Absa Islamic Banking Wins S.A. Deal of the Year from Islamic Finance News
The international Islamic finance publication, Islamic Finance News, announced on Friday that Absa Islamic Bankings recent R100m Equity Conduit Deposit had been chosen as the 2006 Islamic Banking Deal of the Year in South Africa.
Islamic Finance News is quoted as saying: "2006 witnessed several groundbreaking Shariah compliant transactions. Innovation and magnitude ruled the roost with new products, in new markets, for new issuers, with new investors investing in bigger deals than many thought possible at the beginning of the year. We are pleased to see new competition in South Africa and have chosen the Absa Islamic Banking deal as the top Islamic finance deal for South Africa in 2006."
Absa Islamic Bank in partnership with Absa Corporate & Business Bank signed a R100m Murabaha Equity Conduit Deposit with a new client. This is one of the largest Shariah compliant investments in the Business Bank market to date.
"We are excited to note that the market uptake emphasises the demand for Islamic Banking products locally and abroad," said Ahmed Moola, Managing Director of Absa Islamic Banking. "The product was approved by our Shariah Advisory Board in September and has already been implemented in South Africa through Absa and in the Middle East through Barclays Dubai."
"Our Shariah product development & implementation process differentiates our offering from other local Islamic banking products in the market. This process has also given us the ability to develop world class products and deliver them speedily to market.
"This Shariah investment product is an innovative way to give our clients a return on their investments that they demand. We are committed to client centricity and expect to continuously develop products that enhance our clients economic return," said Moola.
About Islamic Finance news
Launched in June 2004 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, REDmoney Group REDmoney Sdn Bhd) is the holding company for Islamic Finance News.
It is published every Friday and is the industry's leading capital markets focused, e-newsletter now providing over 15,000 individuals with unrivalled editorial coverage of the global Islamic financing market.
Methodology
The Islamic finance community was invited to submit their entries for consideration by the high profile Awards Judging Panel. All Shariah compliant deals were accepted provided they had been completed during the 2006 calendar year.
The Awards Panel, consisting of non-banking industry professionals, sifted through the submissions from around the world.
Various criteria was taken into consideration including; complexity, originality, distribution, speed and size amongst others.
About Absa Islamic Banking
Absa Islamic Banking was launched in March 2006 to respond to the particular financial services needs of Absa clients. The suite of Shariah compliant products launched in the market in the first few months was directed at servicing the needs of the personal banking market. However Absa Islamic Banking, Absa Corporate and Business Bank together with Absa Capital quickly anticipated the need for Shariah compliant investment products for large business and clients with excess liquidity. Although still in its first financial year, Absa Islamic Banking has already delivered products suitable for institutional investors. These products are also being launched in other African countries as well as the Middle East.
About Absa Capital Equity derivatives
Absa Capital is a dynamic investment bank headquartered in Johannesburg. Whilst its geographic focus is on the South African market, it has the ability to transact around the globe in order to meet client needs. Through its affiliation with Barclays Capital, it offers both local and global expertise through its products. Its innovative solutions and customer centric service enables it to deliver optimum results.
