ICD and Saturna Sdn Bhd Partner on Sustainable Islamic Investing ?

30/03/2016 10:47 AST

Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Saturna Sdn. Bhd. (Saturna), a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Saturna Capital Corporation, plan to sign an agreement to cooperate in offering sustainable Islamic investment vehicles. The parties sign the agreement at the Responsible Finance Summit in Kuala Lumpur on March 30.

This partnership highlights ICD’s dedication to promoting the adoption of responsible investment principles in Islamic finance.

“ICD recognises the growing demand for responsible investment vehicles and believes that such strategies will greatly benefit all economies as well as investors and societies”, said Mr. Khaled Al Aboodi, the CEO of ICD “Saturna is well qualified to be our partner in this new initiative.”

In choosing Saturna as its partner, ICD will be tapping the firm’s 25 years of expertise in global values-based investing and its experience in managing US-based Amana Funds as well as Saturna Sustainable Funds. Both sets of funds have been recognised by rating agencies for having portfolios with highest scores on sustainability.

“Islamic investing has long been an integral part of socially-responsible investing”, said Monem Salam, president of Saturna Sdn Bhd. “Saturna is very proud to be ICD’s partner in expanding Islamic investment choices that put even more emphasis on responsible finance. We believe that investing in sustainable and well-run companies could offer both growth and lower risk.”

Both parties view the Responsible Finance Summit, sponsored by Bank Negara and the Responsible Finance Institute, as an ideal venue for announcing the partnership. It demonstrates Bank Negara’s support for the development of responsible finance, as well as the industry’s strong interest in it.

"We are pleased to have this initiative announced at the Responsible Finance Summit because it demonstrates the growing universal appeal of the principles behind responsible finance. In particular, it shows the inclusion of traditional responsible finance principles within the Islamic finance sector, a significant player in the expansion of responsible finance in emerging markets, and specifically in those with majority Muslim populations," said Blake Goud, CEO of the RFI Foundation.

CPI Financial