Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) in association with the Tufton Oceanic Finance Group (Tufton) has established the Alislami Oceanic Shipping Company (AOSC).
The new venture is a vehicle through which Islamic investors may participate in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and world shipping market by investing in internationally trading marine vessels.
AOSC is jointly promoted by DIB and Tufton and will provide an Islamic compliant source of finance for regional ship-owners and operators to acquire commercial vessels. AOSC will be capitalized at $100 million.
DIB and Tufton have committed to underwrite the Islamic equity subscription of AOSC. Tufton will manage and administer AOSC through its Isle of Man based investment management subsidiary.
Tufton, which was founded in London in 1976, is regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority. It is a finance house offering corporate finance and fund management services to the shipping and oil related industries.
AOSC has been developed in conjunction with Innoventure Partners, a Dubai-based investment company and arabCapital, a regional corporate advisory practice working exclusively with Tufton in maritime transactions.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), with almost 800 kilometers of coastline bordering both the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, has 15 commercial ports. Dubai is the acknowledged gateway to a market of an estimated two billion people in the Gulf Countries, Arab World and surrounding region. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
