JEDDAH: A strategic cooperation agreement has been signed between the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), and Bank Asya, Turkey’s leading participation bank, under which Bank Asya acquires a 40 percent stake in Senegal-based Tamweel Africa Holding SA, owned by the ICD.
The agreement was signed by Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, CEO and General Manager of the ICD and Bank Asya General Manager Unal Kabaca.
As a result of the agreement, ICD and Bank Asya, will operate in the interest-free banking sector together throughout Africa, especially in the western part of the continent.
According to the plan, Tamweel Africa holding is expected to increase its stakes in the Islamic Bank of Niger (IBN), the Islamic Bank of Senegal (IBS) and the Islamic Bank of Guinea (IBG) to 66, 77.5 and 100 percent, respectively.
All of these banks engage in the interest-free banking sector. The holding is also planning to raise its stake to 100 percent in the Islamic Bank of Mauritania (IBM), which is expected to begin operations in 2010.
Bank Asya paid $15 million for 40 percent stake in Tamweel Africa Holding. With this participation the bank has acquired a 26.6 percent stake in the IBN, a 31.1 percent stake in the IBS, a 40 percent stake in the IBG and a 40 percent stake in the IBM.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Istanbul on Monday, Bank Asya General Manager Unal Kabaca noted that in order to benefit from Africa’s potential, they had reached an agreement with the ICD to operate jointly in the field of interest-free banking throughout the continent.
Bank Asya will provide technical and operational support to the banks in which it has stakes, Kabaca said, adding that they will also try to help boost Turkish investment in the region. He said that Turkey’s exports to African countries are about 15 percent of overall exports and that trade volume between Turkey and African countries has been increasing significantly in recent years.
Kabaca cited the main obstacles that prevent Turkish businessmen from trading with and investing in African countries was the lack of banking services in the region, adding that this gap will be filled with the joint efforts of the ICD and Bank Asya.
