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Standard Chartered Saadiq, the British bank’s global Islamic banking brand, launched a $100 million Islamic financial programme to support halal businesses of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The programme, part of the bank’s Halal360 initiative, is also targeted at helping corporates and multinationals, with a focus on some of the key halal markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
The halal economy is expected to witness exponential growth, so the bank is leveraging its network in high growth markets to help entrepreneurs by offering them “innovative financial solutions,” according to Khurram Hilal, CEO of Islamic Banking and Head of Group Islamic Product at Standard Chartered.
The funding will help companies such as those in Malaysia to penetrate markets in the Middle East, Asia and other global markets, according to Hairol Ariffein Sahari, CEO of Halal Development Corporation Berhad (HDC).
HDC spearheads the development of Malaysia’s integrated and comprehensive halal ecosystem and infrastructure to strengthen the country’s presence in the global halal market.
Standard Chartered Saadiq is the only international Islamic banking network with a presence spanning across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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© ZAWYA 2021
