JEDDAH — With increasing competition among offshore banking hubs to attract Islamic finance business, the offshore hub of Cayman Islands has introduced dual language — Arabic and English — registration and issuance of certification.
The Arabic language facility for Cayman Islands offerings is specifically aimed at the Islamic finance market. This means that Arab banks or that matter any other aiming a product at the Arab world, can now structure offshore international investment and other products in their mother tongue — Arabic.
According to Deborah Drummond, Deputy Financial Secretary (Financial Services) of Cayman Islands government, the local office of the Alkhobar-based Saudi conglomerate, Saad Group, helped in facilitating the Arabic language registration and certification service.
"The ability of the Cayman Islands to quickly implement service enhancements such as this Arabic language facility is a clear indicator of the jurisdiction's nimbleness in responding to commercial opportunities, such as the growth of Islamic finance," commented Charles Quinn, QC, president of the Cayman Islands Law Society.
The Saad Group's flagship Saad Trading, Contracting and Financial Services Company (Saad Trading), whose core business is construction and real estate investments, issued a debut $650 million Sukuk Al Manfa'a in June 2007, which was lead-managed by BNP Paribas, Samba Financial Group and Arab Bank PLC. It was the second largest corporate Sukuk originating from the Kingdom after the SR3 billion Sukuk issuance by the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) in September 2006.
"This customisation of our registry service for a market of growing importance to us is an indication of our commitment to innovation and quality, and we look forward to expertly catering to Islamic finance structures for the long-term," said Drummond