Innovation, achievement and a new voice in Islamic finance

The Islamic Finance Awards, in the name of HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Defence Minister of the United Arab Emirates, were presented to winners from Kuwait, South Africa and the UK at a gala dinner sponsored by the Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO) at the Emirates Towers Hotel.

Sheikh Mohammed is the patron of the International Islamic Finance Forum, a twice yearly event that attracts more than 400 participants from around 50 countries. Dubbed "The premier event in Islamic finance", the forum is taking place at Dubai's JW Marriott hotel until 15th March.

The highly prestigious Sheikh Mohammed awards are made in only three categories - Innovation In Islamic Finance; Achievement In Islamic Finance; and New Voice In Islamic Finance.

The winner in the Innovation in Islamic Finance category was Munshaat Real Estate of Kuwait, for its Zam Zam Towers complex in Makkah. Oasis Asset Management of South Africa took the award for Achievement in Islamic Finance. The New Voice in Islamic Finance award went to the Islamic Bank of Britain.

The winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges that included Sheikh Dr Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, the leading United States-based Sharia'h scholar, Farhan Bokhari, the Pakistan-based correspondent for the Financial Times and The Banker magazine, and Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Director of the Dow Jones Islamic Indexes.

"The Sheikh Mohammad Awards capture the essence of Islamic finance," said Rushdi Siddiqui. "Firstly, global impact by enticing leading financial institutions to seriously look into the Islamic finance space (New Voices). Secondly, visionary thinking that contributes to real economic development (Innovation), and finally, recognition of staying power and pursuit of excellence (Achievement)."

"The judges were confronted with an impressive list of contenders for the awards due to the huge growth in Islamic finance and product in recent years," said Chris Mullinger, director of the International Islamic Finance Forum.

Nominations included Islamically-structured real estate projects in the Middle East; equity funds jointly developed by leading Islamic banks; mortgage and securitisation pioneers in the Middle East, Europe and North America; Asia-based individuals and institutions for their leading roles in Islamic finance; Sukuk (Islamic bond) issuers in the Middle East and Asia; Islamic retail finance houses in the Middle East and Europe; and financial regulators in Asia and the Middle East.

The winner for Innovation in Islamic Finance:
Munshaat Real Estate Projects Co is a dedicated Islamic real estate finance and investment company incorporated in early 2003 in Kuwait and is building the Zam Zam Tower Complex, adjacent to the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

The Zam Zam Tower project is unique as it being built on a Sharia'h-compliant BOT basis that incorporates a Sukuk Al-Intifaa, an Islamic alternative to the timeshare concept, the first such real estate project to be so structured.

The judges said of the Zam Zam Towers project: "The recipients of the award deserve much praise and recognition for uniquely combining an important need for 'hajis' to the holy city of Mecca with a financing/utility use concept that is now gaining acceptability. This is an idea that carries the promise of giving birth to more such ventures and therefore is innovative in all respects of the word."

"We are very pleased to know that we are an award winner and that our efforts to build a viable and successful project module represented in the Zam Zam real estate project in Mecca was a success," said Mumshaat CEO Fuad Hamed al Homoud. "We are pleased to be able to replicate our project in Kuwait and in Madina in Saudi Arabia, as well as other parts in the Gulf region."

Winner of the award for Achievement in Islamic Finance:
Oasis Asset Management of South Africa is the winner of the award for Achievement in Islamic Finance.

Oasis was appointed as an investment manager to its first portfolio in October 1997 since when assets under their management have grown prodigiously as a result of the company's commitment to client service and the superior performance of the Oasis investment team.

Presently, the Oasis Group is in the process of expanding both its Sharia'h compliant and conventional product ranges. The group is also engaged with the prospect of further regional expansion around the globe.

The judges said of the winners, "The Oasis group has emerged and built up its profile as a serious player in a relatively short period of time. To that end, Oasis deserves recognition not only for what it has achieved in its own right but more importantly as an example for others to emulate."

"When we established Oasis Group in June 1997, we set out to establish equity funds that, first and foremost, preserved our investors' assets while building long-term real wealth. At the time, many believed this risk-averse strategy would yield low returns. By any standards, the performance of Oasis Asset Management funds has shown the way for a balanced approach to Sharia'h compliant investment," said Oasis CEO Adam Ismail Ebrahim.

Winner of the New Voice in Islamic Finance award:
Islamic Bank of Britain only received UK Financial Services Authority authorisation in August 2004 with initial capital of £14 million raised in 2002 from shareholders both in the UK and in the Gulf.

The establishment of Islamic Bank of Britain marked the first time that Britain's estimated 1.8 million Muslims had access to retail banking facilities from a British bank established and managed on a wholly Shariah compliant basis.

The judges said of the bank: "The Islamic Bank of Britain has finally made possible what was only talked about for a long before. The bank has successfully established for itself a position as not only an institution that represents an important Islamic cause, but, more vitally, acts as a role model in an important western country."