Millennium Capital Limited (MCL) has been named first Category 1 Islamic investment bank to operate from Dubai International Financial Centre.

The investment banking subsidiary of the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) Group, which launched its operations from the DIFC in October 2006, is the first Islamic investment bank to have received such a licence.

The announcement was made following a ceremony at the DIFC attended by UAE Minister of State for Finance and Industry and DIB Group Chairman Dr Mohammed Khalfan Bin Khirbash, DIFC Governor Dr. Omar bin Sulaiman and DIB Group Managing Director Khaled Al Kamda.

MCL is broadening its range of Sharia-compliant products and services, which now includes Debt Capital Markets, Asset Management, Private Equity, Principal Investments and Financial Advisory Services. MCL also announced that it is increasing its paid-up capital from Dh190 million ($51.78 million) to Dh1 billion in order to support its full array of investment banking activities.

“DIB, which was established in 1975, was the first bank in the world to see the full potential of Islamic banking,” said Dr Khalfan. “Today, the Islamic assets under management are in excess of $1,000 billion, and growing at an annual rate of 15 per cent. In order to further facilitate this growth and to participate in the tremendous economic opportunities in GCC and beyond, we are enhancing the scope of MCL’s operations, which is now a full service Islamic Investment Bank.”

“In the midst of DIFC Week, our annual celebration of this truly international financial centre and the important role it plays across the region, we are extremely pleased to recognise Dubai Islamic Bank and Millennium Capital Limited, which is now the first Category 1 Islamic investment bank licensed to operate from within the DIFC,” said Dr Omar. “We look forward to working with both DIB and MCL in facilitating the broadest possible range of Sharia-compliant products and services to clients from across the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”

“With the exceptional growth that the region is experiencing comes the need for an institution to cater to the needs of this increasingly sophisticated marketplace. Operating from the DIFC, MCL is geared to proactively provide innovative Islamic investment banking solution and by doing so, will reinforce its leadership position in the Islamic investment banking arena,” said Khaled Al Kamda.

MCL has already established a strong track record over the past few years that led DIB to be the number one global issuer of Islamic bonds in both 2005 and 2006. MCL has been the lead manager for over $15 billion of international sukuk issuances to date. DIB and MCL’s investment banking credentials have also been well recognised by the likes of Euromoney, IFR and many others. – TradeArabia News Service