Tunisia continues to make headway with launch of largest domestic Islamic fund (By IFN)

Tunisia continues to make headway with launch of largest domestic Islamic fund

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TUNISIA: Tunisia’s plans to introduce Islamic finance into its banking and finance system seem to be solidifying in the last week, as optimistic news begins to trickle in from its parliament and asset management sector. It was first reported in Vol.10, issue 6 of Islamic Finance news that legislation governing Islamic finance in the country are likely to be passed soon by the parliament, and that the government is contemplating the issuance of Sukuk as part of its 2013 draft budget. This week, United Gulf Financial Services (North Africa), a subsidiary of United Gulf Bank in Bahrain, launched a Shariah compliant fund, the Themar Investment Fund, with a capital of TND50 million (US$32.34 million), on the 13th February. Backed by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), and the Deposits and Consignment Fund of Tunisia, the fund aims to target locally-owned SMEs seeking funding. According to reports, Jamel Belhaj, CEO of Tunisia’s Deposit and Consignment Fund, said that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has indicated that it will contribute to Themar. He said: “We handed the EIB officials a copy of the founding documents of Themar fund and they will study the documents as a prelude to deciding on financing for the Themar projects.” He added that it is likely that the EIB will launch a direct partnership with Themar. The country, which still has a largely unbanked population, is following the lead of other North African countries such as Libya and Morocco who have also taken baby steps towards creating a Shariah compliant banking environment.