B60bn deposited on opening day Wichayan Boonchote - Hat Yai http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/23Sep2002_biz46.html Krung Thai Bank's two Islamic banks in Songkhla province attracted new deposits totalling more than 60 billion baht on Friday, the first day of business, said Korkiat Wongaree, an executive overseeing the Islamic services. Three more Islamic branches, one each in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Satun provinces, are in the pipeline. Apart from serving local customers, the banks are likely to attract investment from the Middle East destined for business in Thailand. Some oil tycoons from Bahrain had expressed interest in lodging a total of US$400 million in joint projects with the bank, Mr Korkiat said. About 1,000 customers, mostly Muslims, had gathered at each of the two new branches, one on Thammanoonvithee Road and the other on Karnchanavanij Road, in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, before the doors opened. Mr Korkiat said he was confident that the branches would attract more deposits because predominantly Muslim Hat Yai is the economic centre of the country's southern region. The bank plans to open Islamic operations in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in November and in Satun in December. In the first quarter of next year, it plans to establish an Islamic bank headquarters in Bangkok. By the end of next year, it plans to open Islamic branches in 34 other provinces. The services cater for about six million Muslims and other members of the public who are in favour of sharing profits instead of receiving interest on deposits. Krung Thai Bank also plans to open Islamic banks overseas, targetting customers in Malaysia and the Middle East. ``Encouraged by the success of Islamic banks in Malaysia, we believe that we will be able to achieve the same level of success [in Thailand],'' Mr Korkiat said. ``We estimate that deposits by Muslims in Thailand currently amount to about 40 billion baht. We believe that we will able to attract seven billion baht in deposits from Muslims living in the country's five southernmost provinces. ``The bank may also be able to win back some of the deposits made with Islamic banks in neighbouring provinces in Malaysia,'' he said. Preeda Mudmahn (30), a resident of Hat Yai, said that she had been waiting for an Islamic bank for a long time. In the past, she deposited money in savings accounts since they did not emphasise interest earnings. Now that the Islamic branch had opened, every member of her family had opened an account. Almost all Muslims in her area would make use of the new service, she said. Teerasak Suwanayos, the head of Krung Thai Bank's Islamic banking service, said the bank's first Islamic operation, which opened in Narathiwat in July, now had 1,600 deposit accounts totalling 25 million baht. The Islamic services in Yala and Pattani each had about 30 million baht in 1,000 deposit accounts. Krung Thai Bank also offers Islamic banking services at its conventional branches in the two cities. |