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ICD hopes to cap good year with $1b Pak sukuk mandate

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, or ICD, and Karachi-based Burj Bank have applied to be advisers on the sovereign deal, meeting with Pakistan’s finance ministry earlier this week.

A ministry statement also said that it would review the applications starting next week.

ICD holds a 33.9 per cent stake in Islamic lender Burj Bank, as part of its mandate to finance private sector projects across its 51 member countries.

Established in 1999, the ICD has been implementing a new strategy to help widen the appeal of Islamic finance by establishing banks, leasing companies and insurers that following Islamic principles.

Earlier this week, the ICD signed separate agreements to help develop Islamic leasing businesses in Malaysia and Uzbekistan, as well as extending $5 million in financing to support SME lending in the former sovier state.

On Wednesday, the ICD signed an agreement with the Vienna-based Opec Fund for International Development to jointly develop the private sector in their common countries of operations.

On Thursday, the ICD announced plans to help develop a special economic zone in Sierra Leone, its first intitative in that African country.

Africa represents around 12 per cent of the ICD’s cumulative investment approvals since its inception, and its chief executive officer told Reuters in April that it expected this figure to rise in coming years as projects come on line.