Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the state-owned Islamic Bank of Thailand (IBank) to complete its long-delayed process of finding a new partner by the end of the year. Mr Ekniti said the Finance Ministry stands ready to subscribe 18 billion baht to the bank's capital increased shares if IBank achieves the new tie-up. According to the Finance Ministry's plan, its fund for state-owned banks will contribute a combined 16 billion baht of this, with the remaining 2 billion baht coming from the annual budget. He said the fund for state-owned banks has been incorporated with the aim of keeping them stable -- a category the IBank investment would neatly fall into. The ministry holds a 48.5% stake in IBank while the Government Savings Bank owns 39.8% and Krungthai Bank 9.83%.

Source: Bangkok Post August 03, 2017 23:37 UTC