Dubai Islamic Bank Get Three Awards On Islamic Finance Deal Of The Year

• Dubai Islamic Bank receives award for great significance in Mudarabah, Pakistan and Ijarah transactions Dubai – Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Islamic Bank in the UAE has claimed that it has won three awards at the prestigious Islamic Finance News (IFN) Awards 2015. The DIB bank has been awarded for “Pakistan Deal of the Year” for the second year; and the “Mudarabah Deal of the Year” and “Ijarah Deal of the Year” for the first time. Dr. Adnan Chilwan, CEO Of DIB, collected the awards in the presence of senior bank executives at an exclusive gala.

 Established in 2006, the IFN Deal of the Year Awards recognize the major Islamic financial institutions that have participated in the industry’s most innovative and important transactions. Following a severe judging process, a panel of experts from industry selects the most innovative deals based on a set of vigorous criteria. For the second year, DIB has been selected for the “Pakistan Deal of the Year” for its $ 1 billion Sukuk Ijarah for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

• It also received the award for “Mudarabah Deal of the Year” emphasizing the bank’s role in arranging the US$ 127.8 million Mudarabah facility for Empower, the world’s largest cooling services provider for districts, for the company’s major project in Dubai’s Business Bay. In addition, DIB was also part of the joint lead arrangers on the US$ 700 million Musharaka Fixed Rate Trust Certificates for DIFC Investments, for which the bank won the award for “Ijarah Deal of the Year”.
• Commenting on the awards, Dr. Chilwan, CEO of Dubai Islamic Bank said: “A key component of the bank’s outstanding performance in 2014 has been great innovation. As an institution that is growing nationwide, varying and expanding globally, our products and offerings require continuous advancement. Given the relatively emerging nature of Islamic finance and the fact that DIB is known for adhering to its basic ideology, this is a hard work. Therefore, our running success at the IFN Awards reflects our unmatched position in this space with the bank having firmly established a peerless reputation across the globe for arranging complex financing facilities for governments and diverse corporations alike.”
• Indicative of the bank’s commitment to this purposeful activity, in addition to arranging a variety of transactions for clients over the past year, the bank successfully priced and closed a $1 billion Tier 1 Sukuk in January, which opened 2015 debt capital markets in MENA and was the first perpetual issuance of the year. These deals highlight the ongoing potential of the global Sukuk market, which grew from $111.3 billion in 2013 to $116.4 billion last year, according to S&P. Despite variation in the market due to fluctuations in oil prices, the market is anticipated to exceed $100 billion in 2015 as well.
• Naveed Ali, Chief of Corporate Banking of DIB added: “Winning these awards highlights the success we had in arranging an impressive array of landmark Sukuk transactions last year for some of the biggest sovereign and non-sovereign entities. Our ability to carry out these deals across geographies, and sectors as diverse as financial services, utilities and real estate, displays the unrivaled capabilities of our team and our expertise in this space. We look forward to continue leveraging our balance sheet and our institutional relationships this year to help organisations throughout the UAE, and globally, access the financing they need to grow and prosper.”
• These awards build on the recognition DIB has received over the years, including winning “UAE Deal of the Year”, “Kuwait Deal of the Year” and “Pakistan Deal of the Year” at the IFN Awards 2014. The bank also recently won the award for “Best Regional Commercial Bank – Middle East” at the Islamic Business & Finance Awards 2014.