the business environment of member
countries, plus project finance advisory,
raising funds though the issue of Sukuk,
development of Islamic capital markets
and encouraging the development of the
business environment for SMEs.
4. Asset Management Services
ICD supplements its own balance sheet
by sponsoring / creating private equity
funds as well as other special purpose
vehicles in order to provide the IDB
Group and other investors with access to
projects that provide commercial returns
as well as meet the developmental
needs of member countries. ICD acts as
a fund manager and/or general partner
with other fund managers to sponsor
and create special purpose vehicles
along with third party investors including
but not limited to IDB and ICD; other
Multilateral Agencies; Sovereign Wealth
Funds; Government Funding Vehicles
and High Net Worth Individuals.
CHINA & ICD
With a more inclusive foreign policy,
including a renewed stance on the
Middle East and Africa, Chinese
president Xi Jinping has set the
motion for greater China-OIC relations –
with the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative
a central pillar to China’s grand strategy.
In light of this development, in March
2016, ICD hosted its inaugural ground
breaking event “China-OIC Forum
2016” in Beijing to connect investors
and regulators from Asia, Africa and the
Gulf with senior decision-makers of the
world’s second-largest economy.
At the side-lines of the landmark
China-OIC Forum 2016 in Beijing,
a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) was signed between ICD and
China-Africa Development Fund
(CADFund), a Beijing-based private
equity firm focusing on Africa. The
MoU envisages enhancing trade and
investment opportunities in 19 African
countries through co-financing and co-
investments, with the aim of promoting
inclusive growth and financial inclusion.
Research collaboration and capacity-
building programs that are tailored
and demand-driven will also be
conducted to better serve target
markets. In addition, efforts will be
focused on boosting support for African
small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs),
widely recognized as an important
economic driver and key contributor
to sustainable GDP growth.
Furthermore, ICD and CNBM
International Engineering Co.
(CNBM-IE) have signed a MoU to
conceptualize, develop and structure a
global scheme for the development of
social infrastructure projects in ICD’s 53
member countries. Under the scheme,
a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode
of development called “Design-Finance-
Build-Lease-Transfer” (DFBLT) will be
utilised in order to meet the funding gap.
Under the early stages of the proposed
DFBLT scheme, ICD will lead the global
marketing and financing-arrangement
activities, while CNBM-IE will conduct
all Engineering, Procurement and
Construction Management (EPCM)
activities. It is envisaged that
development financial institutions and
donor countries including the industry
players in the member countries
will play a major role in the success
of this scheme.
Since the 1970s, China has taken
pivotal steps to integrate into the
world market and its rapid rise from
a high-growth emerging economy to a
powerful global player has indeed been
one of the most extraordinary feats of
recent history. Over that period, the
country has undergone a shift from a
largely agrarian society to an industrial
powerhouse, underpinned by economic
reforms and the introduction of open-
door policies. This process resulted in
a rapid advance in output per capita,
lifting millions of people out of poverty
and establishing a thriving middle class.
Currently the world’s second largest
economy, China offers a multitude of
opportunities in which Islamic finance
has a profound role to play.
In light of this context, ICD released its
latest report entitled “China: The Time is
Now” at the landmark China-OIC Forum
2016. The report entails three sections:
• Section 1: The History of China’s
Economic Development: “A Rocky
Road from Socialism to Consumerism”
• Section 2: China’s Economic
Landscape: “Calibrating China’s
Economy”
• Section 3: Islamic Finance in China:
“An Impetus to Growth” ■
41