Busy with its decentralization process intended to achieve greater proximity with its member countries, the IDB, which recently unveiled a new visual identity, is considering issuing Sukuk by the end of the year. MARC ROUSSOT has more.
The details of the potential Sukuk issuance including the date and size have yet to be decided. Usually, the IDB issues US$1-1.2 billion and has already raised US$19 billion out of its US$25 billion Sukuk program.
If it decides to proceed, the auction will occur at a time when the IDB is engaged in a deep restructuring initiated in 2016 to adapt to new challenges such as climate change, migration caused by conflicts and an increasing need for development assistance; the IDB had primarily been established to tackle poverty alleviation and infrastructure development.
“The whole world is evolving and there are so many challenges and changes that have made almost all the development institutions to shift in their mandate,” shares Abdul-Hakim Elwaer, the spokesperson of the IDB.
Getting closer
Due to this paradigm shift, the IDB realized the need of decentralization to achieve greater proximity with its 57 member countries, in order to respond more effectively and quickly to their needs.
The multilateral development financing institution, which has regional offices in Morocco, Senegal, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, is planning to open four new regional headquarters in Uganda, Pakistan, Dubai in the UAE and at a later date in Suriname. Gateway offices are also planned for Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh. In addition, more staff will be deployed in these offices, which will have greater decision-making power.
Investment shift
Along with its geographical restructuring, the IDB is also changing its investment strategy. From passive financing of projects such as roads, airports and power plants, the development bank will be focusing on five-year partnership strategies with its member countries to fund value chains.
“We want to see investments as part of our development portfolio so that we can measure whether we can raise the whole economy of a country to a certain level by the end of the five years. What does it need? How much do we need to spend on transport, on capacity-building, on education, on health, so that we can have an impact on development that we can measure?” says Abdul-Hakim.
Rebranding
To complete its transformation, the IDB reveal in June a brand-new corporate identity. The 44-year-old logo with a minaret, a handshake, two ears of wheat and the globe as the background has been replaced by a more modern logo with the globe made up of hexagons with a color scale ranging from green to blue.
The new logo encompasses seven different symbols and messages. As an example, the rich green to blue color represents sustainability, progression, growth and the planet, as well as the IDB’s Islamic heritage.
This is an excerpt of an interview with Abdul-Hakim Elwaer, the spokesperson of the IDB. For more on the development of the IDB, listen to the IFN Podcast.
This article first appeared in IFN Volume 15 Issue 29 on the 17th of July 2018
MARC ROUSSOT 