The Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD), a research institute focusing on standard-setting, green building certification and voluntary carbon markets, among others, has signed an agreement with Masraf Al Rayan (MAR) to invest in its Al Rayan Green Deposit program, Qatar’s first Shariah compliant green deposit product.
“GORD is investing in MAR’s Green Deposit program as it has the potential to play a crucial role in channeling financial resources towards projects that are essential to reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change,” Hussam Othmany, the communications manager at GORD, told ISFI.
The green deposit product is the first of more sustainable products to follow on the back of its Sustainable Financing Framework launched last year, ISFI has learned.
According to a spokesperson from MAR, the bank is in the process of finalizing the execution of other sustainable products in its pipelines. “We are currently in the process of finalizing the execution stage,” the spokesperson told ISFI.
While the bank is not able to disclose information on current and prospective investors in the product, ISFI has learned from the bank that a number of potential investors have indicated interest in the green deposit product.
The green deposit is offered in Qatari riyals and US dollars and is open to corporate and premium and private clients. Notably, it is open to government and semi-government entities, locally registered entities, international companies and institutions as well as non-resident institutional customers.
GORD’s undisclosed investment amount in the green deposit will be channeled toward projects under the categories of green buildings, social focus on access to education and renewable energy, with the bulk of the bank’s ESG green asset portfolio comprising renewable energy at 85%.
In addition to the investment in the Al Rayan Green Deposit program, ISFI previously reported that GORD signed an MoU with Dukhan Bank to launch a Shariah compliant green and sustainable real estate finance program for the bank’s customers.
Signed at the 27th Conference of Parties late last year, the development of the program is currently ongoing.