Amanah Raya Berhad Allies with Citigroup to Offer Securities Services
Kuala Lumpur, May 24, 2004
– Amanah Raya (Labuan) Limited (ARL), the offshore subsidiary of
Amanah Raya Berhad (ARB), formalized a strategic alliance with Citigroup
Global Transaction Services today to offer global custody and securities
services in Labuan. Via this partnership, ARL will leverage Citigroup’s
worldwide presence and its state-of-the-art infrastructure to offer
global securities and custody services to large, medium-sized, and
boutique institutions operating in the Labuan International Offshore
Financial Centre (IOFC).
Benefits
"Essentially, our partnership with Citigroup will support
and enhance the backroom operation services offered by ARL. This
win-win partnership is yet another step in making ARL the dominant
offshore clearing and settlement agent in Labuan," explained
ARB managing director Encik Izham Yusoff.
Although ARB had its pick from several reputable global banks, it
chose to work with Citigroup given the latter’s financial
strength, technological capabilities, and global reach. "Citigroup
is considered a world leader in the application of technology for
banking communications and solutions. By implementing their state-of-the-art
systems platform with the capability to achieve end-to-end processing
and data matching across the Citigroup Global Transaction Services
network, investors gain access to one of the most flexible and reliable
systems in the market," said Izham.
Investors will also be able to access one-stop services worldwide
through Citigroup’s global network of over 100 countries.
Securities Services are offered in 71 of these markets, where 46
of which are proprietary network. Citigroup continues to extend
its custodial network through the use of Citigroup branches and
subsidiaries as well as third party agents.
Citigroup also owns the largest proprietary network worldwide, which
significantly reduces risk through the standardization of controls
and procedures. Processing is done through a strong and integrated
system and technology platform that delivers straight-through processing
and direct on-line feeds from the end markets.
This alliance will also enhance Malaysia’s position as a global
financial centre by deepening and broadening the range and quality
of services available in Labuan, and will attract new business to
the IOFC.
"In Labuan IOFC, no trust company has actually gone into providing
securities services to offshore players. The absence of such services
has forced other offshore players - such as insurance companies,
fund management companies and investment banks - to choose custodian
banks operating outside Labuan to handle their investment backroom
processes," explained Izham.
ARL would also be able to attract business from smaller-sized and
boutique firms, which lack the necessary large volumes to procure
the best rates from large global institutions.
"There are institutions which prefer smaller-scale custodians
to cater for their smaller-sized funds, but require the same quality
of service and economies of scale offered by the big boys. Our partnership
with Citigroup enables us to bridge this gap; through ARL, specialist
or smaller investment boutiques can enjoy world-class services at
highly competitive rates," said Izham.
Services
ARL’s securities and custody services cater for the needs
of both investment boutiques and larger financial players and cover
both conventional and Islamic financial instruments traded in global
markets. These services encompass:
Securities settlement, which cover the settlement of internationally
traded securities, covering bonds, equities and investment funds;
Custody (safekeeping), where securities in either physical or dematerialized
form are kept in Citigroup’s system and held through local
depositories;
Corporate Action services, which include income distribution and
reporting, tax consultancy, corporate event notification, and proxy
voting in over 25 equity markets and over 30 bond markets; and Fund
Accounting Services, which include investment accounting, portfolio
valuation, and fully reconciled valuation packages. Several investment
firms with a global and regional presence have already signed up
for ARL’s global securities and custody services. ARL has
received a mandate to provide backroom and administration support
to the Gulf Investment Fund (GIF), a Dubai-based investment vehicle
worth US$100 (RM380) million. The funds were pooled from several
institutional investors who are predominantly from the Gulf States.
Perkasa Normandy Managers, an investment boutique that manages private
funds at both the domestic and international level, has also outsourced
its regional custody services to ARL.
About AMANAH RAYA BERHAD
Amanah Raya Berhad (ARB) is a wholly-owned government corporation,
formerly known as the Department of Public Trustee and Official
Administrator of Malaysia. First established in 1921, ARB was corporatized
in 1995. ARB offers Legacy management services, Will writing and
execution and Trustee services. Currently, ARB provides trustee
services for 61 unit trust funds valued in excess of RM 54 billion,
trustee services for bonds and other financial instruments and investment
management. Our customer-oriented products and services are available
at 20 branches all over Malaysia.
About Citigroup® Global Transaction Services
Citigroup® Global Transaction Services is a leading provider
of integrated cash management, trade, securities and fund services
for corporations, financial institutions, intermediaries and governments
around the world. With over $115 billion in average liability balances,
more than $6.4 trillion in assets under custody and the largest
proprietary branch network, Citigroup’s award-winning operating
systems and Internet-based delivery channels enable clients to manage
and monitor working capital and investments more efficiently, streamline
transaction processing cycles, and re-engineer receivables and payment
processes. Citigroup® Global Transaction Services provides clients
with access to Citigroup’s full range of capabilities and
solutions along with an on-the-ground presence and in-depth knowledge
of more than 100 local markets. For additional information, see
www.transactionservices.citigroup.com.
