ALINMA Bank walked away with two major awards at the 2016 Islamic Business & Finance Awards, held last Nov. 23 at the Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai, UAE and hosted by Islamic Business & Finance magazine. For its SR 3.6 billion Shariah-compliant financing of the Alinma Jeddah Economic City Fund, the bank and its Corporate Banking division were recognized with the Best Structured Finance and Best Capital Structure awards at the event. Speaking about the most recent recognition of Alinma's contributions to project finance in Saudi Arabia, Alinma Bank CEO & Managing Director, Abdulmohsen Al-Fares, said that the bank was always eager to support the local economy. "Alinma Bank has, since its establishment, sought out projects that bring a net benefit to the kingdom," said Al-Fares. "Because we have the capability to engage in such financing efforts, it is only right that we participate in something as important as the Jeddah Economic City project, which will have a significant economic impact in Jeddah, the entire western region of Saudi Arabia and the broader kingdom at-large." Jeddah Economic Company (JEC) is the owner and developer of the Jeddah Economic City project. To help finance the monumental effort, which has been spearheaded by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, JEC cooperated with Alinma Investment Company (AIC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alinma Bank, to launch the Alinma Alinma Jeddah Economic City Fund. The fund is a closed-end, private, Capital Market Authority (CMA) approved, Shariah-compliant, real estate investment fund. AIC is the manager of the fund, which is valued at SR8.4 billion, SR3.6b of which was provided through the Alinma Bank financing. When completed, Jeddah Economic City will feature the iconic Jeddah Tower, a soaring structure that is expected to reach one kilometer in height, which would make it the tallest building in the world, surpassing the current record holder, Burj Khalifah tower in Dubai, UAE.
