IslamicFinance.de

On the 4th of February, Rabat will be the host city for a workshop introducing a multimillion-dollar fund from the Islamic Development Bank called Transform to Morocco. The fund is intended to stimulate growth in science, technology and innovation and its first undertaking is an online platform called Engage. This venture will help match businesses with innovators and will fund scientific initiatives. The February workshop will be presented by Dr Hayat Sindi, who will meet with chief Ministers and Government Agencies during her tour in Morocco. She will meet spokespeople from the Ministry of High Education, Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank are to use the Islamic finance market for infrastructure development projects through public-private partnerships (PPP). The IDB recently organized a forum in Washington in partnership with the World Bank on this subject. The World Bank suggested that the Islamic financial market has reached $1.9 trillion over the past six decades. IDB spokesperson Dr. Abdul-Hakim Elwaer said the aim of the forum was to create awareness about the potential for infrastructure development through PPP. This falls in line with the new development orientations of IDB member countries. For example, Saudi Arabia is targeting to increase the private sector’s contribution to the GDP from 40 to 65%. The Kingdom aims to achieve this through increasing the use of PPPs and through the privatization of government entities.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) announced it had formed a $500-million fund for scientific research. President Bandar Hajjar said the fund would find solutions to economic adversity using scientific innovations. He was speaking at the 33rd Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul. Hajjar added that the bank had received 100 million Saudi riyals ($26.6 million) as contribution. He also added that to address the issue of youth unemployment a five-year program has been launched to improve cooperation between universities, research centers, non-governmental organizations and government departments.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved a multi-million-dollar package of financing to boost infrastructure investments in seven African nations. Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Tunisia and Suriname will benefit from a share of the total $805 million deals for investments in energy, housing, agriculture and water supply. IDB president Dr Bandar Hajjar signed the agreements with the finance ministers of the beneficiary countries. Cote d'Ivoire will receive $265m for the Cocody Bay project and vocational training. Mali will receive $166m for the country’s Sirakoro power plant project and Burkina Faso will receive $104m for a power project. Guinea is to receive $16m for a rural water supply project and Tunisia will receive $80m for agricultural development. Senegal and Suriname will receive a total of $173 for housing projects.

Dr. Zamir Iqbal, Chief Financial Officer of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), rang the market-opening bell to mark the listing of a $1.25 billion Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai. 53% of the five-year Sukuk issuance was acquired by investors in the EMEA region, while 47% went to investors based in Asia, with an annual return of 2.261%. The IDB is one of the largest Sukuk issuers on Nasdaq Dubai, with a current total of eight listings valued at $10.25 billion. The bell-ringing ceremony was attended by Hamed Ali, CEO of Nasdaq, as well as Azahari Bin Abd Kudus, Capital Markets Manager of the IDB. Dubai is a leading international centre for Sukuk activity, with Sukuk listings in the Emirate currently totalling $52.47 billion.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is using blockchain to develop new sharia-complaint financial products. The bank's Islamic Research and Training Institute has struck an agreement with two startups, Ateon and SettleMint, to perform technical feasibility studies. IDB said that it was interested in asset exchanges that can settle in near-instant time. According to the statement by SettleMint, blockchain smart contracts can help automate the contractual processes for Islamic institutions. At the same time, they can also alleviate the additional administrative and legal complexities as well as redundancies associated with Sharia-compliant financial products. SettleMint's CEO Matthew Van Niekerk said he was excited to contribute to this project, thus to the financial inclusion and development of the 57 member countries of the IDB.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to use blockchain technology to develop sharia-compliant products to support financial inclusion in its member countries. The bank's Islamic Research and Training Institute signed an agreement with local firm Ateon and Belgium-based SettleMint for the development of the project. Blockchain involves a shared electronic ledger that allows all parties to track information, removing the need for third-party verification. The IDB said such features would allow for instantaneous clearing and settlement of transactions and asset exchanges, while helping eliminate counterparty risk.

