NBAD expands to Malaysia

United Arab Emirates' (UAE) leading bank, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), comes to Malaysian shores aiming to make the country its regional hub in SEA expansion.The new subsidiary, National Bank of Abu Dhabi Malaysia, was inaugurated with an investment of RM310 million, and will see five branches in the next three to five years and 30 branches in the next decade here."Southeast Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world with strong commercial links to UAE. Malaysia is the region's largest trading partner with the Gulf region and in the UAE in particular, making it a natural choice for us to establish a subsidiary here," said Michael H. Tomalin (second from right), group chief executive of NBAD.Qamber Ali Al Mulla (second from left), senior general manager of the international banking division of NBAD, said that it wants to take its presence from 14 countries to around 41 countries in the next 10 years."In the short to medium term, our new destinations will be Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, India, South Sudan, Turkey, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam," he added.Leong See Meng, chief executive officer of NBAD-Malaysia said the bank's full suite of wholesale banking solutions serves to cater to the unique requirements of Malaysian conglomerates, multinationals, manufacturers and exporters."This spans across Malaysian corporate base, manufacturers, government and government bodies, GLCs and inward audiences wanting to invest/transact with our Malaysian target market," added Leong (pictured right).NBAD-Malaysia hopes to reach its targeted groups via current on ground initiatives, and plans to look into print advertisements in relevant business titles to establish its presence in the country."At this initial stage, we are offering a comprehensive suite of wholesale banking products and services ranging from working capital, trade finance, guarantees, treasury instruments and leading into fixed income and other wholesale banking innovations currently offered group wide," said Leong."After we have established that solid foundation in commercial banking, we plan to look into introducing the consumer side of NBAD," he added.