In a signing ceremony, held in Fajr Investment Advisory BSC (c) headquarters in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 8th May 2008, his Excellency, Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa inaugurated the joint Bahrain and British venture.

The ensuing Constituent General Meeting, chaired by his Excellency, was attended by the shareholders, representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and, The Central Bank.

On this occasion, his Excellency stated: "Bahrain is a prestigious Financial Centre in the Gulf and Middle East which is growing particularly in Islamic Banking activities...,” he continued: “We recognized a gap in the market and established Fajr Investment Advisory as being a first of its kind in this region. Our activities will be focused on providing a number of Sharia compliant commodity services, structured transactions with a vision to develop investment in clean technology implementation and the rapidly growing carbon emissions market.”

His Excellency then thanked all the ministries for efficiently facilitating the establishment of Fajr, and commended the efforts extended by the Bahrain Investment Centre, The Central Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Shaikh Hisham then introduced the elected Chairman of the Board; Mr. Mohammed Al Jaber and the respective Board Members; Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Khalifa, Mr Tracy Scott Elner, Mr Ziyad Janahi and Mr Ali Khalil AlSharifi.

The Chairman, Mr Mohammed Al Jaber, stated that “Fajr’s license was announced during The Lord Mayor of London's visit to Bahrain in February. It is the result of concerted efforts of both the Bahraini and British shareholders due to their dual interest and the constant assurance to deliver the highest levels of expertise in bringing skill and experience from both regions.”

He continued “Our three-year strategy is to gain a strong foothold in the GCC with the ambition to grow within the MENA and Southeast Asia regions. The main business focus will be Murabaha, utilizing underlying assets such as base metals, softs, oil, and other relevant commodities. Mr Ali Khalil AlSharifi, will be overseeing day-to-day operations and I would like to wish him the best of luck.”

Mr Ali Khalil AlSharifi added; "I will focus on establishing excellent relations with the regional Islamic Institutions to innovate Sharia compliant solutions including new sukuk issuance.”

With almost 20 years of experience in trading commodities globally through the exchange traded markets, particularly the London Metal Exchange and LIFFE, Board Director Mr Tracy Scott Elner commented on behalf of the British Investors “We are extremely pleased with the professionalism of our partners, the Central Bank and Ministry of Industry and Commerce during the foundation of Fajr. The company has strategic links with major institutions in London and Europe and will reciprocally innovate in a number of sectors, imparting Shariah compliant solutions to establish a bridge to ideas, opportunities and delivery in both regions."

And when asked about his role travelling with the Right Honorable, The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Lewis's delegation to Bahrain, Mr. Elner said "London is the foremost centre for trading, delivery and monetization of Commodities and Carbon Credits; the latter a new investment asset class generated through the efficient reduction of greenhouse gases to the environment. Whilst such credits may not necessarily halt climate change, they are essential to stimulate investment in the efficient use of resource, technology development and its transfer.”

He concluded “We recognize the opportunity for Bahrain to also capitalize on this promising, yet undeveloped sector in the region, particularly for Islamic investment."