The Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia) has signed over 20 significant cross-border capital transactions worth more than $0.5 billion in its first year of business.

Established in May 2007 and headquartered in Singapore, IB Asia is a joint venture between DBS Bank, one of the largest financial services groups in Asia, and 34 investors from prominent families and industrial groups based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The bank also has a Shariah board consisting of world-renowned Islamic scholars Shaikh Dr Mohamed Ali Elgari, Dr Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah, Dr Mohd Daud Bakar and chaired by Shaikh Nizam Yaqouby, based in Bahrain.  

IB Asia committed $200 million of deals in the first quarter of 2008.  In conjunction with its first anniversary this month, the bank also opened its first representative office in Bahrain at the Bahrain Financial Harbour, West Tower, Level 45 (Flat 4501, Building 1459, Road 4626, Block 346, Manama Sea Front, Kingdom of Bahrain).

It will give IB Asia easier access to shareholders and customers in the Gulf.

“IB Asia’s rapid progress is particularly encouraging because it underscores our progression from a newcomer to an innovative financial services provider that became profitable within the first 12 months,” said IB Asia chairman Abdulla Hasan Saif. – TradeArabia News Service