January 07, 2007	Sunday	Zilhaj 16, 1427

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will sell Islamic bonds to fund its projects in Malaysia, a newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting a bank official and bankers familiar with the plan.

The planned debt could be the first ringgit currency Islamic bond to be issued by the IDB, Ahmed S. Hariri, IDB Kuala Lumpur office director, told Business Times.

"It's still in the making," Hariri was quoted as saying. "There is no definite date (for the launch)."

Bankers familiar with the plan said IDB could raise about 500 million ringgit ($142.3 million) from the bond sale this year, the report said.

The Islamic Development Bank, based in Jeddah, was established as a multilateral development bank by the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 1975.

It is charged with providing finance and technical assistance to member countries and Muslim communities around the world based on the principles of Islamic law. Malaysia has the world's largest Islamic bond market and wants to establish itself as a global hub for Islamic finance.—Reuters