IDB established ICD in November 1999 to promote the development of the private sector in member countries, whose number stands at 56 as of January 2007.
It provides a wide range of Shariah-complaint financial products and services to expand access to Islamic capital markets, mobilise additional financial resources for the private sector, promote entrepreneurship in member countries and encourage cross country investments.
According to Khaled M. Al Aboodi, the new head of ICD, the new overseas projects include establishment of a bank in Maldives for which a feasibility study is being carried out.
Other feasibility studies include for sukuk issues of banks in Mauritania and Indonesia. ICD has also initiated an Islamic investment bank in Azerbaijan.
As for the Kingdom, a real estate company — Ewaan capitalised at SR400 million was launched in Jeddah about three months ago.
Ewaan, which has already acquired 1.1 million square metres of land at Dahban, north of Jeddah, will issue its first SR300 million fund for real estate project by June or July.
The project will comprise 3,000 housing units.
The company plans to build housing complexes for the low and middle-income people throughout the Kingdom.
ICD has an authorised capital of $ 1 billion, of which $ 500 million was made available for initial subscription. The IDB has subscribed to 50 per cent of the ICD capital, while member countries and public financial institutions have subscribed 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
According to IDB’s ‘Thirty-three Years in the Service of Development’ report 2007, the paid-up capital of ICD reached $ 300 million at the end of January last year, and so far, in addition to the IDB, 50 countries have signed the Articles of Agreement of the ICD, of which 44 countries and five public financial institutions have ratified it, while other member countries are at the ratification stage.
It provides a variety of financial products to its clients such as direct financing through equity participation, term-financing, line of financing to commercial banks and national development financing institutions (NDFIs), short-term corporate finance, asset management, structured financing, and advisory services to private and public companies.
