UAE-based real estate finance provider Tamweel has won the award for "Islamic Finance Deal of the Year."

At the Euro money 2008 Islamic Finance Awards ceremony held recently in London, Tamweel was recognized for its $210 million asset-backed securitization issue, the world's first Sharia-compliant residential mortgage backed securitization (RMBS) transaction, the company said in a statement.

These Class A bonds received ratings of Aa2 by Moody's Investors Service and AA by Fitch Ratings Limited, placing them among the highest international ratings achieved to date in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Despite volatile market conditions, the bonds were priced successfully, placing primarily with European investors.

The award from Euro money, one of the world's most prestigious financial titles, follows the top prize won by Tamweel for "Best Islamic Home Finance Product" at the recent Banker Middle East Awards. Together, these two awards demonstrate the company's leadership across the institutional and retail investment segments.

"We are extremely honoured to have been recognized for our pioneering RMBS transaction, the first internationally rated residential asset-backed securitization issued from the Middle East," said Chief Executive Officer Wasim Saifi while receiving the award on behalf of the company.

"Competing against the world's leading financial services organizations, Tamweel has once again proved that it is a global leader in structuring innovative financial solutions. We are very grateful to Euromoney for recognizing this signal achievement, which provides the company with attractively priced growth capital to fund our organic expansion," he said.

For this landmark securitization, Morgan Stanley & Co. International was appointed joint manager and joint book runner for the issue and provider of hedging solutions. Standard Chartered Bank served as joint manager and joint book runner for the issue and provider of liquidity facilities, Tamweel said.

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