Dubai Islamic Bank launches operations in Pakistan

This is the bank's first of eight branches that is being planed for opening by DIB Pakistan Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of DIB. Other branches are being planned in the bustling cities of Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, besides Karachi.

The launch of the bank was celebrated at gala dinner ceremony hosted at the Mohatta Palace, Karachi and attended by the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf as the Chief Guest besides Ministers, Dr. Shamshad Akhter, Governor of State Bank of Pakistan, senior government officials, and top businessmen. President Musharraf was the first person to open an account in the Karachi branch of DIB.

President General Pervez Musharraf stated: "The brotherly ties between Pakistan and United Arab Emirates were cemented through trade and I hope that this would be further grown with strong business links in the coming days bringing the two countries closer."

Dr. Khirbash said: "Pakistan is an important part of the bank's international expansion programme and we will be operating a fully-fledged Islamic banking operation in Pakistan with presence in all of the major cities of the country."

Dr. Khirbash noted:

"This launch is not the first step taken by DIB in being part of Pakistan's growing economy. It was only recently that DIB played an active role in developing the market of Islamic Commercial Paper in Pakistan when the bank participated as a co-manager of the Sovereign Islamic Sukuk issue."

He further added, "Our research of the Pakistan market many years ago had led us to believe in the high growth potential and investment friendly government policies of the Government of Pakistan. We thus focused on the Pakistan market as a key ingredient in our international expansion plan to realize DIB's vision of being the leading provider of innovative financial services in accordance with Sharia principles. There has also been a growing awareness of the benefits of Islamic banking in Pakistan, which has been supported by the Government and the Central Bank of Pakistan."

"Being the first Islamic bank in the world is both a great honour and a great responsibility for DIB. Our pioneering move 30 years ago has resulted in a thriving and growing Islamic finance industry. Today, we are recognised as being the leading and the most forward-thinking Islamic institution across the world and other banks and institutions consider us as the benchmark, both in the structuring of products and on Sharia principles and jurisprudence," Dr. Khirbash concluded.

Mr. Saad Zaman, CEO, DIB Pakistan Limited said: "DIB will leverage the expertise and experience of its Sharia board to play a significant role in the development of sophisticated Islamic banking products and Sharia compliant services in Pakistan.

"Pakistan is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a huge inflow of foreign investment and an exponential boom in the finance and banking sectors. This has been made possible through the stable and business-friendly policies of the government that have led to the emergence of Pakistan as an economically progressive nation on the world map," Mr. Zaman concluded.