Warba Bank participated in the launch of the Islamic Development Bank’s (IDB) most recent Sukuk issuance. The IDB has issued a five-year $1.25 billion Sukuk at an annual return of 2.661%. In terms of the final allocation, 53% of the issue size has been allocated to investors in EMEA, while 47% has been allocated to Asia. 57% of the issue size has been allocated to central banks and official agencies, while 43% has been allocated to banks and fund managers. Shaheen Hamad Al Ghanim, CEO of Warba Bank, said he was proud to participate in IDB's latest issuance, which came in addition to the Bank’s launch of its $250 million Sukuk earlier this year. That has been a key factor in making the bank the first option to manage Sukuk issuances. Al-Ghanim pointed out that Warba Bank would continue its strategy and explore investment opportunities in the regional and international markets that yield maximum returns.

Warba Bank announced that it will be partaking in a USD 1.25 billion five-year joint venture with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Warba Bank said that subscription for the deal had attracted regional and international financial institutions. The amount of issued bonds reached over 136%, around USD 1.7 billion. Warba Bank indicated that it would reap around 2.6% of annual income due to the deal. The IDB issued around 53% of the bonds to investors from the MENA region and Europe, while 47% of the bonds target investors from Asia.

The 72nd session of the UN General Assembly was held from September 19 to 25 in New York. The event was co-organised by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). It emphasised that the successful implementation of the SDG (Global Goals) require a significant amount of financial resources. The UNDP once more mentioned Islamic finance and how it could be tapped as a scalable funding source for global development. According to Magdy Martínez-Soliman, UN assistant secretary general, the gap in SDG financing is currently estimated at $2.5tn every year. He noted that official development assistance alone is not an adequate source of financing, but Islamic finance could effectively come to the rescue. As a key driver, the IDB has established the Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform (GIFIIP) to create the framework of the investing ecosystem. The GIFIIP’s role is also the matchmaking between Islamic finance investors and other players, such as business incubators, development organisations and inclusive business ventures seeking capital.

#Bangladesh-based Social Islami Bank (SIBL) is set to invest $2 million in a real estate-focused private equity fund managed by the Islamic Development Bank. The fund is called the Awqaf Properties Investment Fund (APIF) and aims to invest in Awqaf real estate property that is socially, economically and financially viable in member countries of the IDB. SIBL's managing director, Amm Farhad, said the bank was investing in the project not for commercial reasons but for social welfare. In Bangladesh, APIF will start off with the construction of two towers, a multipurpose building and a university in Chittagong, with a total investment of $100 million. The bank will represent Bangladesh in the managerial committee of APIF, which has 8 IDB member countries in the board: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Iran, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine and Malaysia.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is investing more than US$2 billion into innovative projects in Kazakhstan. The three major initiatives are the establishment of an organization on food security of Muslim countries, a project of integration of Islamic infrastructure and the establishment of the Astana International Financial Center. IDB CEO Bandar Bin Mohammed Hajjar said the investment would strengthen the bilateral relationship between the IDB and government of Kazakhstan. The IDB has recently established the Foundation for Development of Science, Technology and Innovation. In addition, the bank undertakes the creation of the cooperation ecosystem, which should unite efforts of governments, businessmen and scholars of Islamic countries, and allow to realize the most advanced ideas into ready-made, commercial products.

