European Islamic Investment Bank Plc and Liquidity Management Centre B.S.C. (c) sign strategic co-operation agreement

European Islamic Investment Bank Plc ('EIIB'), the first independent, Sharia'a compliant Islamic investment bank to be authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK, and the Liquidity Management Centre B.S.C. (c) of Bahrain have signed a strategic co-operation agreement to work together in furthering the development of Islamic finance, promoting innovation and new product design.

A key focus of the agreement will be the sukuk market, with work on enhancing secondary market liquidity, new issue innovation and appropriate standardization of market practices.

The Liquidity Management Centre ('LMC') was established for the purpose of facilitating the investment of the surplus funds of Islamic banks and financial institutions into quality short and medium term financial instruments structured in accordance with Sharia'a principles.

John Weguelin, Managing Director, EIIB, said: 'We are delighted to be working together with such a reputable organisation as the Liquidity Management Centre, particularly to further develop the sukuk market. Our institutions naturally complement each other, and we recognize the great achievements of the LMC over the last three years, including winning the award for the best domestic market sukuk house in 2005, best debt house in Bahrain 2005, arranging the first project finance sukuk, and its work with Bloomberg on secondary sukuk modeling.

'EIIB's role is to act as a bridge between western and Islamic markets, and this makes the LMC a very logical partner for us. We are rapidly becoming a major provider of sukuk market liquidity - by combining our resources and expertise and working in partnership, both our institutions will benefit, and more importantly, so will investors in the Islamic markets.'

Ahmed Abbas, Chief Executive Officer of the LMC added: 'EIIB has already made a significant impact in Islamic investment banking, with a unique perspective as a UK-regulated, independent institution delivering significant capital markets structuring expertise, and we know they have exciting plans for 2007. By working together and combining resources, we will greatly enhance the development and growth of the Islamic financial markets. We look forward to working with them.'

EIIB recently opened an office in Bahrain, after it opened for business in London in April. The bank expects to launch several fund products in the coming months, including a pan-European real estate fund and a capital guaranteed fund.
EIIB also plans to develop a range of its own Sharia'a compliant investment funds during the coming year, covering the hedge fund, private equity and real estate asset classes, and including capital-protected structured products. EIIB will also partner with other financial institutions, both Islamic and conventional, to create bespoke Sharia'a compliant investment products according to demand.