Sharm El Sheik, Egypt

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and UAE-headquartered Tabarak Investment Capital have signed an insurance policy that will provide greater insurance cover for the export and import of Shariah-compliant goods and services.

The documentary credit insurance policy will apply to the confirmation of Irrevocable Letters of Credit (ILC) by Tabarak Investment Capital in the ICIEC Member States. The policy will cover the commercial and political risks of the issuing banks, thereby enhancing the capacity of Tabarak to expand its trade finance support in the United Arab Emirates.

The approved limit for the policy is $100 million over a 12-month tenure.

The insurance policy was signed by Mr Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, who praised the partnership’s goal of “fuelling trade finance by giving confidence to banks that commercial and political risks will be covered”.

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and Saudi EXIM Bank have signed reinsurance agreements during the Islamic Development Bank’s Private Sector Forum (PSF) that will help facilitate the flow of trade finance into and out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Facultative Reinsurance Agreement will see ICIEC provide reinsurance to Saudi EXIM Bank coverage of confirmed documentary credits. The agreement encompasses documentary credits confirmed by Bank AlBilad and Arab National Bank – the original policyholders – and will create additional capacity for Saudi EXIM Bank to support exporters and importers of essential goods and services in Saudi Arabia.

Under the agreement, ICIEC’s reinsurance will provide protection against commercial and political risks of issuing banks in the ICIEC Member States. The combined approved limit for the reinsurance agreements is $138 million over a 12-month tenure.

Saudi EXIM Bank is an Export Credit Agency (ECA) that aims to promote the development and diversification of Saudi exports and increase their ability to compete in global markets in a range of sectors. It does so through the provision of export financing, guarantees, credit insurance and other facilities.

Mr Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, welcomed the partnership which would boost Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness as well as its cooperation with the other Member States. “By providing this facultative reinsurance, ICIEC gives extra confidence to banks – as well as exporters and importers – those transactions will be protected against the range of risks confronting marketing participants today.”

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) is convening two special parallel events on June 2 and 3, at the IsDB Group’s Private Sector Forum, which will run at the IsDB’s 47th Annual Meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

The two discussions with senior speakers will dive deep into climate action and digital transformation. They will provide a good opportunity to network with IsDB Group member states, especially Egypt as it brings digitisation and climate action into play in order to achieve its own development targets under its bold Egypt Vision 2030:

To secure your participation at these prestigious events, please register now via the link below:

https://isdbg-psf.org/

June 2 [14:00-15:00] - How digital transformation can support finance and investment

Join high level speakers discussing the digital transformation of business communities in member states, with a specific concentration on ICIEC’s initiative for establishing the OIC Business Intelligence Centre (OBIC).

The importance of digitising trade and commerce is paramount – not least because it can help improve supply chain management, vital in a time of geopolitical change, and also it can be used to improve transparency and combat bad practices.  Digitisation of the global trade ecosystem has long been a goal, but there have been tangible developments in the region, not least the adoption by some players of new enabling umbrella legislation (such as under UNCITRAL), which shows progress in digitising physical trade, vital in the modern economy.

June 3 [11:05 – 12:05] - How credit and political risk insurance can help facilitate climate action

This session highlights how CPRI insurance can help facilitate climate action and will introduce ICIEC’s latest initiatives for climate action, and present and share experiences, transactions and partnerships in member states. The discussion will engage member state private sector actors on solutions and services provided by ICIEC for climate action, serving member states’ ESG agendas. This discussion will spotlight initiatives that will help Egypt achieve its Vision 2030 goals with particular respect to the environment.

“We’re delighted to be hosting these two parallel events in Egypt. ICIEC’s involvement at the Private Sector Forum will provide a great opportunity to engage with the private sector in our member states and wider global community and help energise the private sector partnerships at high levels, through digitisation and solutions for climate action,” says Mr Oussama KAISSI CEO of ICIEC. 

For your chance to join both or either session, please register via: https://isdbg-psf.org/

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the International Federation of Islamic Takaful and Insurance Companies (IFTI) signed today a ground-breaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in a move designed to boost the development of the Islamic insurance sector.

The MoU was signed by Mr Oussama KAISSI, the Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, and Mr Reda Amin Dahbour, the Chairman of IFTI.

