The Board of Executive Directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has approved $ 5,061 million for the bank’s operations plan for the year 1435H (November 2013 –November 2014), the bank’s largest annual budget ever and a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
This new operations plan coming in the context of IDB’s Medium Term Business Strategy for 1434H-1436H is in addition to the funding offered by other IDB Group entities. The bank is targeting $15.23 billion over three years to foster accelerated socio-economic development of the member countries.
The decision also reflects the increase in ordinary financing triggered by the mobilisation of resources from the financial markets through the issuance of Sukuk, based on the AAA credit rating the bank has been receiving during the past 10 years from Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch.
The Board also approved administrative budgets presented by the bank’s management for the year 1435H including those for the Waqf Fund, the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), the 2nd Infrastructure Fund as well as the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD).
As part of the agenda of the 293rd meeting, the Board approved $368.3 million for funding a number of new development projects in IDB member countries as well as Muslim communities in non-member countries.
The highest amount of the approvals was the $220 million project that went to Turkey’s Industrial Development Bank (TSKB) Renewable Energy Programme which aims to support the country’s economic development by building a number of advanced power plants. A project for the development of oncology services in Djibouti received $5 million. The meeting also took note of $142.3 million of financing approved by the IDB President for promoting food security in 6 member countries in Central and West Africa namely; $29 million for Niger; $28 million for Chad; $27.8 million for Burkina Faso; $25.5 million for Senegal; $17 million for Mauritania; and $15 million for the Gambia. A sum of $1 million was approved as grant under IDB’s Waqf fund in favour of educational projects for five Muslim communities in Fiji, Mauritius, Rwanda, Spain and Ukraine.
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Economics, Saudi Arabia, Sharia Compliant Banking & Finance, Socioeconomics