Stanchart and RBS eye Malaysian Islamic subsidiaries

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Bank (STAN.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (RBS.L) plan to set up Islamic banking subsidiaries in Malaysia, local media reported on Monday.

Standard Chartered has obtained the Malaysian central bank's nod to set up the subsidiary, the bank's Islamic banking head Azrulnizam Abd Aziz was quoted by Business Times as saying. The lender will set up its Islamic arm before year end.

RBS plans to ask for a license to set up an Islamic banking subsidiary, the bank's country head Harry Naysmith was quoted as saying in a report published in the Malaysian Reserve.

Mostly Muslim Malaysia has 12 full-fledged Islamic banks, according to central bank data. As at last year, it had sharia-compliant assets worth 157 billion ringgit (25 billion pounds), accounting for 12.8 percent of the total banking system.

The Southeast Asian country aims to be a global hub for Islamic finance, a $1 trillion industry that is growing rapidly, thanks to a flood of petrodollars from the Middle East.

($1=3.347 Malaysian Ringgit)

(Reporting by Liau Y-Sing)