Under the terms of the MoU, ICIEC, being the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, and IFTI, an umbrella entity for Islamic Takaful and insurance companies around the world, have agreed on a general framework to facilitate cooperation on their common goals, and on a range of collaborative initiatives and programs.

One of the main objectives of the MOU is to promote the Islamic insurance industry and support the member institutions of the Federation in providing the best solutions and services while strengthening the technical capabilities of the workforce in the field of Islamic insurance. ICIEC, through IFTI, will support member institutions and companies operating in the Islamic insurance domain and encourage them to introduce and promote export credit insurance as new products among their offerings.

Under the broader terms of the MoU, both institutions agree to cooperate in organizing seminars and courses for employees and providing coordinated technical support. ICIEC avails its reinsurance services to IFTI for export credit insurance. The MoU explicitly encourages the rest of the OIC companies to introduce export credit and foreign investment insurance products as new.

Oussama KAISSI, CEO of ICIEC, welcomed the signing of the MoU. “There are excellent synergies between our organizations. We are looking forward to working together with IFTI to promote our common objectives in contributing to the promotion of Islamic insurance, supporting institutions and companies in introducing Export Credit insurance, and encouraging more operators to introduce them as new products.”

Cairo, Egypt

A landmark Arab Africa Guarantee Fund (AAGF) took a step closer to realization when the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) submitted a final concept note for the establishment of the Fund to the 3^rd Board of Governors Meeting of the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program on 14^th March 2022 in Cairo for approval.

The establishment of AAGF shall provide a scalable structure that aims to mobilize financial resources and risk mitigation capacity to support trade and investment in Arab and African countries; and ensure that all-in pricing of transactions is optimized for the end beneficiaries through blended structures.

The proposed Umbrella Fund will comprise three sub-funds, including an Arab Africa Green Facility, an Arab Africa Food Security Facility, and an Arab Africa Health Facility, which may attract additional partners interested in the respective sectors.

In this respect, the AAGF Partners Network hopes to bring together AATB founding partners with other stakeholders, including National ECAs, PRI providers, Donors, MDBs, Regional Development Banks, NGOs, and new AATB members.

Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, commented: “Credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) solutions can boost the volume of trade finance to meet the objectives of both ATTB and infrastructure investments. The needs of the Arab and the African countries are far more than the capabilities of the member institutions of AATB. It becomes imperative for AATB to seek innovative structures that can leverage the capabilities of the existing member institutions of the AATB and offer appropriate risk mitigation tools to mobilize financial resources from external partners. To fill this gap, ICIEC, in its capacity as the Leader of the Insurance Pillar of the AATB, proposes establishing AAGF.”

Cairo, 14 March 202 – The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC)and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Cairo in a move designed to advance the two institutions’ relationship and thereby promote trade and investment flows between Arab and African countries.

The MoU was signed by Mr. Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, and Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank. It creates the framework for a range of collaborative initiatives and programmes.

Under the terms of the MoU, ICIEC, which is the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, and Afreximbank will partner on activities such as risk sharing arrangements, joint business development initiatives, fund mobilization, information exchanges and capacity building. In addition, the MoU enables ICIEC to access Afreximbank’s digital platforms to enhance Arab-African trade.

The signing of this MoU marks a significant milestone in the relationship between Afreximbank and ICIEC, as this cooperation agreement will consolidate and expand the activities that the two institutions have been conducting jointly.

Oussama Kaissi, CEO of ICIEC, welcomed the signing of the MoU, the latest initiative in the long-standing cooperation between Afreximbank and the IsDB Group. “We look forward to effect this wide-ranging MoU with Afreximbank, the leading African trade finance institution whose mandate is to facilitate, promote and expand extra-and intra-African trade. We are confident that the MoU will further consolidate our existing good relations with the bank in our mutual objective of boosting intra-Arab African trade in Member Countries common to both entities, through ICIEC’s tried and tested suite of de-risking and credit enhancement solutions.”

Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, commented: “We have for some time enjoyed a constructive and productive relationship with ICIEC, and I am delighted that our co-operation has now been formalized in this Memorandum of Understanding. As Afreximbank continues to expand its activities to accelerate Africa’s participation in global value chains, improved trade and investment links with the Arab world will only grow in importance”.

