al khaliji

• Launch of Wholesale Islamic Branch
• al khaliji al islami located in Al Jazi Tower in West Bay

Doha, 29 April 2009: Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) officially opened the door to its first Islamic Branch 'al khaliji al islami' offering Basic Islamic Banking Services to Corporate, Institutional and SME clients.

The branch offers a range of products and services of Islamic Current Account, Foreign Currency Exchange, Domestic and International Funds Transfers in eight foreign currencies and Commodity Murabaha with a dedicated Customer Service Line +974 4940777.

His Excellency Sheikh Hamad Bin Faisal Bin Thani Al-Thani, Chairman of the al khaliji Board of Directors and Managing Director commented: "Islamic Banking and Finance is no longer a niche market in the international arena, it has reached the status of mainstream banking as more and more countries across the continents have established players in their own markets"

"We are proud to be part of the Islamic financial landscape in Qatar and look forward to introducing more products in the coming months. Our strategy is for strong Shari'a compliance, not only in our products and services but also in our operations," His Excellency Sheikh Hamad added.

The implementation of the Islamic banking system started in November last year and is expected to be completed by year end, covering the full product suite across Corporate, Institutional, SME and Consumer segments. Robin McCall, al khaliji Acting Chief Executive Officer and Managing Executive, Corporate and Institutional Banking said: "We have implemented a strong core banking system which is AAOIFI certified as Shari’a complaint for Islamic Banking and Finance as well as ISO9001-2000 at al khaliji al islami, this will ensure complete segregation of the Islamic Banking business. Customers can have peace of mind and trust that all our products and services are Shari'a compliant."

al khaliji al islami is a member of the International Islamic Financial Markets (IIFM) and is regulated by the Qatar Central Bank.

al khaliji al islami is located on the second floor of Al Jazi Tower in West Bay with banking hours from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm from Sundays to Thursdays.