Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad (HLISB), a subsidiary of Hong Leong Bank Berhad has announced the opening of a new Islamic branch in Terengganu. The new branch was opened on 27th July 2010 and is the fourth Islamic banking branch in the country.

Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad is the second branch which has developed in the area of Kota Baharu.In a statement the bank said the new branch will be officiated by Terengganu state secretary Datuk Mazlan Ngah. The bank will also be handing out donations of over RM10,000 to charitable organisations to mark the occasion. The opening ceromony of the new branch in Terengganu was held at the Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad (HLISB), Jalan Sultan Ismail on Tuesday.

Managing Director of Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad,Hijah Arifak Othman  said in a statement that, " The opening of this branch is to fulfil our customers'needs in the east coast which is seeing rapid growth in Islamic banking." As the bank is situated in the east coast which is a region that has scope for Shariah compliant products and services the bank can cater for the needs of both Muslims and non Muslims alike who want to use Shariah compliant methods to finance and manage their wealth.

Hijah Arifak Othman further added that, "It is also an important move to expand our coverage and strengthen our relations with customers in the east coast".  With the expansion of the Islamic financial industry the Islamic banking sector is emerging with branches on a global scale.

Many Islamic Shariah compliant banks are being set up around the world to cater for the needs of predominently Muslims but also for the needs of non Muslims. As the Islamic financial industry is set to soar to over $1.5 trillion by 2012 it is an excellent period to utilise and expand branches.