Major Islamic bank set for launch by June

Reuters:The world's largest sharia lender will be launched by June, an industry body said on Friday, as the sector tries to address a shortage of large lenders it needs to become a global alternative to conventional banking.

The Bahrain-based bank would have a paid-up capital of $11 billion, with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) as its largest shareholder, said Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, chairman of the General Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions.
Sheikh Saleh said the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries would also invest in the bank, adding that it was the right time to set up the bank despite tough financial market conditions worldwide.

"I think it is the best time to push and to encourage people to invest in the real economy ... industry, agriculture, but not to invest in markets and derivatives and these blow-up things," Sheikh Saleh told Reuters on the sidelines of briefing in the Malaysian capital...Continue Reading