A defunct landmark power plant in the London area is being redeveloped as upperclass apartments.
So far so good.
The project is being financed through a Shariah-Compliant arrangement with a Malaysian bank.
Not so good.
And everyone involved is absolutely giddy that the project will help continue to pave the way for London to be Europe’s center for Shariah finance:
London’s Battersea Power Station redevelopment project has secured a shariah-compliant syndicated loan of 467 million pounds, a step towards developing Britain as an Islamic finance centre.
The loan, one of the largest Islamic transactions ever conducted in the British market, is part of a 1.35 billion pound financing package for the second and third phases of the project, Malaysia’s Maybank Islamic Bank said on Wednesday.
The deal could encourage other corporations in Britain to seek shariah-compliant financing, said Muzaffar Hisham, Islamic banking chief executive at Maybank Islamic.
“We hope this opens the floodgates.”