Jeddah / Madrid

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the insurance arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, signed a landmark Reinsurance Agreement (RA) with the  Compania Espanola de Seguros de Creditito a la Exportacion, S.A., Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros SME (CESCE), the official Spanish export credit agency (ECA).

The Agreement was signed by Mr Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, Ms Beatriz Reguero Naredo, Chief Operating Officer, State Account Business, CESCE, in a virtual ceremony on 18 February 2022.

Under the Reinsurance Agreement, ICIEC will provide Shariah-compliant reinsurance solutions covering CESCE’s exposure in ICIEC Member Countries originating from Spanish companies/banks transactions.

“This agreement,” emphasizes Mr Oussama Kaissi, CEO of ICIEC, “consolidates our long-standing partnership with CESCE in supporting export development and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in ICIEC Member Countries in which Spanish companies/banks are located in or involved with. We look forward to consolidating our relationship with CESCE, especially during this period when the world is recovering from the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and as our member countries are in the midst of building back fairer in their economies and societies on the way also towards achieving the transition to Net Zero and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

Among ICIEC’s mandate is also to promote the flow of foreign investments among and into its Member Countries and enlarge the scope of trade transactions between them and their third-party partners.

Mr Oussama Kaissi, CEO of ICIEC, welcomed the signing of this landmark Agreement. “Co-operation between ICIEC and CESCE would bring about better coordination and more efficient implementation of their respective activities to the benefit of partners in ICIEC Member Countries.

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) provided US$ 40 million insurance cover to ING Bank (Tokyo Branch) for a financing facility to Turkmenistan for the purchase of Komatsu machinery from Japan for the development of the country's agriculture sector.

The insurance cover to mitigate non-payment risk comes under ICIEC's Non-Honoring of Sovereign Financial Obligations Policy. The extended financing facility to the Government of Turkmenistan is through the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs (TFEB).

Agriculture is a significant economic sector in Turkmenistan, contributing 11.7% of GDP in 2019 and employing 40% of the workforce. However, the cultivated land represents only 4% of the total arable land. The global COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted Turkmenistan. Over the last few years, climate change and the adverse environmental challenges of irrigation in a desert environment have similarly affected the country's agricultural sector.

Turkmenistan used to be the world's 10th largest cotton producer. Cotton exports have fallen dramatically, partly due to water shortages and outdated irrigation methods and technology. Cotton cultivation also required a large amount of water to be diverted from the Amu Darya River, which resulted in polluting fertilizer effluent flowing into the river and causing environmental damage. Other challenges include difficulties in producing enough livestock feed and heavy bureaucracy due to central planning. In 2019, the Government decided to halt raw cotton exports favouring textiles and ready-made garments.

The development impact of the facility and insurance cover is wide-ranging. It includes reducing Turkmenistan's exposure to volatile commodity prices, diversifying the economy and exports, stabilizing import substitution and balance of payments, improving food self-sufficiency and the efficiency of the agriculture sector by providing the latest irrigation technology, thus increasing yields; and promoting the rational use of water resources and the provision of clean water.

"Since Turkmenistan joined ICIEC as a Member Country in 2019," Mr Oussama KAISSI, CEO of  ICIEC, stresses, "the Corporation has been growing its presence in the country, seeking opportunities to promote FDI and expand the exports. ICIEC supports Turkmenistan by mitigating political and commercial risk for trade and investment by providing risk mitigation tools and financial solutions for banks, corporates, ECAs, and other insurers. We prioritize support for projects that contribute to Turkmenistan's strategic development goals, especially in support of the country's transport and agricultural sectors."

Ms Riko Kikuchi, Country Manager of ING Bank N.V., Tokyo Branch, similarly commented: "ING Bank is very grateful for the strong support of ICIEC in our role as Mandate Lead Arranger of financing for the Government of Turkmenistan. We are delighted to have been part of this important project and support the business between Japan and Turkmenistan."

The facility is in support of five U.N. SDGs, namely achieving Zero Hunger (SDG2) through food security, improved nutrition, and sustainable agriculture; provision of Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG6); promoting Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG12); contributing to Climate Action (SDG13), and forging Partnerships for Sustainable Development (SDG 17).

