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Categories
| Al Rajhi targets RM6b assets by year-end |
| Business & Market 2009 | |||
| Written by Darlene Liew | |||
| Thursday, 05 November 2009 21:57 | |||
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He said although the slowdown had some indirect impact on the bank's business, particularly in relation to markets that were directly exposed to the meltdown, Al Rajhi operations in Malaysia remained strong. Ahmed expects the bank's growth trend to continue for some time. "Al Rajhi is small, that's why it grew very fast. And we need to grow aggressively," he told reporters today, after a ceremony to mark Al Rajhi's participation in the Malaysian Electronic Payment System (MEPS) shared ATM network. "Our key focus this year has been in executing a well-thought thorough alternate banking channel strategy that covers ATMs, Internet banking and mobile banking," he added. Ahmed said the bank hoped to open four or five new branches in Malaysia next year, subject to Bank Negara Malaysia's approval. At present, Al Rajhi has 19 branches and 17 offsite ATMs. He said the bank's participation in MEPS would provide its customers with the convenience of making interbank cash withdrawals and balance inquiries at about 9,000 ATMs nationwide. Meanwhile, MEPS' group managing director Mohd Suhail Amar Suresh said two more foreign banks were likely to join MEPS next year. "Kuwait Finance House has already confirmed joining us in the first quarter of next year, while another foreign bank is still in discussions on the collaboration," he said. Mohd Suhail said MEPS registered more than 11 million ATMs transactions monthly, adding that the transaction growth rate of 15% over the last three years was likely to continue in 2010. "The growth would be assisted by the adoption of e-payment as well as our strategy and drive to create more awareness among the public of our service," he added. Commenting on the implementation of the RM50 service charge on credit cards next year, Mohd Suhail said the government's move could increase people's reliance on cash and push up ATM transactions. MEPS chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said Al Rajhi's membership in MEPS would give Malaysians travelling to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries access to their funds via ATMs. "We see this as an important link especially in view of the high number of Malaysians performing the haj or umrah. This bilateral service will also be made available for tourists from the GCC countries travelling here." Since its incorporation in 1997, MEPS has established partnerships with switching networks in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and China for the provision of bilateral financial payment and credit card transfer services.
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