THE Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) the private sector arm of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, in partnership with PT Mandala Multifinance TBK, an Indonesia-based company engaged in consumer financing, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in which ICD will offer its assistance in the carving out of Mandala's Shariah business to a stand-alone Shariah-compliant multi-finance company via ICD's Islamic Finance Institution (IFI) program. The Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of ICD Khaled Al Aboodi and the Chief Executive Officer and President of Mandala Harryjanto Lasmana igned the MoU on behalf of the two organizations in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, on the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group 41st Annual General Meeting held at the Jakarta Convention Center. The agreement outlines the parameters of ICD's advisory services to Mandala and paves the way for the equity participation of ICD and its related entities in the newly-established company. The company is set to operate out of Indonesia. ICD has been one of the key financiers to Mandala for the past seven years and has successfully managed to bring its financial institution partners from the region as well as from the Middle East region to support Mandala's ongoing business expansion. During the signing ceremony, Al-Aboodi commented: "The Islamic Finance Institution (IFI) Program was launched as part of ICD's mission to develop and promote Islamic financial institutions in member countries. I am convinced that ICD's wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise in providing financial advisory and sound technical services will guarantee the successful transition of Mandala's Shariah-compliant business into a new Islamic multi-finance company which is up to global standards." Harryjanto said, "I am very pleased today to ink this agreement together with ICD, and Mandala remains grateful for the generous and timely support offered. ICD has been instrumental in Mandala's rapid growth and the new Islamic unit will indeed add a new dimension to the business, especially seeing that it will attract investors from Middle Eastern financial institutions. Over the years, Islamic finance has notably served as a viable funding mechanism for various economic sectors, thus demonstrating its viability as an engine of growth. That said, I am convinced that the new unit will further create value for the Islamic finance industry. We look forward to a productive and fruitful collaboration." In another development, ICD and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), a multilateral financial institution headquartered in Thessaloniki, Greece. The MoU reaffirms the commitment of BSTDB and ICD to the objective of sustainable economic and social development and emphasizes the importance of effective economic cooperation through undertaking research and capacity-building programs in order to better serve common member countries in the Black Sea region — Albania, Azerbaijan and Turkey. ICD and BSTDB will facilitate trade and investments in these countries through co-financing and co-investment projects and by supporting joint networking opportunities, with the aim of promoting inclusive growth. In addition, SMEs in the region will also benefit from efforts that will be focused on easing their financial burden, including financing businesses both directly and through financial institutions. The MoU was signed by Dr. Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, president of BSTDB and Khaled Al Aboodi of ICD.During the signing ceremony, Al-Aboodi expressed his strong support for the partnership, stating: "ICD and BSTDB are founded on similar principles and mandate, and today's signing is a step in the right direction to facilitating faster growth of trade and investment opportunities in the Black Sea region. I look forward to both institutions working in a collaborative and complementary way to effectively address some of the needs and concerns of the region." Dr. Ihsan Ugur Delikanli said, "I believe this collaboration is an important platform to harness the synergies and cooperation potential of our two development financial institutions. I am confident that by working together, we will advance regional economic progress, achieve tangible results, and move forward towards a brighter future." ICIEC sustains insurance growth The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBG), managed to register sustained growth in its insurance operations for the year 1436H (2015G) in spite of strenuous worldwide conditions. The Board of Governors of ICIEC held its 23rd meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia recently and approved the annual report and the financial statements for 1436H which showed a growth in business insurance operations by 22% to reach $5.29 billion from $4.32 billion in 1435H. At the same time, new commitments witnessed a jump of 8% to reach $3.83 billion compared to $3.56 billion in 1435H. Cumulatively, member countries have benefited from ICIEC services since the inception and up to end of 1436H represented in MENA region (73.1%), Asia (8.9%), Central Asia /Europe (8.4%) and Africa (8%). Commenting on the results, Oussama A. Kaissi, chief executive officer of ICIEC, said: "Despite the difficult global environment as well as the unenviable situation in some member countries, ICIEC has continued to report a remarkable progress in terms of business growth and organizational development, we are on the right path to build on this trend in the next year and beyond."
