The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) jointly held a live webinar entitled "The Role of AgriTech in Food Security & Sustainability" to discuss sustainable climate-smart agricultural technologies for achieving food and nutrition security. The webinar highlighted the most promising AgriTech solutions to enhance efficiencies of agricultural value chains at the national, regional and global level. The webinar, which was presented in English and included French, Arabic and Russian interpretations, featured panel discussions and presentations by industry experts in the field of Agriculture, AgriTech and Trade Finance. The ITFC will provide technical assistance to farmers and associated agribusinesses to build their capacities to use the digital tools to enhance agricultural productivity. The 2nd webinar, entitled "Digital Supply Chain" will be held on the 25th of November 2020.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) signed a US$100 million Murabaha-structured line of trade finance with Mizuho Bank Malaysia, a subsidiary of Mizuho Bank Japan. This financing will help ITFC extend its support to the member countries under its COVID-19 Response Plan. The financing is ITFC’s first partnership with a Japanese bank, signalling an expansion of its partners around the world. The virtual signing ceremony took place between Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO ITFC and Mr. Shojiro Mizoguchi, the Managing Director & CEO, Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) and witnessed by Mr. Hidekatsu Take, the Managing Executive Officer of Mizuho Bank.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) signed an $8 million worth of Murabaha-structured line of trade finance with Uzbekistan's Trustbank. The financing aims to minimise the impact of COVID-19 by supporting the import and pre-export financing needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country. ITFC CEO Hani Salem Sonbol said this operation is in addition to five other lines of finance in favour of local banks in Uzbekistan since 2018, and reflects the ITFC’s unbending commitment to the nation of Uzbekistan.
Russia’s Sberbank has structured its first trade finance deal with an Islamic bank to supply Russian wheat to Egypt. The deal with Saudi Arabia’s International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) was implemented through Sberbank’s subsidiary in Switzerland. Egypt’s state-run General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) acted as the buyer in the deal. The Russian bank said ITFC will enable it to significantly increase its share in Russian wheat exports to Egypt.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has approved a US$15 million Murabaha Financing Facility in favour of City Bank Limited in Bangladesh to support the Bank’s private sector businesses. The financing comes at a critical time as SMEs in Bangladesh and other OIC member countries face the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The financing is part of the COVID-19 Response Package through the provision of medical supplies, staple foods and fertilizer for agricultural production to OIC countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives and Senegal.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has approved a Murabaha Financing of EUR 8 million for the Senegalese bank Banque Islamique du Sénégal (BIS). The Murabaha facility is expected to support around 1,000 jobs within the private sector, including companies in food and distribution. The swift disbursement of this financing by ITFC has enabled local private companies to procure urgent food staples, and support national response efforts to ensure food security.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) released its 2019 Annual Development Effectiveness Report (ADER). In 2019, ITFC approved US$5.8 billion trade financing. Of this, US$5 billion was disbursed towards improving the livelihoods of millions of people in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Disbursement in Asian and CIS member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) stood at US$2.6 billion, while in African OIC countries, total disbursements amounted to US$2.4 billion. In 2019, ITFC signed framework agreements worth US$4.8 billion with 9 countries and mobilized US$1.2 million through grants for trade development interventions in agriculture, financial institutions, capacity building and trade promotion.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed a US$100 million financing agreement with the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) to cover the Egyptian Government’s commodity needs during the Corona outbreak. ITFC CEO Hani Salem Sonbol said the financing supports the importation of critical basic commodities such as wheat and sugar. The wheat policy is of strategic importance to the Egyptian Government to ensure food security for all Egyptians. Since 2018, ITFC has been supporting the Governments’ efforts through a trade finance facility benefiting the GASC, Egypt’s largest wheat purchaser.
Pakistan sought financial and technical assistance from Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to establish an export-import bank to improve trade among Muslim economies. International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) is an autonomous body under the Islamic Development Bank that aims to promote trade to improve the economic condition of the people of Muslim countries. Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar said ITFC has provided financing facility to Pakistan to cover its oil and liquefied natural gas imports over a period of three years. Furthermore, he asked ITFC to develop training tools in Islamic banking as Islamic banking is very popular in the country.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) will provide Egypt with $1 billion to support the provision of basic goods. The financing is part of a $3 billion agreement with the ITFC, which is part of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Egypt's economy was battered after a 2011 uprising ushered in political instability that scared off tourists and foreign investors.
Earlier this week Egypt signed contracts with two global banks to hedge against fluctuating global oil prices. The investment ministry said the ITFC financing was part of a new cooperation strategy between Egypt and the IDB lasting until 2021.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), the Ministry for Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have come together for the first trade finance workshop titled "Trade Finance as a Key Factor in Trade Promotion". ITFC's chief operating officer Nazeem Noordali said that ITFC and the government of Uzbekistan signed a $100 million framework agreement to finance pre-export and import activities in the country. He added that ITFC was working closely with its partners to promote Islamic trade finance among the Uzbek banks and non-banking financial institutions.
The CEO of The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) will be on an official visit to The Gambia on 16th January 2018. A new agreement will be signed by Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO of ITFC and H.E. Hon. Mrs. Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, Vice President and Minister for Women’s Affairs. Since its inception in 2008, ITFC has approved a total of 30 financing operations for The Gambia for a total of US$437 million. Hani Salem Sonbol will be available for face to face interviews. Only registered journalists will have access to the signing ceremony.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed an agreement with Turkey's Small and Medium Industry Development Organization (KOSGEB) to support SMEs. The group plans to provide $1 billion for Turkish companies. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by ITFC CEO Hani Salem Sonbol and KOSGEB President Recep Bicer. The MoU also examines the possibility of providing Islamic Trade Finance solutions to SMEs in Turkey. The suggested cooperation program includes developing joint programs for capacity building activities for SMEs in Turkey and Reverse Linkage Programs for transferring KOSGEB's know-how to other OIC member countries.
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has appointed Hani Salem Sonbol as its CEO. As ITFC is an autonomous member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) the announcement was made at the 41st annual meeting of the IDB in Jakarta. Sonbol expressed his thanks to Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of IDB’s board of directors. He held several leading positions, including deputy CEO of ITFC, director of the IDB Group Regional Office in Rabat, and director of trade finance and development department at IDB.
It appears that International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and HSBS signed MoU to implement Shari’ah-compliant trade financing.
The MoU was signed by Dr Waleed Al-Wohaib, Chief Executive Officer, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation HSBC. In conclusion, customers will be able to use HSBC’s services to facilitate the issuance of Letters of Credit on behalf of ITFC for customers who import or export goods.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between HSBC and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) that implies providing help on various treasury activities such as joint trade financing and investment of liquidity and facilitating trade. This also means that ITFC customers will be able to use HSBC’s services to facilitate the issuance of Letters of Credit on behalf of ITFC for customers who import or export goods.
ITFC is also awaited to invest its liquidity in Shari’ah-compliant investment assets such as HSBC’s 'Overnight Commodity Murabaha Investment' product.