Cagamas in JV with HK Mortgage

HKMC executive director Peter Pang (left) and Cagamas chairman Datuk Ooi Sang Kuang signing the JV agreement in Hong Kong on Thursday. Ooi said the partnership would leverage on the synergy between its knowledge of the Malaysian and Islamic markets and HKMC’s expertise and track record in pioneering the mortgage insurance business in Hong Kong.

The joint venture would also be looking for opportunities to develop the business in other parts of Asia as well as the Islamic housing finance markets. He said the mortgage guarantee cover would be an effective tool for banks and other financial institutions in the country to better manage risk exposure. “This arrangement will also help to develop the secondary mortgage market and also promote home ownership in the country.

“We look forward to working with HKMC to capitalise on the opportunities in the market where, in the long term, our partnership will stretch to more joint developments of other mortgage business possibilities in Malaysia and also Asean,” Ooi said. HKMC executive director Peter Pang said the rapport and common vision shared by Cagamas and HKMC had now crystallised in the form of a strategic partnership to enhance the safety of mortgage financing in the region.

“The resounding success of HKMC’s Mortgage Insurance Programme since its inception in 1999 has clearly demonstrated that the business model provides a win-win solution benefiting homebuyers, mortgage lenders, regulators and the financial market,” he said in the statement. Cagamas president and chief executive officer Steven Choy said there were opportunities for the mortgage business beyond Malaysia, particularly in the Islamic housing finance markets.