Dubai, July 16, 2008: HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic finance services arm of the HSBC Group, today announced it has entered into a partnership with Islamic Relief, a major international relief and development charity to offer a pilot Islamic microfinance scheme in Pakistan.

As per this partnership, HSBC Amanah will be providing funding towards Islamic Relief's microfinance projects in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.   HSBC Amanah will also assist Islamic Relief as required in developing the Shariah structure for financing models and contracts and providing Islamic finance training to Islamic Relief staff. 

Islamic Relief will, in turn, manage microfinance projects, identify and screen beneficiaries, set out eligibility criteria, encourage entrepreneurs to come forward with lucrative business ideas for investment and provide financial and social reports to HSBC Amanah.

Nabeel A Shoaib, Global Head of HSBC Amanah said: "We are extremely excited to partner with Islamic Relief in this ground-breaking initiative to bring greater financial inclusion to Pakistan's poor and empower hundreds of families to capture good economic opportunities. We are confident that Islamic microfinance can be a promising finance tool that can help reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth and financial inclusion, particularly in impoverished rural areas." 

"HSBC Amanah is keen to encourage the development of the Islamic microfinance sector and to promote the production of a commercially viable microfinance business model with high social impact. Based on the results of this pilot project, HSBC Amanah will be rolling out other Shariah compliant microfinance schemes in other locations,' Nabeel added.     

Saleh Saeed CEO, Islamic Relief commented: " We're pleased to be part of this unique initiative, which combines HSBC Amanah's Islamic finance expertise with Islamic Relief's understanding of the dynamics of less privileged environments and constant interaction with the poor.  

"Islamic Relief has experience of implementing microfinance projects in Pakistan as well as other countries in Asia and Eastern Europe. These projects help to alleviate poverty by providing people with the means to establish sustainable livelihoods. We are excited about the prospect of working with HSBC Amanah and look forward to replicating this model in other parts of the world where there is a pressing need to build financial inclusion for the entrepreneurial poor."   

-Ends-

About HSBC Amanah
HSBC Amanah is the global Islamic financial services division of the HSBC Group. It was established in 1998 with the aim of making HSBC the leading provider of Islamic financial services worldwide. With more than 150 professionals serving the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas, HSBC Amanah represents the largest Islamic financial services team of any international bank.

With the global resources of the HSBC Group at its disposal and the largest Islamic finance team of any international bank, HSBC Amanah is uniquely positioned to understand structure and distribute financial services that are compatible with the requirements of Shariah (Islamic Law).

About Islamic Relief
Islamic Relief (IR) is an international relief and development charity, which aims to alleviate the suffering of the world's poorest people. It is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) founded in the UK in 1984 by Dr Hany El Banna. As well as responding to disasters and emergencies, Islamic Relief promotes sustainable economic and social development by working with local communities - regardless of race, religion or gender. Islamic Relief works in four main sectors: - Emergency Relief, Development, Orphans, Waqf.

For media inquiries, please contact
Andrea Jaishankar,
050 5526329;
andreajaishankar@hsbc.com

© Press Release 2008