Winds of IB Change in Nigeria

In late 2003 Jaiz International Plc raised N3bn through an IPO to fund Nigeria's first Islamic bank, surpassing the minimum capital requirement of N2bn set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Of the 120 million Nigerians, half is Muslim, and partly due to the absence of an Islamic bank much of Nigeria's currency is in circulation outside of the banking system. The proposed Islamic bank plans to operate (beginning March 2004) as a “Profit-and-Loss Sharing” (PLS) institution, making it exempt from Nigerian interest regulations. The bank will serve to empower Nigerian Muslims and provide services in accordance with their faith. Technical and management support will be provided initially by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) of Jeddah. The Nigerian Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is providing a Shariah-compliant framework for investments and has called upon Nigeria's existing banks to promote Islamic banking. African Alliance Insurance Plc has begun to offer Takaful insurance p