IslamicFinance.de

SEDCO Holding Group signed a partnership agreement with the Saudi British Bank (SABB), for its Riyali Financial Literacy Program. The agreement was signed by Hasan Al Jabri, CEO of SEDCO Holding Group, and Naif Alabdulkareem, General Manager Retail Banking at SABB. The Riyali Financial Literacy Program attained the Ministry of Education’s endorsement to roll out the program in grade school as well as universities. The program aims to educate future generations on the importance and benefits of financial awareness. The program has already reached more than 400,000 beneficiaries and aims to reach 2 million beneficiaries by 2020.

The markets for Islamic banking, insurance and sukuk bonds have all seen solid growth in recent years, but the sharia-compliant fund industry remains tiny. According to Hasan Al Jabri, chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s Sedco Capital, the growth of sharia-compliant investment has been stunted by a reputation for a lack of diversity, poor performance and high fees. Since May 2012, Sedco Capital has been building what is believed to be the largest sharia-compliant fund platform in Luxembourg. Its five vehicles hold $900m of assets. Sedco is currently launching two more vehicles. Mr Al Jabri emphasized that their investments are responsible, help creating value for the economy and jobs.