MOVES-Standard Chartered appoints CEO for Islamic banking business

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DUBAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (HKSE: 2888.HK - news) has appointed Rehan Shaikh as chief executive of its global Islamic banking business, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Shaikh moves to Standard Chartered Saadiq from Dubai Islamic Bank, where he was senior vice president and business head, private sector and transaction banking. He previously worked for StanChart (HKSE: 2888-OL.HK - news) in Pakistan from 1998 to 2007, the statement said.

He takes over from Sohail Akbar, who was interim chief executive of the Islamic banking operation after the departure of Afaq Khan earlier this year.

StanChart remains committed to the business despite a period of hiatus across other parts of the bank as global chief executive Bill Winters moves to restore profitability. It announced plans this month to reduce costs by $2.9 billion by 2018 and cut 15,000 jobs.

"Islamic finance is an integral part of the business at Standard Chartered and we continue to see growing demand from clients in many of our markets," said Sunil Kaushal, the bank's regional chief executive for Africa and the Middle East.

Standard Chartered Saadiq provides personal banking in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, its website says.

The bank also says it also offers structured finance for businesses in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, the United States, Brunei, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore and the UK.

(Reporting By Tom Arnold; Editing by David Goodman)