Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)

Dar Al Sharia will also carry out research and development, Sharia training, audit and rating functions. The company will closely liaise with clients, lawyers, bankers and investors on an end-to-end basis, from the initial concept through to the completion of transaction structure and documentation, in a fully Sharia-compliant manner.

"As the world's first Islamic bank, DIBDIB has established itself as the industry authority and trendsetter in Sharia best practices. DIBDIB's first-mover advantage has given us immense Sharia expertise and strength, which will now be available to the industry at large," said H.E Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dubai Islamic BankDubai Islamic Bank and Director-General of His Highness The Ruler's Court. "We are very pleased to transform our Sharia expertise into the new consultancy firm, which literally means the house of Sharia. We are also fortunate that the driving forces behind our Sharia consultancy success, Dr. Hussain Hamed Hassan and Sohail Zubairi, will spearhead our new subsidiary along with their competent team."

Commenting on the strengths of the subsidiary, Khaled Al Kamda, Group Managing Director and CEO of DIBDIB, said: "DIBDIB is widely recognised as a pioneer of several industry-first structures and products. It is such prolific capabilities that form the foundation of Dar Al Sharia, which we are confident, will become the worldwide powerhouse for Sharia guidance."

Dr. Hussain has been associated with the bank since 1999 in the capacity of Chairman of the Sharia Board of DIBDIB. He holds a doctorate in Sharia from Al Azhar University, Egypt, a master's degree in economics from Cairo University, and a master's degree in comparative law from New York University. Dr. Hussain will serve as Director of Dar Al Sharia.

He said: "DIBDIB has long been at the forefront of the fast-paced growth experienced by the Islamic finance industry. We have completed over 1,400 transactions which include first-time ever Islamic structures, such as convertible Sukuk, multi-class Sukuk, Islamic Securitization, IPOs, Islamic Trust services, personal finance, rate swaps, currency swaps, and many other, aggregate value of which exceeds AED 400 billion since 2004. As this industry is set to witness an even further boom across the world, Dar Al Sharia will become a trusted source of high quality Sharia guidance to the institutions from around the globe.

Sohail Zubairi will be the new company's CEO. He provides over 25 years of banking experience in the UAE and has been with DIBDIB since 2001. Under the direct guidance of Dr. Hussain, Zubairi has taken part in structuring many high-profile Sukuk and syndicated transactions, thereby gaining cutting-edge expertise in the application of Sharia principles in financial transactions.

He said: "The in-depth knowledge and insights that we have gained from Dr. Hussain over the past few years, coupled with our highly trained team of lawyers, financial experts, researchers and Sharia analysts are the greatest assets of Dar Al Sharia. Our aim is to continue to develop innovative yet fully Sharia-compliant financial tools on a fast-track basis to meet the needs of this dynamic market."

-Ends-

Note to editors:
Dubai Islamic BankDubai Islamic Bank is a Sharia-compliant financial institution. As such, please refrain from using any of the following terms in reference to the bank and its activities:

• Loan

• Lender / Lending / Lend

• Borrower / Borrowing / Borrow

• Credit facility

• Advance

• Interest

About Dubai Islamic BankDubai Islamic Bank:
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB)Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), established in 1975, is the first Islamic bank to have incorporated the principles of Islam in all its practices. DIBDIB is a public joint stock company and its share is quoted on the Dubai Financial Market. The bank enjoys a reputation as a leader and innovator in maintaining the quality, flexibility and accessibility of its products and services. In a very short space of time it has created market leading services and products that are setting benchmarks for the rest of the sector.

The bank reported AED 2.5 billion in net profit for the year ending December 31, 2007, rising by 60 per cent compared to AED 1.56 billion for 2006. The bank recorded total revenues of AED 7 billion for 2007, rising by 46 per cent compared to AED 4.8 billion for 2006. Total assets in 2007 reached to AED 84.3 billion, an increase of 31 per cent compared to AED 64.4 billion in 2006.

DIBDIB set a world record by raising a US$3.52 billion sukuk for the Nakheel Group. This sukuk adopted a structure never used before in Islamic or conventional banking history. This Sukuk adopted a 1st of its kind structure never used before in Islamic or conventional banking history.

The bank has been proactive in creating partnerships and alliances at both the local and international level. DIBDIB has adopted an aggressive expansion strategy, which started with the establishment of DIBDIB Pakistan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of DIBDIB. DIBDIB opened its first representative office in Turkey to enhance its access to that market. DIBDIB has also acquired a stake in Al Khartoum Bank and a stake in Emirates and Sudan Bank (ESB). These steps mark DIBDIB's ambitious plans to roll out its operations into regional and international markets as part of its overall strategic plan.

DIBDIB has won the respect of its peers around the world. The bank was recently named by Islamic Finance News the UAE's Best Islamic Bank. DIBDIB has also received many awards from international organizations such as the prestigious "Bank of the Year - UAE" award for 2006 by The Banker magazine and accolades from Euromoney. DIBDIB has garnered the attention of international credit rating firms receiving ratings from Standard & Poor's and Moodys agencies.

For further information, please contact:
Nicholas Nesson / Mohammed Daggamseh
ASDA'A Public Relations
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-3355969
Fax: 971-4-3356080
E-mail: n.nesson@asdaa.com / m.daggamesh@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2008 from ASDA'A Public Relations

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