The DIFC has clarified its position on news reports that have recently appeared regarding ‘Rashed Investment Bank’ an Islamic investment bank which has been proposed to be set up in Dubai. The DIFC said that while it welcomes initiatives within the Islamic finance industry, the “DIFC clarifies that it is not a member of the founding consortium of ‘Rashed Investment Bank’ and does not have a financial stake in the venture.”
Word had appeared in some media outlets that a new Islamic investment bank was going to be set up in Dubai, would have authorised capital of around $1 billion. The report which initially broke in the UAE’s Al Bayan newspaper claimed that the new bank would deal in hedge funds, structured products and equity capital markets.
It claimed that a number of investors from the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were behind the new entity, although their identities were not made public, adding that it would be headquartered in the DIFC.