AMLAK Finance takes 5 per cent shareholding in new Sudanese Islamic bank

DUBAI, July 20, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — AMLAK Finance PJSC has announced, in a press release issued today by the group, that it will participate in the establishment of the Al Salam Bank, a new financial institution being set up in Sudan.

The new Islamic bank in Sudan will have a capital base of US$75million, of which 75 per cent would be contributed by the founding members. The outstanding 25 per cent will be raised through an initial public offering (IPO) in Sudan.

AMLAK will take a 5 per cent shareholding in the new bank, which has attracted other investors individuals and institutions from the UAE, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon.

“Exciting developments are currently underway in Sudan and AMLAK is proud to be part of a new era in the country’s growth by participating in the creation of Al Salam Bank,” said Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi, AMLAK’s Chief Executive Officer.

New oil discoveries, a rising GDP and peace in previously unstable parts of the country are all factors which have come together to make Sudan a more attractive place to invest.

“Nearly four years of solid growth and development in the UAE have set the stage for Islamic finance to realise some of its infinite potential,” Al Hashimi said. “AMLAK’s participation in the establishment of Al Salam Bank is further testimony to the company’s diversification and shift into new markets.”

Established in October 2000, AMLAK Finance PJSC, now the largest publicly held Islamic finance company in the country, is a pioneer in mortgage finance. Its growth strategy combined an Initial Public Offering in January 2004 that was oversubscribed 33 times, increasing its capital to AED750 million and its conversion into an Islamic financial institution that offers Shari’a compliant products.

AMLAK is currently traded on the Dubai Financial Market with EMAAR properties holding majority ownership and a 45 per cent stake in the company.