Standard Chartered Bank may consider selling its Islamic banking unit in Malaysia. According to news reports, the bank has been exploring various options and has been testing the market. The unit is called Standard Chartered Saadiq. The bank is said to be wanting to exit from Malaysia’s Islamic banking market as fierce competition from local rivals has limited its growth prospects. However, Standard Chartered has denied any such move. The bank was the first international firm to offer Islamic banking products in Malaysia in 1992. The unit had RM670 million of net assets at the end of September. Its net income fell 27% in 2017 to RM23.5 million, roughly a third of its profit 5 years earlier.
