CAIRO: Standard Chartered’s international Islamic banking network ‘Saadiq’ launched a $100 million Islamic financial programme in collaboration with the Malaysian Halal Development Corporation, to support SMEs, corporates and multinationals, Arab News reported.

The programme was announced during the Halal Week taking place at the UAE Expo, as part of Standard Chartered’s Halal360 proposition, according to a statement.

The programme aims at expanding the halal ecosystem across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with a focus on some of the key halal markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bahrain, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Halal finance aims at synching with the core principles of Islamic finance and the core tenets of Islamic law in this regard.

“The halal economy is projected to witness exponential growth,” said Khurram Hilal, CEO of Islamic Banking and Head of Group Islamic Product at Standard Chartered.