Sharjah Islamic Bank announced that it has joined NASDAQ Dubai's rapidly growing Islamic financing Murabaha platform, which offers unique advantages to bank customers seeking Sharia'a solutions.

SIB is the first bank to join the facility since the official launch of the NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform last month.

The platform was set up by NASDAQ Dubai jointly with Emirates Islamic with the aim of strengthening Dubai's position as the Capital of the Islamic Economy globally and has the potential to make Dubai the international centre for processing Sharia'a-compliant financing transactions.

Through the NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform, individual and institutional clients of SIB will be able to complete financing transactions efficiently and easily, within minutes. The platform is the ideal alternative to many traditional Islamic financing solutions, which can carry a risk of losses through price movements, spreads and poor liquidity as well as delays.

"The NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform is a milestone in achieving the initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to develop Dubai as the global Capital of Islamic Economy, under the direction of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai. SIB's decision to make use of NASDAQ Dubai's platform reflects the future vision for the growth of the Islamic finance sector in the UAE," said Mohammed Abdulla Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Chairman of the Board, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre.

More than three billion AED of financing has been processed on the platform for thousands of clients, involving transactions of more than 12 billion AED, since a pilot phase of the project began in September 2013.