Bank Islam Brunei delays IPO on Bursa to H1 of 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam Bhd., the Southeast Asian sultanate’s biggest lender, has postponed a planned initial public offering that could raise as much as us$500mil, people familiar with the matter said.

Bank Islam needs more time to complete some internal restructuring procedures before it proceeds with the listing in Kuala Lumpur, the people said, asking not to be identified because the process is private. 

Bank Islam had originally planned to submit a draft prospectus to the Malaysian securities regulator this month and list by the end of the year, according to the people. 

It is now targeting to sell shares in the first half of 2018, the people said. 
     
The IPO would be the first from a company based in Brunei. 

First-time share sales in Malaysia raised $1.7 billion so far this year, up from $270 million during the same period in 2016, the data show.

Bank Islam is “constantly reviewing” options to continue its business growth and create shared value, a representative said in an emailed statement, declining to comment on the delay.

Shareholders of Bank Islam include the Brunei finance ministry, the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation, private equity firm Fajr Capital Ltd. and about 6,000 Bruneian investors, according to its website. 
     
The lender, formed through a 2005 merger of Islamic Bank of Brunei with Islamic Development Bank of Brunei, had 9.5bil Brunei dollars (US$7bil) of total group assets at the end of 2016. 

Its Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio was 20.8 percent at that time, its website shows. Bank Islam, based in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan, has 15 branches across Brunei and employs more than 700 people. - Bloomberg