JEDDAH — The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), signed a bilateral agreement on Thursday.

The agreement is one of the key outcomes of the visit of a high-level SMBC delegation, headed by Koichi Miyata, chairman of the board of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the holding company of SMBC, to the IDB offices here in January 2018. During the meeting, ICD management expressed their strong support for the partnership, stating: “We are proud of this partnership with the SMBC Group which will support ICD in our continuous development work. Furthermore, the collaborative effort we are witnessing today is expected to strengthen the relationship between ICD and non-traditional partners globally. Needless to say, ICD is committed to supporting Japan as the country works toward further developing the Islamic finance capabilities of its well-established financial institutions.”

Miyata stated, “SMBC is delighted to provide this facility and in becoming one of ICD’s top relationship banks. This is a milestone for our relationship as we seek to provide our strong support to ICD and assist it in fulfilling its mandate in its member states, including in Saudi Arabia where we are keen to support the Saudi Vision 2030.”

He added, “This transaction is in line with SMBC’s ambitions to continue expanding its Islamic Finance business, and it also represents an additional demonstration of the importance SMBC attributes to its highly successful and strategically value-adding relationship with the IDB Group and its companies.”

SMBCE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMBC which is rated A1/P-1 by Moody’s, A/A-1 by S&P and A/F1 by Fitch. SMBC is a top tier Japanese Bank with an established global presence across 38 countries and regions. Established in March 2003, SMBCE carries out the majority of its activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. — SG