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Emirates Global Islamic Bank Limited (EGIBL) will act as financial advisors to arrange the first ever Rs2 billion sukuk issue for the infrastructure development of industrial parks in Pakistan.
EGIBL has been mandated by Pakistan's National Industrial Parks Development and Management Company (NIP) to arrange the financing under the Shariah compliant mode of Islamic sukuk.
An MoU was executed between EGIBL and NIP in this regard. Senior officials of NIP, EGIBL and the Ministry of Finance attended the signing ceremony held in Karachi last week.
The proposed financing will be arranged by EGIBL through two-tiered financing consisting of a bridge 'Murabaha' facility with subsequent issue of sukuk certificates guaranteed by the Government of Pakistan and will be eligible for Statutory Liquidity Reserve (SLR) for Islamic Financial Institutions.
NIP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), has been established as a special initiative of the Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiatives, Government of Pakistan, to develop world class industrial parks all over Pakistan to support the rapid industrialisation in the country.
The company's first project, Korangi Creek Industrial Park Karachi, is being developed on 240 acres of land to cater specifically to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and their clusters. The project site is located next to the southern coastal belt of Karachi near Gizri and Korangi creek, bounded by the Pakistan Refinery Limited in the East.
The park is designed to meet international environmental standards and will have the necessary infrastructure including utilities and all essential amenities.
The industrial units are expected to be set up on the project site include light engineering, textile garments, leather products, food processing, pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery and information technology clusters.
Addressing the ceremony, NIP chief executive Zubair Habib said: "The aim is to offer a one-window operation to local and foreign enterprises and joint ventures, which would contribute significantly towards high value addition and the export market."
Syed Tariq Husain, President and Chief Executive of EGIBL said: "The financing structure was developed to best suit the unique needs of the client while ensuring Shariah compliance. We are delighted to have won this important mandate and be part of a project that could revolutionise the industrial sector of Pakistan."
Emirates Global Islamic Bank Limited commenced operations in February 2007 with six branches. Incorporated in Pakistan and sponsored by Emirates Financial Holdings (EFH), UAE, and the Al Rajhi family of Saudi Arabia.
Shaikh Tariq bin Faisal Al Qassimi is the Chairman of EGIBL. The bank aims to become a major player in the rapidly growing Islamic banking industry by offering interest free yet highly competitive banking products.
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