Dubai Islamic Bank team highlights strength of Islamic finance sector to London-based institutional investors

Notes and media contacts

About Dubai Islamic Bank
Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), established in 1975, is the first Islamic bank to have incorporated the principles of Islam in all its practices. DIB is a public joint stock company and its share is quoted on the Dubai Financial Market.

The bank reported AED 1.56 billion in net profit for the year ended December 31, 2006 rising by 47% compared to AED1.06 billion for the year ended December 31, 2005. The profit for 2006, including depositors' profits, stood at AED 3.3 billion, an increase of 65% compared to AED 2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2005. Total assets in 2006 reached to AED 64.5 billion reporting an increase of 50% compared to AED 43 billion in 2005.

Financing and investment operations also delivered strong growth, with total investment and financing assets including investments in sukuks stood at AED 38.8 billion, an increase of 28% over last year. Customer deposits also showed an aggressive growth of 43% over last year reaching AED47.7 billion in 2006.

DIB has recently announced the breaking of another world record by raising US$3.52 billion Sukuk for the Nakheel Group. This Sukuk adopted a 1st of its kind structure never used before in Islamic or conventional banking history. The Nakheel Sukuk brings the total Sukuk raised by DIB in the UAE to more than US$9 billion (AED33 billion), an unprecedented amount in the history of Islamic Banking.

The bank has been proactive in creating partnerships and alliances at local and international level. DIB has adapted an aggressive expansion strategy, which started with the establishment of DIB Pakistan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of DIB. DIB opened its first representative office in Turkey to improve its access to that market. DIB has also acquired 60 per cent of its stake in Al Khartoum Bank and is also among the parents banks of Emirates and Sudan Bank (ESB). The steps taken mark DIB's ambitious plans to roll out its operations into regional and international markets as part of its overall strategic plan.

For further information, please contact:
Nicholas Nesson / Tarek Fleihan
Mobile: (+97150) 4785324 / 5198511
ASDA'A Public Relations
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971-4-3355969
Fax: +971-4-3344556