Dubai Islamic Bank launches "Al Islami Credit Cards"

Notes and media contacts

For further information, please contact:
TimHarrison/Tarek Fleihan
ASDA'A Public Relations
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971-4-3344550
Fax: +971-4-3344556

DIB profile
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 enjoys a reputation as a leader and innovator in maintaining the quality, flexibility and accessibility of its products and services. In a very short space of time it has created market leading services and products that are setting benchmarks for the rest of the sector.

The bank's recent financial results confirm the strength of its balance sheet and profitability. Figures for the year ending December 2004 reported a 36 per cent increase in net profits including depositors' profits, to reach AED 1.02 billion (US$278 million) compared to AED 751 million (US$205 million) for 2003. The bank's assets at the end of December last year had grown 35 per cent in the same period to AED 30.8 billion (US$8.3 billion), against AED 22.8 billion (US$6.2 billion) for the equivalent year previously.

DIB's net profit (including depositors' share) for the first nine months of 2005, reached AED1.465 billion (US$ 400 million), as against AED710 million (US$ 195 million) for the same period of last year, registering 106 per cent growth. The bank's assets at the end of September 2005, rose AED5.3 billion (US$1.45 billion) to AED33.4 billion (US$9.1 billion), compared to AED28.1 billion (US$7.6 billion) at the end of September 2004.

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. The bank has also co-managed Pakistan's US$600 million first Sovereign Islamic bond issue that received a tremendous response from investors.

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), which recently completed its US$28.5 million IPO and was oversubscribed by more than US$224 million. 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.

DIB has also shown its outstanding capabilities by being appointed to provide specialist financial solutions for huge developmental projects within the UAE, one of which led to the world record US$1 billion Islamic bond issue. The issue was arranged for the Government of Dubai's Department of Civil Aviation to raise funding for the second phase of the expansion of Dubai International Airport. The bank also managed financing of US$350 million for Nakheel. The financing made further capital available to build on Nakheel's blue chip portfolio of developments such as The Palm in Dubai.