ITALY - Crisis: Islamic finance growing but not in Italy

ansamed.ansa.it - (ANSAmed) - MILAN, MAY 16 - Islamic finance is growing at an annual rate of 20%. It has a global value of 1,600 trillion USD and counts 400 institutes with their offices. But the system is not breaking through in Italy, but according to Hatem Abou Said of Al Baraka Banking Group (Bahrain) ''it could be useful also to support SMEs, which have limited access to credit through the traditional systems, with their internationalisation process." Abou Said spoke during a conference in Milan on the issue, saying that the crisis in the West and the Arab Spring ''there is complementarity''.  (source)

BOSNIA - Saudi investors pledge to invest in Bosnia (IDB)

SARAJEVO: Saudi investors pledged on Wednesday to invest in Bosnia with $50 million starting capital and Turkey said that one of its banks will extend credit lines for infrastructure projects.

Officials from the Middle East and Turkey said they wanted to help development of Bosnia, a Balkan country.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), AlBaraka banking group and other Saudi investors have formed a joint investment company for Bosnia, said Saudi Arabia’s Saleh Kamel, the chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (full story)

FRANCE - Albaraka Banking Group - Frankly speaking

One of the most active Middle Eastern Islamic banking organisations has been the Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), led by the redoubtable Adnan Ahmed Yousif, who is also the Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks. Banker Middle East takes a look at what ABG is doing by way of its expansion plans, stress tests and boosting the Middle Eastern Sukuk market

Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks

Al Baraka claims that the success of the contemporary Islamic banking and finance movement owes much to the contribution and patronage of Sheikh Saleh Kamel, the founder of Al Baraka Banking Group.

The banking group puts as much emphasis on its corporate social responsibility (CSR) roots as it does on its extremely broad global footprint. It has a presence on several continents and Europe, more specifically France is next on its list. Al Baraka has operations in Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, South Africa, Sudan and Egypt.


“We consider the role of CSR in our organisation to be essential to the application of the principles derived from divine power and on which our business activities in all the countries in which we operate are based. All our subsidiaries embrace Islamic ethical principles and apply them to their banking operations and services,” the bank says on its website.