Pakistan's Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq said the country was highly indebted to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for its support and acknowledges the critical support of the bank for Polio eradication. The senator was talking to an IDB delegation visiting the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC). The IDB delegation was led by Dr Sadik Mohammad Teyeb, senior health specialist of the bank from Jeddah and Inamullah Khan, Country Representative of the Bank in Pakistan. The current epidemiology in the country is quite promising with only 3 Polio cases reported in 2017 compared to 14 reported by 7th August in 2016. The most significant progress has been made in the core reservoirs of Karachi and Khyber-Peshawar which have not reported any Polio case since January and February 2016.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have signed an agreement to support projects in energy, agriculture and SME sectors on the continent. Both parties agreed to jointly pool together $2 billion over the next three years to finance projects in agriculture and food security, renewable energy, small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They also agreed to contribute $1 billion each over three years for joint activities focusing on these priority areas. CEO of AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment and interest to build a stronger partnership with the Islamic Development Bank.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group organized an event on "Promoting Connectivity for Sustainable Development". The event was chaired by Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and the keynote speech was delivered by Aja Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang, vice president of Gambia. The event provided an in-depth analysis of the IDB Group strategic objectives in financing infrastructure investments. The event was also an opportunity to bring together experts and exchange ideas on growth and connectivity among member countries. Sonbol stated that the IDB Group adopted a 10-year Strategy and one of its objectives is "Connectivity for Growth". The objective is to promote cooperation among member countries, both in terms of private sector and public-sector cooperation to enhance trade, investment, knowledge, and capacity development.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group President Bandar Hajjar and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed identified priority areas for a strengthened cooperation. They also explored opportunities to collaborate on global, regional and country-level priorities to achieve the SDGs. The UN and the IDB will seek to develop private sector partnerships, advance the Global Islamic Impact Investing Platform for blending Islamic Financing and Private Sector resources, and promote institutional cooperation. Bandar Hajjar stressed that the IDB Group was fully committed to the SDGs, while Amina Mohammed underscored the importance of interactive partnerships with governments and of country-level results.

Islamic finance is increasingly being discovered as a vehicle to support sustainable development goals by a method called "impact investing". For this the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development launched the "Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform". A report was also launched which sheds light on the potentials of Islamic finance in impact investment. The basic idea is that ethical values within finance are deeply rooted in Islamic theology and jurisprudence. Ethical and sustainable investment products can tap a wider range of demand if they are made Shariah-compliant to appeal to Muslims. At the same time, non-Muslims may embrace them if they are designed for an ethical purpose. Malaysia was the first to announce guidelines for the issuance of socially responsible sukuk as early as 2014. Meanwhile, Islamic finance companies from the UK, Canada, Hong Kong and GCC countries joined impact investing through Islamic finance.

The Islamic Development Bank signed an agreement with Jordan to provide the Kingdom with US$100 million in loans and grants. Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said that the deal included a US$79 million loan and a US$21 million grant, adding that the amount would be used to finance projects in the field of health. The minister also highlighted pressure on Jordan in various fields of energy, education and infrastructure since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011. The minister urged all countries to provide further support to Jordan to help it cope with the challenges, noting that such support is vital for Jordan. Between 1975 and 2017, the bank provided Jordan with US$975.6 million in loans and grants to support projects in various fields.

Leading international policymakers, experts and scientists have called for urgent action to engage more youth in agricultural production to tackle unemployment and food insecurity. More than 100 delegates from different countries gathered on the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) 42nd Annual Meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Organized by the IDB and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), the seminar looked at the challenges and problems facing rural young people. Participants agreed that the focus should be on resource-efficient technologies that work for young people and make agriculture a viable source of income. These technologies can include solar pumps, improved irrigation systems that use sensors to control water flows or automatically adjust fertilizer and pesticide application rates. Greenhouse and net-house technologies make high-value agricultural production possible.

The week-long Innovation Forum hosted by the Islamic Development Bank brought together international experts as well as youth to discuss ways to foster an innovation culture. Experts agree that the major challenges of the IDB member countries include cultural barriers, lack of adequate investment in research and development and a low rate of graduates in scientific fields. Dr. Mimics Begivic, innovation specialist at the UNDP Regional Center for Europe and CIS, said that youth unemployment is a stubborn problem faced by countries that has both a direct and indirect cost on governments. Dr. Nabeel Koshak, president of Baha University, said that there remains a gap in funding to support SMEs in the Islamic world. In Saudi Arabia, the last five years have seen a boost in innovation. Dr. Koshak said the major obstacles for Saudi SMEs are the regulations, followed by competing and entering the market.