IDB, WB eye $1.9 trillion Islamic finance market

RIYADH: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank are to use the rapidly growing Islamic finance market for infrastructure development projects through public-private partnerships (PPP).

The IDB recently organized a forum in Washington in partnership with the World Bank on this subject, IDB spokesperson Dr. Abdul-Hakim Elwaer told Arab News on Sunday.

IDB Vice President Dr. Mansur Muhtar represented IDB President Dr. Bandar Hajjar during the forum attended by IDB member countries.

“The IDB, in partnership with the World Bank, will work to unlock the potential of the $1.9 trillion Islamic finance market to mobilize resources for infrastructure development projects using public-private partnership (PPP),” Muhtar told the forum.

The IDB vice president made the statement based on a report, “Mobilizing Islamic Finance for InfrastructurePublic Private Partnership,” which was funded by the Jeddah-based development bank.

The World Bank suggested that the Islamic financial market has reached $1.9 trillion over the past six decades.

Elwaer said the aim of the forum was to create awareness about the potential for infrastructure development through PPP, especially in developing countries.

“This falls in line with the new development orientations of IDB member countries including Saudi Arabia, whose ambitious 2030 plan is targeting to increase the private sector’s contribution to the GDP (gross domestic product) from 40 to 65 percent,” he said.

He said the Kingdom aims to achieve this through increasing the use of PPPs and through the privatization of government entities.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, World Bank senior vice president on sustainable development goals, said: “One of the advantages that the IDB has in using Islamic finance is localization.

“The IDB has worked in many villages in its areas of operation, and has always demonstrated how localization helps in benefiting from Islamic finance.”