The World Islamic Infrastructure Finance Conference Innovation Award honours Calyon Credit Agricole CIB

Darshan Bijur, Director, KPMG London presented the WIIFC Innovation award to Calyon Credit Agricole CIB at the Gala Dinner & Award Ceremony of the 2nd Annual WIIFC held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar on the evening of the 4th of November 2007.

''Calyon being a French bank and with a shorter but meaningful history in the region has demonstrated great innovation and has also been very active in Sukuk and syndicated loans across the region'', said Bijur.

The Award identifies significant achievements of an institution in the Islamic financing of projects and celebrates Calyon's meaningful contribution to project finance innovation demonstrated by their recent extensive deal activities and supported by their strong Islamic banking capabilities. Internationally, Calyon is among Europe's leading corporate and investment banks by revenue; with 13,000 employees in 58 countries around the world.

"Calyon is pleased to accept the prestigious 2007 WIIFC Innovation Award from the conference organizers and KPMG. The growing numbers of participants once again shows that Islamic finance is a viable industry that has a critical role to play in the development of the infrastructure of Qatar and the greater GCC. While Calyon is an active and important player in Islamic finance, there are many other institutions, both here in the region and abroad, who are helping the advancement of Islamic finance in many jurisdictions. The growth potential of Islamic finance is limited only by the products offered and the opportunities are significant," said Saad Rahman, Director, Global Islamic Banking Department, Calyon-Credit Agricole CIB.

The award was presented at the Gala Dinner of the 2nd Annual WIIFC, which was hosted by Bahrain's Borouj Capital. The 2nd Annual WIIFC gathered more than 200 senior decision-makers at the conference representing the entire project finance spectrum, and attracted market-leading players such as Borouj Capital, Masraf Al Rayan, Ernst & Young, Investment House, Al Safa Islamic Bank, Doha Islamic Bank, Calyon Corporate & Investment Bank, Fitch Ratings, Doha Bank, International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF), Calyx Financial, KPMG, DLA Piper, and Qatar Airways.