhile, declined to comment on The Edge Malaysia weekly’s report over the weekend that its parent DRB-Hicom Bhd is mulling an initial public offering (IPO) for the bank. Diversified group DRB-Hicom controls a 70% stake in Bank Muamalat, while the remaining 30% is owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

Quoting sources, The Edge Malaysia weekly in its Feb 19-25, 2024 issue, reported that DRB-Hicom’s move may be prompted by the need to reduce the company’s stake in the bank to comply with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) requirements — as individuals are not allowed to control more than 10% in a bank under the Financial Services Act — as well as to alleviate debts.

DRB-Hicom acquired its 70% stake in Bank Muamalat for RM1.07 billion in 2008 from Bukhary Capital Sdn Bhd. At the time, BNM allowed the deal on condition that the diversified company would pare down its stake to more palatable levels.

As at end-September 2023, DRB-Hicom had RM1.18 billion short-term loans and RM6.28 billion in long-term loans. Cash and cash equivalents stood at RM2.95 billion.

Low-profile tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary holds a 55.92% stake in DRB-Hicom through his private entity, Etika Strategi Bhd.