Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has signed a media consultancy agreement with Sahara Communications, a subsidiary of Sahara Group, at the bank's headquarters in Sharjah. The agreement was signed by Ahmed Saad, SIB's COO, and Fahad Al Deeb, vice president of Sahara Communications. According to the terms of the agreement, SAHARA will provide SIB with public relations services, including media coverage across the GCC covering the bank's activities and latest updates. Saad said “Islamic banking is currently one of the most competitive economic sectors. With the global financial crisis, there has been an increased interest in Islamic banking principles and understanding Islamic financing and how it contributes to the growth of capital. It contrasts with other systems that are based on high risk financial tools and derivatives that have contributed to the negative impact of the crisis.” Al Deeb said “with experts predicting that Islamic banking within the UAE will grow by 100 percent over the next three years, complementing the media structure of Sharjah Islamic Bank with media consultancies and public relations services is a very important step, particularly since the Islamic banking market is one of the important sectors targeted by investors looking for low-risk investments, especially in the Gulf region.” Since its successful transition from commercial to Islamic banking in 2002, Sharjah Islamic Bank has offered a variety of Shariah-compliant products that cater for the needs of individuals, companies, institutions, and investment and international banking services. As a result of well-thought out strategies and careful planning based on risk management and cost control, SIB has seen unprecedented growth rates, and today the bank has expanded to 23 branches located across the UAE, in addition to 100 ATM and deposit machines installed at residential districts and other vital areas, such as shopping malls and entertainment centers.
