StanChart launches $100m financial prog

CAIRO, Nov 18 (Arab News): Standard Chartered's international Islamic banking network 'Saadiq' launched a $100 million Islamic financial programme in collaboration with the Malaysian Halal Develop-ment Corporation, to support SMEs, Corporates and Multinationals.

The programme was announced during the Halal Week taking place at the UAE Expo, as part of Standard Chartered's Hal-al360 proposition, acc-ording to a statement on Thursday.

The programme aims to expand the Halal ecosystem across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with a focus on some of the key halal markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Halal finance aims to synch with the core principles of Islamic finance and the core tenets of Islamic law in this regard

"The Halal economy is projected to witness exponential growth," said Khurram Hilal, CEO of Islamic Banking and Head of Group Islamic Product at Standard Chartered.