Islamic Banking

Singapore’s first Islamic bank is looking for opportunities in Qatar, its chief executive officer has said.

The Islamic Bank of Asia, with a paid up capital of US$500mn was incorporated in May 2007, and its major shareholders include DBS, Singapore’s largest bank and some prominent businessmen based in the GCC region. Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia) chief executive officer, Vince Cook told Gulf Times here though the bank had not set any timeframe to expand to Qatar, IB Asia wanted to achieve it in the “medium term”.

“Qatar is a booming and very promising economy. We believe we will have significant opportunities there for growth. We have our eyes definitely set on Qatar,” Cook said without elaborating. (A general manager with QNB in charge of corporate banking and capital markets till last year, Cook had visited Qatar in early 2008 as part of a high-level Singaporean delegation led by the city state’s senior minister, Goh Chok Tong.

He said IB Asia focused on wholesale commercial banking, corporate finance, capital markets and private banking services.

“We are well-versed in typical Shariah-compliant structures that employ concepts such as Murabaha, Musharaka, Mudaraba, Ijarah and Istisna. We continually seek to create new and innovative solutions to our clients’ needs, especially in the Gulf region who are seeking new markets and innovative ways to protect and grow their wealth in line with Islamic principles,” he said.

Asked whether IB Asia would have adequate room for expansion given the neighbouring Malaysia’s head start in Islamic banking, Cook said: “We are not in competition with anyone. We are only trying to complement efforts in Islamic banking which is growing by leaps and bounds.” He said, “Although we are a dedicated and independent Islamic bank, we are fortunate to have promoters such as DBS, the Southeast Asia’s largest bank, and some prominent investors based in the GCC region. “Our goal is to create one of the largest, most profitable, innovative and truly Islamic universal banks in the world with significant positions across the GCC region and Asia.”

Cook said: “IB Asia is ideally positioned to facilitate access to Asian and Middle East investment opportunities and distribution capabilities.” He said IB Asia together with DBS was a mandated lead arranger (MLA) in many Islamic deals including the US$600mn Murabaha facility for Qatar’s Barwa in June 2007.

“We look forward to playing a key role in such syndications in future,” Cook said. The Singapore-headquartered IB Asia received a banking licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain to set up a representative office in the kingdom in October last year.

Besides being QNB general manager (corporate banking and capital markets) Cook was also the chairman of Qatar Capital Partners (when it was under formation), and a director of both QNB International Holdings and Ansbacher Group Holding. During this period he was responsible for the bank’s Islamic business before spinning it out into a new unit QNB Al Islami. Under his leadership, QNB launched the first corporate sukuk transaction in Qatar.

Source: Gulf Times

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