Bank Pertanian Malaysia (BPM) is confident that its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MNI Takaful Sdn Bhd to offer Islamic insurance schemes will enable it to expand its customer base.

BPM general manager Mohamed Rosli Abdul Aziz said the bank hoped the MNI Takaful products would help boost its more than 1.2 million depositors to 1.5 million by the year-end. Rosli told Star Business after the signing of the MoU  with MNI Takaful here yesterday that the bank's depositors were currently growing at about 50,000 monthly.

The MoU allows MNI Takaful to offer its insurance products to BPM borrowers as well as other customers. Among others,  the products are Takaful plans for house ownership, fire, motor vehicle as well as all risks. Rosli said BPM, which started offering rtfl interest-free banking, two months ago had received encouraging response from its Muslim and non-Muslim customers.

He said the Takaful schemes would give customers more options for the type of insurance that they want.

On the advantages of subscribing to the Takaful schemes, MNI Takaful general manager Dr Kamaruddin Sharif said the schemes offered benefits which were not available in the conventional insurance plans.

Kamaruddin said MNI Takaful anticipated a higher turnover of RM67 million for the year ending March 31, 1997 compared with RM46 million previously.

He said that of the projected RM67 million in gross premium, RM42 million would be derived from Takaful life schemes and the rest from general Takaful plans. - Dafizeck Daud, The Star.