JEDDAH: Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of Islamic Development Bank, together with Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Berhad (Exim Bank) and in collaboration with Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB), conducted a daylong seminar on financing for overseas projects in Kuala Lumpur recently.
The seminar succeeded in detailing the opportunities available to Malaysian investors and contractors in expanding their business to new and emerging markets, especially to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) countries. Issues related to banking and credit insurance were also discussed.
The seminar attracted more than 250 participants from various Malaysian businessmen as well as local financial institutions. It was officiated by Zamani Abdul Ghani, deputy governor of Central Bank of Malaysia.
Among the speakers at the seminar were senior representatives from ICD, ICIEC (The Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investments and Export Credits), CIDB and Exim Bank.
In conjunction with the seminar, business networking sessions were also organized to enable participants to discuss business and joint investment opportunities as well as forging mutually beneficial business collaboration and linkages.
Exim Bank stressed the importance of playing an active “partnership” role in its customers’ ventures by providing a variety of products and services, all of which would assist Malaysian business exporters in sourcing the most cost-effective funding structures for the development of their business.
Fawaz Abdelnour, director of investment, said ICD hoped the seminar gave the Malaysians businessmen further insight of the changing pace of development in OIC countries as well as those in MENA region.
It was also emphasized that with Malaysia’s local potential and IDB’s global reach, a mutual enriching collaboration could potentially be developed to be productive.