ICD explores line of credit with EXIM Bank, India for importing Indian goods into member countries

Source: ICD. The MoU was signed by Khaled Al Aboodi, the Chief Executive
Officer and General Manager of ICD (left), and Tarun Sharma, Regional
Head of EXIM Bank. 

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group and Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank). EXIM Bank is a specialised financial institution, established under an Act of the Indian Parliament, wholly owned by the Government of India with a mandate to finance, facilitate and promote India’s foreign trade.

The MoU envisages cooperation to explore the feasibility of extending a commercial line of credit of US$100 million to ICD with the aim of facilitating the export of goods and services from India to ICD’s member countries. Typically, the recipients of EXIM Bank’s commercial lines of credit act as intermediaries and on lend to overseas buyers for the import of Indian goods and services. Under the agreement, cooperation will also be achieved through the exchange of information on trade-related matters and the identification of business opportunities for Indian companies to pursue in ICD’s member countries.

Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO and GM, ICD commented: “We acknowledge that India, being the seventh largest economy in the world, has a lot to offer and its high-quality exports of goods and services can drive the next wave of growth. I believe ICD’s member countries can offer vibrant business prospects for India’s exporters.”

Tarun Sharma, Regional Head, EXIM Bank said, “Since its inception, EXIM Bank has been both a catalyst and a key player in the promotion of cross-border trade and investment. We remain committed to support Indian exporters to enter new markets in their bid to expand and we are convinced that our co-operation with ICD will serve that very purpose and will be mutually beneficial for both parties.”

Islamic banking a winner for EXIM Bank Malaysia

Export-Import Bank of Malaysia (EXIM Bank) has revealed that its Islamic business contributed strongly to its year of record performance, with a net profit of RM144.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2013, a 16.9% improvement from RM123.8 million previously. 

Islamic banking proved a winner for the Bank in FY2013 as the share of Islamic banking assets at RM1.5 billion recorded a 189% increase from the previous year's RM524 million.

The bank also successfully established a US$1 billion multicurrency sukuk issuance programme in support of the anticipated growth of Islamic businesses. The inaugural sukuk marks the world’s first export-import bank to undertake such exercise.

“We are pleased that our inaugural USD sukuk issuance in Malaysia, which also represents the world's first EXIM Bank to issue USD sukuk, received an overwhelming response from investors globally. The sukuk was oversubscribed by approximately 10 times attracting more than US$3 billion orders and was fully distributed to over 185 Islamic and conventional investors,” said Dato’ Adissadikin Ali, President/Chief Executive Officer of EXIM Bank Malaysia. 

“The Sukuk also represents EXIM’s commitment to support the government’s ongoing initiatives and efforts to position Malaysia as an international Islamic finance marketplace.” 

The Bank continued to grow its Islamic businesses which include banking facilities and credit insurance. In driving this growth, the Bank has been successful at mapping all its conventional banking facilities to shari'ah-compliant products. These developments led to an increased share of total Islamic financing of up to 25.9%, from 14.6% recorded in 2012.