Dubai Islamic Bank has put a group together, Mellenium Finance, who is putting an investment fund together to bring up to 3 Billion US$ in Investments into Africa.

There plans are to buy:

• Telecoms
• Banks
• Real Estate
• Mining

The Following Reuters article discussess a coming investment:

Ivorian company's Banque Atlantique unit while two Gulf Arab firms are competing for a stake in affiliate Atlantique Telecom.

My concern is this: When Islamic Banks buy into Ivoery Coast Banks and set up Zakat or Account 98 type funding structures.

This will get a structure in place to fund and supply the Northern Ivory Coast Islamic Rebels with resources, arms and influence.

-Shimron

By James Cordahi
DUBAI (Reuters) - Arab investors are looking to buy stakes in a bank and telecoms company from Ivory Coast-based Groupe Atlantique to tap business in West Africa and growing trade links with the Middle East, Atlantique's adviser said.
An Arab bank is close to buying a minority stake in the Ivorian company's Banque Atlantique unit while two Gulf Arab firms are competing for a stake in affiliate Atlantique Telecom, Dubai-based investment bank Millennium Finance Corp. said.

Arab interest in investing in Africa has grown over the years, as companies in Gulf oil producers expand abroad and run into tougher competition in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Telecom companies including Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co. (MTC), Saudi Arabia's Oger Telecom and Abu Dhabi's Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (Etisalat) have led the way. MTC bought Celtel, a mobile phone provider in 13 African countries, for $3.4 billion in 2005.

"Trade links with the Middle East are growing," Keba Keinde, chief executive of Millennium Finance., a unit of Dubai Islamic Bank, said in an interview late on Wednesday.

Millennium is advising Banque Atlantique on the sale, which will probably take a few months, Keinde said.
"They see that the market is under-banked," he said, declining to identify the Arab lender.

Banque Atlantique, based in the Ivorian city of Abidjan, has seven branches in West Africa, including Mali,

• Mali
• Niger
• Benin
• Groupe Atlantique is also selling a 20 percent stake in mobile phone provider Atlantique Telecom, which is controlled by Etisalat, Keinde said.
  Two Gulf Arab investors are competing for the stake, he said, declining to identify the two investors.

Millennium, which is planning to set up a $1 billion fund investing in Africa, is advising Groupe Atlantique on the sale which may take place by the end of October, Keinde said.

A Middle East telecoms company has also expressed an interest in bidding for Congo's second nationwide fixed-line and mobile phone licence, which the government is planning to auction this year, Keinde said.

Millennium is advising the government on the sale. MTC operates in the Democratic Republic of Congo through Celtel.

The fund Millennium is planning, which closes in June next year and may make acquisitions worth as much as $3 billion, will focus industries in Africa, including telecoms, real estate and mining, Keinde said