The main sponsor of the Bank is National Industries Group (NIG)/Noor Financial Investment Company (NFIC) of Kuwait. The newly established Bank is expected to have the following shareholding structure: NIG and NFIC – 29%, Meezan Bank – 10%, IFC – 10-15%, and local Syrian Investors will have the remaining balance.

Noor Financial Investment Company (NFIC) is a Kuwaiti investment company, engaged in investment and financial activities primarily in Kuwait, the Middle East, Asia and other emerging markets. The company was established as the financial arm of the National Industries Group (NIG – see below). NIFC provides a broad range of financial services which includes advisory services, underwriting, and syndications. The company actively invests in local capital markets and also diversifies its investments through international capital markets.

Meezan Bank Limited (Meezan Bank) is the pioneer of Islamic banking in Pakistan and possesses the largest market share in the Shariah compliant market (45%). A publicly listed Meezan Bank started operations as an investment bank in August 1997, and in 2002 was granted Pakistan’s first full-fledged Islamic commercial banking license. Meezan’s main shareholders are leading local and international financial institutions, including NFIC from Kuwait, Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, the Islamic Development Bank of Jeddah and Shamil Bank of Bahrain.

IFC’s proposed investment would be in the form of equity investment of up to 10-15% stake.

The Bank will be established in the Syrian Arab Republic and will be headquartered in Damascus.

The development impact of the proposed project could be summarized as follows:

- Contribution to economic growth and support to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Syria:

The main objective of this proposed project is to work closely with leading financial institutions from the GCC and Pakistan to support their expansion into the less developed economies of MENA. This strategy is expected to speed up the economic growth of these less developed economies such as Syria. This will be achieved by improving the banking sector which is one of the major sectors contributing to economic growth. The proposed project is expected to promote FDI which will lead to revenue generation, employment and skill transfer which will bring better services to these economies.

- Access to Knowledge and Capacity Building:

By helping establish a new financial institution in Syria, IFC would be helping to expand bring best practices and new product development to a significant portion of the population.

- Employment creation:

The development of a strong financial institution, with the help of a strong technical partner will lead into the creation of jobs not only in the financial sector, but also in other sectors that it will support through its financing products.

IFC has a strong institution building and developmental role in the establishment of one of the first Islamic Banks in the country. IFC’s role is expected to be multi-faceted. First IFC would serve its traditional “honest broker” and “neutral partner” role, with regard to shareholding structure, capitalization levels and management issues. Second, IFC’s involvement will provide comfort to Meezan Bank who for the first time expanding outside Pakistan, as well as to the Government of Syria. Additionally, IFC will be providing early stage risk capital. IFC will also ensure that the Bank adopts international best practices in its operations through IFC’s on-going monitoring and supervision while providing strategic guidance through representation on the Board (subject to internal approvals) in areas such as corporate governance, transparency and disclosure and adoption of environmental and social standards. Given its global expertise in corporate governance SME and HF, IFC also expects to provide advisory services in these areas.

This project has been classified as a Category FI project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social Review Procedure. IFC will review, if required, the capacity of the FI to manage social and environmental risks and to establish and maintain a Social & Environmental Management System (SEMS). If required, IFC will suggest Supplemental Actions to address any gaps in the SEMS. Based on the review, the project may be required to:

- Develop an, or upgrade, if necessary, any existing SEMS, prior to disbursement to the satisfaction of IFC;
- Identify responsible, qualified persons to manage and implement the SEMS;
- Commit to implement the SEMS, to ensure that its investments/activities are in compliance with the Applicable Performance Requirements., if any, that may include a combination of:

- The IFC FI Exclusion List, applicable National Social and Environmental Laws and regulations; and/or
- IFC Performance Standards; and
- Submit a periodic report to IFC as per a format to be provided by IFC.