Abu Dhabi plans $1bn Islamic bank
The government of Abu Dhabi plans to set up an Islamic bank with authorised capital of 4 billion dirhams ($1.09 billion), the bank's founders committee said in a statement on Monday.Al Hilal Bank is being incorporated as a public joint stock company, and will be fully owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, it said.Islamic banks cater to Muslim investors who want to avoid earning or paying interest, viewed as usury under sharia, or Islamic law.
The bank will offer retail and corporate banking services, provide credit facilities to the private sector and manage Islamic funds, the statement said.The five-member founders committee is chaired by Khalil Foulathi, a board member at the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, the statement said.Gulf Arab investors said last March they would raise $10 billion to create the world's largest Islamic bank, to be called Al Masref bank. Al Masref would start operating with a capital of $5 billion and wants to raise that to $10 billion in the first five years, founding committee chairman Khalid al-Suwaidi said at the time.Islamic finance is one of the world's fastest growing niche markets and caters to devout Muslims who want socially responsible investments that avoid pork, alcohol and gambling.Around 50% of total bank assets in the United Arab Emirates will be sharia compliant by 2009, Khalid Yousaf, director of Islamic finance at the Dubai International Financial Centre, said in September.At the time, 15% of bank assets in the UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, were Islamic. Source
The bank will offer retail and corporate banking services, provide credit facilities to the private sector and manage Islamic funds, the statement said.The five-member founders committee is chaired by Khalil Foulathi, a board member at the Abu Dhabi Securities Market, the statement said.Gulf Arab investors said last March they would raise $10 billion to create the world's largest Islamic bank, to be called Al Masref bank. Al Masref would start operating with a capital of $5 billion and wants to raise that to $10 billion in the first five years, founding committee chairman Khalid al-Suwaidi said at the time.Islamic finance is one of the world's fastest growing niche markets and caters to devout Muslims who want socially responsible investments that avoid pork, alcohol and gambling.Around 50% of total bank assets in the United Arab Emirates will be sharia compliant by 2009, Khalid Yousaf, director of Islamic finance at the Dubai International Financial Centre, said in September.At the time, 15% of bank assets in the UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, were Islamic. Source
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