IDB launches $2bn infrastructure fund

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) launched Thursday a multi-billion dollar fund to finance infrastructure projects in the Bank's 57 member states.
In a press statement, President of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, announced the official launching of the fund with a total capital of two billion U.S. dollars.
He added that the fund is the second of its kind and the decision came in the framework of the IDB's celebration of its 40th founding anniversary to be the largest fund of private equity in the infrastructure sector.
Public Pension Agency and Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Ministry of Finance in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam are contributing to the 2nd IDB infrastructure fund as founding members.
The capital of the IDB's first infrastructure fund was estimated at 730.5 million U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, the IDB's the 39th Annual Meeting approved in its closing session Thursday the ten-year strategy of the bank and re-elected Dr. Ali as a president for the bank for new five-year term. Minister of Finance Anas Al-Saleh has headed Kuwait's delegation to the IDB's annual meeting.
On the sidelines of the meeting, experts at the 25th IDB Annual Symposium on "Strengthening Regional Economic Cooperation & Integration for Development in IDB Member Countries" have called for further convergence and promotion of efforts in Shariah compliant banking and business around the world.
The experts made the call in Jeddah as part of the 39th Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and 40th Anniversary celebrations of IDB.
"IDB has successfully created about 20 banks, which could be merged into one bank so that it could conduct business and compete with the conventional Banks", said Dr Abdullah Ibrahim El-Kuwaiz, Chairman of International Advisory Board, ACWA Power Co. Riyadh, and a panelist during the symposium.
Dr El-Kuwaiz suggested that IDB could work towards a global Shariah Committee on Islamic finance.
The experts at the Symposium also called on IDB to consider creating a specialized bank for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that will focus on poverty alleviation in member countries