Islamic Development Bank Group Announces Winners of Private Sector Forum Awards 2024 Recognizing Excellence in Islamic Finance and Development Initiatives

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The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) announces the winners of the Private Sector Forum (PSF) 2024 Awards, celebrating outstanding contributions to Islamic finance and development initiatives across 57 member countries.

The IsDB Group, comprising the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the Islamic Corporation for the Development (ICD), and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), leverages its diverse tools to support member countries in achieving their development goals.

The PSF 2024 Awards honors exceptional achievements, groundbreaking innovations and impactful initiatives by market practitioners driving positive change through Shariah compliant financial instruments in the areas of trade finance, export credit and private sector development, in six categories:

ICIEC:

Export Credit Agency of the Year: Kazakh Export

The ICIEC cooperated with Kazakh Export, for the export of locomotives to Azerbaijan Railways by providing insurance support for a US$29.8 million lease finance facility of 10 ‘Evolution – Type’ diesel locomotives to Azerbaijan Railways for 10 years, while supporting intra-OIC trade and meets SDG 9 of the UN.

 Most Innovative Investment Development Initiative of the Year: African Development Bank (AfDB)

The ICIEC has signed a risk-sharing arrangement with African Development Bank (AfDB) to support financing dedicated to ESG projects in Côte d’Ivoire. The ICIEC has provided an insurance capacity of EUR194 million (US$210.13 million), backstopping the EUR400 million (US$433.25 million) partial credit guarantee (PCG) issued by the AfDB against the non-payment risk associated with a facility of EUR533 million (US$577.31 million) extended by Standard Chartered Bank to the government of the Côte d’Ivoire.

ICD:

Most Impactful Islamic Financial Institution of the Year: Kazakhstan’s JSC Leasing Group

ICD issued last year a Tenge-denominated sukuk which was rated “A+” by Fitch. With a size of KZT 2 billion, this is the first sukuk in the national currency of one of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The sukuk proceeds were used to support Kazakhstan’s JSC Leasing Group’s on-lending activities. The ultimate beneficiaries are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises. With the volatility in currency markets representing a major risk for companies with revenues in local currency, ICD provided a local currency financing solution to Leasing Group.

Leasing Group is listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange.

Most Impactful ICD Investee Company of the Year: Tunisia’s Wifak Bank

Tunisia’s Wifak Bank made the transition a fully-fledged Shariah compliant bank in 2016, while the ICD participated in the capital increase reserved for strategic partners including the Tunisian sovereign wealth fund and other Tunisian investors. In line with ISO 26000 standards, Wifak is quantifying its carbon footprint and is attempting to reduce it while also making progress on SDGs 5, 8, 9, and 17. Wifak’s Fitch rating outpaces the sovereign rating as it provides 55,000 individuals/SMEs with access to financial resources and employed over 300 local talents while collaborating with a fintech company to introduce digital payments.

ITFC:

Trade Finance Deal of the Year: Turk Eximbank

ITFC has awarded Türk Eximbank the “Trade Finance Deal of the Year” award. This recognizes their long-standing partnership and Türk Eximbank’s key role in expanding ITFC’s private sector initiatives in Turkey. Since 2009, ITFC has provided Türk Eximbank with approximately US$3.5 billion in financing, with an impressive US$3.2 billion mobilized from external sources.  This collaborative effort has significantly impacted Turkey’s trade landscape, with a particular focus on SMEs and the textile sector.

Outstanding Contribution to Intra-OIC Trade Development: Foreign Trade Training Centre (FTTC)

ITFC has awarded the Foreign Trade Training Centre (FTTC) the “Outstanding Contribution to Intra-OIC Trade Development” award.  This recognizes the FTTC’s dedication to boosting Egypt’s global trade position and its successful partnership with ITFC. Founded by the Egyptian Ministry of Trade&Industry, the FTTC plays a vital role in developing export professionals, strengthening trade ties within the OIC.  Through ITFC-supported programs like TREE and STEP, the FTTC has trained hundreds of new exporters and entrepreneurs, contributing to Egypt’s goal of reaching USD 100 billion in exports within five years.

The winners were announced and awarded on Sunday, April 28th during the 2024 Private Sector Forum at the InterContinental Hotel in Riyadh.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Group Business Forum (THIQAH).

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