Ridge Islamic Capital announces official launch of its activities in Egypt

Ridge Islamic Capital is the Islamic financial arm of the Dubai-based regional investment company Ridge Solutions International Holdings, which is part of Angola-based Ridge Solutions Group.

The company was established following the successful acquisition of the Egyptian investment banking and asset management firm El Rashad by Ridge Solutions International Holdings to expand its Islamic investment business across the region.

Ridge Islamic Capital represents the moderate solution between modern investment banking and traditional Sharia compliant commercial banking.

Commenting on the launch, José F. Ramos, the Chairman and Executive President of Ridge Solutions Group, said, "Islamic banking is considered the fastest growing segment in the global financial system with an annual rate of 10-15%. Furthermore, the Arab spring has triggered drastic changes in the region which necessitates adopting a different approach to identify businesses and investment opportunities. At Ridge Solutions, we continuously strive to develop diverse projects across several market sectors. Although our initial successes came in by leading several high profile real estate developments in Angola, the addition of Ridge Islamic Capital to the group is consistent with our vision of expanding and strengthening our lines of businesses. We strongly believe that starting the company in Egypt marks the beginning of providing Sharia compliant solutions in the region, which would enhance our revenues as well as our investors and shareholders' value."

When asked about his views on the market, Dr. Hussain H. Hassan, Ridge Islamic Capital Chairman of the Sharia Supervisory Board, explained, "As a result of the 2009 global financial crisis, investors became more interested in finding non-conventional products and solutions to manage their wealth. At the same time, the recent economic growth in many Islamic countries provided a fertile ground for Islamic finance, which has created a new investing culture based on transparency and lower volatile returns. The latter encouraged the development of Sharia compliant solutions globally making it attractive to Muslims as well as non-Muslim investors looking to pursue more ethical investments. We believe that now is the right time for Ridge Islamic Capital to emerge in Egypt and offer new and much needed investment solutions. Our teams of experts have developed a number of structures as well defined opportunities which would yield the same expected outcome as conventional investment."

"We are very excited to be the first Islamic investment company in Egypt and to proudly announce our presence in the region," commented Ridge Islamic Capital Managing Director, Miguel R. Henriques.

"Following the opening of Ridge Solutions investment office in Dubai International Financial Centre in 2009, our next challenge was to pursuit investment opportunities that would allow us to outperform the market. Our studies, conducted by a dedicated team of analysts and investment bankers, showed that Islamic finance and Sharia compliant investment have demonstrated remarkable resilience over the past three years. With a population that exceeds 83 million and the government' set target to increase Islamic and Sharia compliant finance, Egypt represents an attractive proposition for us to present and differentiate our products from modern and traditional Islamic banking," he added.

Ridge Islamic Capital will offer investors a wide range of Sharia compliant Islamic products introduced for the first time in the Egyptian market.

With a clear market vision and set plans, the company is engaging bright young talents to provide its prospective clients with unique level of service that supports their business ethics and exceeds their expectations. It is worth mentioning that the company is capitalizing funds with up to 25% of its own investments.