The ICD, Palestine Investment Fund and Palestine Islamic Bank launch the Palestine Ijarah Company - IFN

The ICD, Palestine Investment Fund and Palestine Islamic Bank launch the Palestine Ijarah Company

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PALESTINE: A partnership between the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the Palestine Investment Fund and Palestine Islamic Bank has seen the official launch of the Palestine Ijara Company (PIC). The company will be offering asset-based Ijarah financing to Palestine’s SMEs in various economic sectors including agribusiness, construction, education, healthcare, industry and tourism. The first company of its kind in Palestine, PIC is also the ICD’s first project in the country and the most recent addition to the 17 similar Ijarah companies established by the ICD in locations including Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Uzbekistan. Bayan Qasem, the acting general manager of the Palestine Islamic Bank, described the launch as “a significant milestone in the development of the Palestinian Islamic-financing sector”. PIC will specialize in Shariah compliant financing, with the aim of providing new products and an additional avenue for funding to SMEs in Palestine, growing SME operations and contributing to job creating through this method. The financing offered by PIC will range between US$100,000 and US$1 million per transaction. The chairman of the Palestinian Capital Markets Authority, Maher Al Masri, shared his opinion that PIC would add depth to the Palestinian Islamic finance sector via the new financial instruments that the company will be offering; an opinion echoed by Mahmoud Al Khoshman, the ICD’s advisor and representative on the board of PIC: “PIC will help add depth and diversity to the Palestinian financial services sector. As a strategic partner in the company, [the] ICD will utilize its extensive experience and expertise... to ensure that the company meets its stated goals and objectives.” Palestine Investment Fund’s involvement in the establishment of PIC comes through its specialized SME investment and financing arm, Sharakat Fund, a unified investment and financing platform established in 2012. The Palestine Investment Fund is a financially and administratively independent public shareholding company, owned by the people of Palestine, with the stated aim of fostering of economic development. Dr Mohammed Mustafa, the deputy prime minister for economic affairs and the chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, indicated his hope that the partnership between the ICD and Palestine would continue in the form of other projects.