Maybank S'pore inks novel hotel-backed Islamic finance deal

Singapore

SINGAPORE's fledgling Islamic finance sector received a boost on Monday with Maybank Singapore announcing a first-of-its-kind Islamic financing deal worth S$260 million.

The deal, which has a hotel as the underlying security, was inked between the bank, part of Malaysia's Maybank group, and RB Capital.

The hotel, developed by RB Capital, is the 442-room, mid-tier Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay.

Maybank Singapore said: "Hospitality-related assets are not typical in Islamic financing, which makes this the first to be done in a secular country, and also one of the biggest Islamic deals in Singapore."

Islamic financing bans interest, products with excessive uncertainty, gambling, short …