REUTERS: DUBAI - Standard Chartered Bank Saadiq (STAN.L) expects to launch an Islamic commodity derivative in the first quarter, the bank's chief executive said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Reuters Islamic Banking and Finance Summit, Afaq Khan said the bank was in advanced discussions with counterparties in the Middle East, including trading companies and government entities, to launch the product.
"Basically if you want to hedge oil rice, wheat, sugar or steel, we will be in a position to offer that in a sharia complaint manner," he said.
Khan said the bank had spent about 15 months creating the product, which will be endorsed by the bank's sharia board. >>> Reporting by John Irish, Tamara Walid, Shaheen Pasha and Rachna Uppal; Editing by Louise Heavens | Tuesday, February 16, 2010
