03/19/2007

The Name is Bond, Islamic Bond.

Hello:

Last week, Ford Motor Company agreed to sell Aston Martin, the makers of the famous James Bond cars, to a London based consortium headed by Dave Richards, a motorsports entrepreneur.

The funding is expected to come from Kuwait primarily via Islamic, shariah-compliant bonds also known as sukuk. In order to be compliant with the principles of the Islamic faith, sukuk investors agree to a predetermined profit sharing agreement rather than collecting interest payments.

This is considered to be the first time that Islamic finance has been used for a buy a European company of this stature. Will other auto makers follow suit in selling off sports car brands? Will James still get his martini bar in the dashboard?

Tomorrow, we will be traveling on business, checking email and voicemail whenever possible. We will be back in the office Wednesday morning.

Terri G. Millson, CIMA, CIMC President

Ray Dicius, CSA, GEPC LPL Branch Manager