KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8: Malayan Banking Bhd. (Maybank), Malaysia’s biggest listed company, said on Saturday it has no immediate plans to buy the country’s oldest Islamic bank, Bank Islam.

I never thought of it. It’s not on my table at the moment, Chief Executive Amirsham A. Aziz told reporters after the bank’s annual meeting.

There has been persisent market talk that Maybank, Malaysia’s biggest lender and already a major player in Islamic banking, was looking to take over Bank Islam.

Bank Islam’s parent BIMB Holdings Bhd on Friday reported a net loss of 456 million ringgit ($121 million) for the year to end-June due to large provisions for bad loans.

Bank Islam officials said on Friday that two Middle Eastern investors were keen to take up to a 49 per cent stake in the bank, The Star newspaper reported.

Maybank hoped to maintain a dividend payout policy of 60 per cent, taking into account the bank’s capital position and any opportunities for acquisitions, Amirsham said.

The bank, with assets of about 187 billion ringgit, would be able to sustain its return-on-equity (ROE) at 18 per cent.

The system is still very liquid, that’s for sure, he said.

Malaysian inflation is running at around 6-1/2-year highs, driven mainly by rising fuel prices.—Reuters