Islamic Development Bank to lead projects in strategy shift: report

Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) intends to play an active role in designing investment projects under its new development strategy, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing bank president Bandar Hajjar.

The bank plans to decentralize in order to get closer to its 57 member countries across four continents, while playing a more aggressive role conceiving projects rather than simply serving as a minority investor, the former Saudi Arabian minister of the hajj, noted.

“We are transforming the bank from a development bank into a bank of developers,” he noted.

The IsDB has operating assets of $16 billion and subscribed capital of $70 billion. Saudi Arabia is the biggest shareholder with 25 percent stake.

"In coming months, the group will start transferring staff overseas until, after some years, more than half of them will live outside Saudi Arabia," Hajjar said. Nearly 95 percent of the IsDB group’s 1,200 staff work in Jeddah.

Meanwhile, the bank, which has seven regional hubs for its operations, plans to open a new hub in Nigeria and expand its group office in Cairo.