The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB Group) Private Sector Entities namely the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) in collaboration with IsDB Group Business Forum (THIQAH) and Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) organized a Trade & Investment event at the Egyptian Pavilion, Expo 2020 in Dubai - UAE on January 11th, 2022 under the theme: "Strengthening Trade and Investment in OIC Member Countries."

The event drew from the IsDB Group's efforts to eradicate poverty through its initiatives and inclusion in the fight against COVID-19 to discuss opportunities to promote trade and investment in its member countries during times of unstable economic conditions. The private sector entities (ICIEC, ICD, and ITFC) seek to ensure the continued economic growth of its member countries and aims at improving the lives of the communities they serve.

The panel session, held during the event, consisted of expert speakers from the IsDB Group private sector entities and attracted business people at the Dubai Expo 2020. The speakers shed light on the role of the IsDB Group in supporting OIC member countries' trade and investment, especially in volatile markets and fragile economic ecosystems. They also shared related experiences and best practices.

ICIEC highlighted its role in boosting OIC member countries' trade and investment opportunities, playing a pivotal role in deploying risk management tools to mitigate the adverse impacts of economic shocks emanating from various sources, including pandemics. The ICD also stressed its role in building a resilient and competitive private sector, thus significantly contributing to the economic stability of the OIC member countries. Furthermore, ITFC emphasized its instrumental role in introducing the OIC member countries to international financial markets by providing integrated trade solutions towards shifting the industry to accepting a wide array of innovative solutions.

Jeddah, KSA

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the export credit and investment insurance agency of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has signed yesterday a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with  Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), the Export Credit Agency (ECA) of Japan, whereby the two entities expressed their willingness to strengthen and further expand their existing cooperation.

The MoU was signed virtually by Mr Oussama KAISSI, Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, and Mr Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of NEXI.  

ICIEC and NEXI are already cooperating in a reinsurance framework to cover projects in ICIEC member countries. Today's agreement follows the signing of an MoU on 27^th August 2019 for Accelerating Trade and Investments Targeting Africa by Japanese Companies between the two parties.

Under the new MoU, ICIEC and NEXI plan to strengthen and expand the strategic partnership in greenfield projects being significant to Japan and the ICIEC member countries, conforming to ICIEC's mandate and NEXI’s strategy.

The two parties are particularly interested in jointly supporting greenfield projects in the Middle East, Central Asia and African countries.

This new cooperation may include the provision of Co-Insurance and Reinsurance. The aim is also to leverage ICIEC's extensive local knowledge and networking in member countries in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the MENA region. In this respect and of greenfield projects, ICIEC may assist NEXI in its due diligence process for such projects, including on-site due diligence.

"This new MoU," says Mr Oussama KAISSI, CEO of ICIEC, "further consolidates our long-standing and growing partnership with NEXI in supporting bankable projects and inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into our member countries in the MENA and SSA regions. Through our respective suites of de-risking solutions, we hope to boost the involvement of public-private partnerships in much-needed development and infrastructure projects in the mutually targeted countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and African countries".

"We plan to cooperate in developing the business environment to facilitate financing proposals from Japanese companies through the active underwriting of projects and the provision of reinsurance facilities. ICIEC has a long history of operations in the organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries. Japanese companies wish to expand their presence in the Middle East, Central Asia and African countries. This occasion represents a welcome opportunity to capitalize on our mutual strengths to carry out our core mandates of helping countries and the lives and livelihoods of their citizens."

Mr Atsuo Kuroda, Chairman and CEO of NEXI, commented at the virtual signing of the MoU: "Since signing the previous MOU in August 2019, ICIEC and NEXI have been closely working together to explore potential areas of cooperation. In that sense, the reinsurance framework we have established is the first major accomplishment that will solidify the two institutions' further cooperation. Acknowledging that there are many possible forms of cooperation other than reinsurance, the purpose of the new MOU is not only to further strengthen the relationship between ICIEC and NEXI but to take our cooperation to a whole new level, which the next goal is to collaborate in greenfield projects that are significant for ICIEC member countries and Japan. It is expected of such greenfield projects to bring about many positive impacts, such as assisting countries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as open doors for significant economic development."