Bank Islam To Set Up 25 New Branches Within Three Years

KUALA LUMPUR - Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd plans to set up 25 new branches within the next three years, said managing director Datuk Zukri Samat Wednesday.
"The bank, which currently has 90 branches, will allocate between RM500,000 and RM600,000 for each branch, depending on the location," he told reporters after the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with Amanah Raya Bhd here Wednesday.
Under the partnership, Amanah Raya will be the will writer, custodian and executor, while the Bank Islam will sell and distribute the services.

Zukri said the bank expected to generate a revenue of RM1.5 million from will writing service by year-end and attract 1.5 million customers.

Bikini-free Islamic tourism booms in Turkey

The resorts of Turkey, a favourite among British holidaymakers, are enjoying a boom in Islamic tourism.
The beaches famous for bikini-clad Europeans and surfers are increasingly becoming popular among devout Muslims who wear head-to-toe swimsuits.
Islamic tourism is the fastest-growing part of Turkey's £10 billion industry. A new Islamic hotel recently opened in Bodrum, a resort popular with British tourists where topless bathing is common.
Although they do not drink, the Muslim guests are welcomed by hoteliers because they spend a lot of money.

Bahrain's Albaraka opens office in Indonesia

MANAMA - Bahrain-based Islamic lender Albaraka Banking Group BARKA.BH (ABG) has opened an office in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, and plans to expand in Southeast Asia, the company said on Thursday.
The firm has more than 250 branches across 12 countries, which it says gives it the widest geographical reach of any Islamic lender.
"Indonesia ... is the home of 220 million people, and its commercial and economic links with the Arab and Islamic world are growing," Albaraka Chairman Sheikh Saleh Kamel said in a statement.
The group told Reuters last year it planned to open 74 branches in the next five years, all but two of them abroad, as it seeks to stay ahead of rivals in tapping the growing global appeal of Islamic banking.
Along with the Gulf, Malaysia is one of the world's two biggest Islamic banking hubs, and Albaraka has said it may expand there. The lender said it was also looking at China and India, and that it prefers to grow by branch expansion rather than acquisitions.
Differences in Islamic jurisprudence and a lack of qualified staff have hampered attempts for more cross-regional Islamic banking between the Gulf and Asia, bankers say.