Khalij Islamic receives FCA approval - IFN

Khalij Islamic receives FCA approval

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UK: Shariah compliant advisory boutique Khalij Islamic yesterday received official authorization from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Islamic Finance news can exclusively reveal. The firm, which has offices in the UAE and the UK, launched in 2008 as a Shariah consulting firm and has since established itself as an Islamic finance investment and advisory boutique with a range of products and services including strategic consulting and specialized expertise for developing, structuring, sourcing and placing bespoke Shariah compliant financial products; with a focus on ‘true asset’ investment products as well as Islamic liquidity and risk management solutions. A key sponsor of the IFN Europe Issuer and Investor Forum held in London in May 2013, Khalij Islamic is managed by a team with over 100 years of collective experience: including Shariah compliance specialist Asim Khan and former global head of Islamic products at Deutsche Bank, Geert Bossuyt. Khalij Islamic is Shariah advisor to various financial institutions in Europe and the GCC. Its recent deals include a US$2.2 billion Sukuk Ijarah program as part of the restructuring of a major real estate developer in the GCC; a US$2 billion Sukuk Murabahah program for a major international investment bank; the set-up of a long-short equity fund platform in Luxembourg for a UK based finance house; and the first Shariah compliant agricultural inventory finance transaction in Brazil (for Abu Dhabi Equity Partners). Asim highlighted the significance of the FCA authorization to Islamic Finance news, explaining that: "This not only adds to the credibility of the team but we are probably the first FCA-regulated Islamic investment and advisory boutique which is independent of any financial institution or Shariah scholar."