Bahrain-based Islamic investment house Elaf Bank has entered into a Syndicated Ijarah Facility with Indonesia Air Transport (IAT) along with a consortium of Southeast Asian banks.

The Ijarah is for the lease of three helicopters at a cost of $31 million during a tenure of four years.

The contractual agreement was signed by representatives from the syndicate of banks financing the deal, including Elaf Bank, as well as a representative from IAT, at a formal signing ceremony whichwas held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The move falls into line with the bank's objective of doing more syndication business, according to Elaf bank's investment banking division general manager Ahmad Tayara.

'The investment landscape has been terribly altered and everyone is going back to basics,' he said.

'Our goal will be to team up with other banks that share our objectives and bring to investors income-generating transactions that have risk-adjusted returns.'

With Elaf Bank, the syndicate included PT Al Ijarah Indonesia Finance, partially owned by Elaf Bank, Bank Muamalat Indonesia, Permata Syariah Bank, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank, Bank Syariah Mandiri, and Asian Finance Bank, Malaysia.

'IAT has a long and successful track record,' said Tayara. 'It was established in 1968 as an airline and aviation company based in Jakarta, Indonesia, providing a wide range of aviation services to the oil, gas and mining industries within Indonesia and Southeast Asia, both on and offshore.

'The fact that the assets are new coupled with the client's track record, the backing from the assignment of a contract with an oil and gas giant, the buy back guarantee from the manufacturer, as well as a good Ijarah rate makes the deal all the more attractive.

'There can be no doubt that nowadays capital is shy, and a steady Ijarah coupon on a medium term is favoured over private equity and real estate ventures with a long investment horizon,' he said.

'Elaf Bank strongly believes in developing its business through two hubs covering the GCC and the Middle East and North Africa region and the Southeast Asia region, as a business corridor,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service