Manama: Bahrain-headquartered Islamic banking major, Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), as part of its strategy to offer a wide range of services and investment channels for its clientele, has announced the launch of Islamic Commodity Murabaha financing service.
The announcement came as Al Baraka Banking Group and Bahrain Bourse signed an agreement on September 2, 2020. The virtual signing ceremony was attended by the Group’s President and Chief Executive, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Chief Executive of Bahrain Bourse and Shaikh Salman Bin Isa Al Khalifa, Executive Director, Banking Operations, representing the Central Bank of Bahrain.
“The ABG-Bahrain Bourse agreement is seen as a major boost to Bahrain’s position as an emerging hub for Shari’a-compliant transactions as it adds a new dimension to product development and innovation within the Islamic finance sector. The transactions through this platform will strengthen the Islamic debt market of the Kingdom,” Adnan Ahmed Yousif President and Chief Executive Al Baraka Banking Group, said.
He added that the agreement is in line with the Group’s efforts to expand and diversify the services it provides, and cater to various market segments through a new and unique line of service for its core client base. Having a new Commodity Broker Service in the local market provides more flexible Islamic finance alternatives and helps reduce reliance on International Commodity Brokers as a sole service provider.
“We are pleased to welcome Al Baraka Group on-board our Murabaha Service as we continue to work toward enhancing the Shari’a-compliant initiatives across Bahrain’s capital market, providing a wide spectrum of investment opportunities on both a regional and global level,” Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, the Chief Executive of Bahrain Bourse, said.
ABG’s Murabaha service clients will benefit from significant reductions in processing time as well as bolstering Bahrain’s position as the global capital of the Islamic economy.
It is noteworthy that the Murabaha platform was established by the CBB and the Bahrain Bourse with the aim of promoting Shari’a-compliant structures as a major financing option across Bahrain by offering customers alternatives to International Commodity Broker services for Murabaha-based financing transactions.
The Murabaha service is provided through the utilisation of Shari’a-compliant Ijara Sukuk, as the underlying asset for all the Murabaha transactions. An online service offering unique advantages to financial institutions and clients seeking Shari’a-compliant solutions and trading opportunities will be used for facilitating Ijara Sukuk-based Murabaha transactions.
Top executives attended the virtual meeting from ABG and Bahrain Bourse.
