First Islamic equity product launched in UK

    The London-based ABC International Bank’s Islamic Asset Management (IAM) entity, both of which are subsidiaries of the Bahrain-based consortium bank Arab Banking Cooperation, has launched the first retail Shariah-compliant capital-protected equity product in the UK under its ‘Alburaq’ brand. The savings product, which has a minimum subscription of just _500 and is a Shariah-compliant alternative to a conventional guaranteed equity bond, adds to an increasing number of retail Islamic financial offerings in the UK market, which now includes mortgages, Takaful (insurance), pensions, current and deposit accounts and even escrow accounts for money transfers. Other Shariah-compliant retail products in the process of being launched include ISAs (investment savings accounts) and child trust accounts. The product was structured by ABC International Bank and is offered in partnership with the Bank of Ireland, which has a long history of providing guaranteed equity bonds to UK consumers. ABC Group is one of the largest banks in the Arab world with assets totaling around $32.7 billion at the end of December 2007. The group announced net profits of $125 million for the year 2007. The government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been very supportive of developing the Islamic finance sector under the Labor Party’s social and financial inclusion policies. At the same time, it is the stated policy of the UK to develop London into an international hub for Islamic finance, investment and trade. Only yesterday at the Jeddah oil summit, Brown reiterated that oil producers in the GCC states should divert some of their record liquidity surpluses to investment in the developed countries in renewable energy initiatives and other sectors. These funds could be channeled through sovereign wealth funds; through conventional or Islamic capital flows. Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank, for instance, was one of the first Islamic financial institutions to invest in alternative energy in the UK in a wind farm project developed by Innogy.

    Share Button

    Sources