Islamic Development Bank seeks tie-ups to invest

Islamic Development Bank Group, one of the largest lenders to Muslim countries, is interested in exploring joint opportunities with other multilateral development banks to invest in India’s infrastructure sector, said Islamic Development Bank president Bandar M.H. Hajjar. The development is significant given India’s infrastructure requirements and the need to access capital at competitive rates. Infrastructure development has been one of the focus areas of the Narendra Modi government. Starting with an allocation of around ?1.81 trillion in 2014-15, expenditure towards infrastructure reached ?4.94 trillion in 2017-18. India plans to invest as much as ?5.97 trillion in creating and upgrading infrastructure in the current financial year. Hajjar said the Jeddah-based bank is exploring joint opportunities through a line of guarantees and pooled and blended financing. With 57 member countries, Islamic Development Bank has financed $130.8 billion since inception. According to information available on its website, the top five beneficiaries are Bangladesh (14.9%), Pakistan (8.9%), Egypt (8.8%), Turkey (8.3%) and Morocco (5%).