James Kon

Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), the nation’s largest Islamic financial institution, posted a record profit of BND147.9 million in 2018, an increase of 27.3 per cent from the profit of BND116.2 million recorded in 2017.

During the same year, BIBD’s total assets crossed a milestone figure of over BND10 billion, the largest ever in the group’s history, cementing BIBD’s position as the market leader in Brunei. BIBD also delivered a strong Return on Equity (RoE) to its shareholders at 12.5 per cent for the 2018 financial year, further enhancing the returns and value to shareholders.

BIBD Group’s historic high in net profit and milestone figure in asset size was shared with the bank’s shareholders at its 2019 Annual General Meeting at The Empire Hotel & Country Club’s Indera Samudra Grand Hall yesterday.

Commenting on the achievement, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Paduka Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah in his capacity as the BIBD Chairman said; “Alhamdulillah, we are very delighted for another successful year for BIBD which has been made possible with the support and trust of our shareholders, customers and stakeholders.

“BIBD’s vision of becoming a preferred regional Islamic bank will allow us to enhance and diversify our income stream and provide better returns on investment to our shareholders. We stand committed to the vision of driving BIBD forward as the preferred choice for Bruneians. Insya Allah, we will continue to contribute significantly to our customers, shareholders, community, and country.”

BIBD Managing Director and CEO Mubashar Khokhar congratulated the entire BIBD Group.

He believed that BIBD’s strong governance and management policies enabled it to achieve optimal returns for its customers and shareholders. “Alhamdulillah, BIBD is very blessed to have such a dedicated and energetic team. Being Bruneian at heart, we work wholeheartedly to be internationally recognised for our strong market position and financial stability. The bank’s ability to retain its A- (stable) S&P Global rating since 2015 signifies the bank’s robustness and stability of its corporate governance, risk assessment and management adoption of best international practices,” he said.

“A strong governance and robust risk management policies and processes have also enabled us to optimise returns to our customers and stakeholders while ensuring our asset quality remained strong.”

Shareholders also approved the financial statements for the year ending 2018. BIBD demonstrated continued commitment to shareholders by declaring a dividend of 12.17 cents (BND0.1217).

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs Dato Seri Setia Haji Abdul Aziz bin Orang Kaya Maharaja Lela Haji Yussof as the Chairman of the Shariah Advisory Body of BIBD, members of the BIBD Board of Directors and Shariah Advisory Body and BIBD senior management and officials were also present.