IslamicFinance.de

According ot a report by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a trend to develop and globalize the sukuk market is being set. Since conventional banks worldwide tend to producing fewer and shorter loans, companies look for an alternative in terms of financing. In this case, it is very probable that Islamic financial instruments become a significant source of funding, particularly in the GCC and Asia. While these regions mark the center of a huge estimated $1 trillion market, they also need high capital for developing their infrastructure.

Qatar’s $4bn sukuk issue marks great success and is referred to as a milestone in the rise of Qatar’s sharia-compliant finance industry. The growth of Islamic financial services are supported by ambitious infrastructure investment programme and a growing wealth by capita. The sukuk was oversubscribed over six times which results in an order book of more than $24bn. During hte time of international economic uncertainty Qatar manages to show some stability. As a result, low yields of 2.09% and 3.24% of the five-year and ten-year bond of the two-tranche sukuk respectively are observed which is a sign of strong demand for Qatar’s sukuk.

A company statement on Wednesday said Qatar Islamic Bank is planning a sukuk issuance programme of up to $1.5 billion. The bank will seek the approval of shareholders of the plan in a meeting on September 16.

The GCC countries expect a record year for sukuk issuances in 2012. Already the first half of the year was marked by explosively growing sukuk issuances that reached to US $12.8 billion compared to US$1.9 billion issuead in the same period last year. The sukuk market shall continue growing at the current pace, due to a strong appetite of investors that are demanding Shariah-compliant products.

Two Islamic Finance institutions, QIB and QIIB, have agreed to financing package for the Qatar Gas Transport Company. The joint arrangement is a big step in enhancing co-operation between both financial institutions and shall cover the increasingly growing market demand for Sharia'-compliant financial solutions.

Qatar's Islamic bank Masraf al Rayan has set up an independent brokerage subsidiary. Its purpose will be to offer a number of Shariah-compliant financial instruments for all types of investors. Although Al Rayan Financial Brokerage Company will be wholly owned by Masraf Al Rayan bank, it will operate as an independent subsidiary.

S&P Indices made an anouncement that a new Index will be launched due to increase in the demand for a shariah-compliant benchmark in Islamic countries. The new S&P/OIC COMCEC 50 Shariah Index will measure the performance of 50 leading Shariah-compliant companies from members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Eligible countries and territories for the Index are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The third annual Invesco Middle East Asset Management Study shows that strong corporate returns are constraining the flow of year-on-year capital within family offices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) from ­personal assets to corporate (family business) assets.
Two-fifths (40%) of family offices interviewed noted a strong shift from personal to corporate assets. Moreover, high net-worth assets in the Middle East account for nearly 4% of the global high-net-worth asset pool.

Family businesses are estimated in the Middle East at around 90% of all companies in the region controlled by families. Furthermore, its importance was underlined with the launch of the Family Business Network GCC, the first of its kind in the area.
The network will be based in Dubai, including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Qatar Islamic Bank's first-quarter profits jumped 21% on higher fee and commission revenue, beating analysts estimations.
Qatar’s banks improved lending as the country raised spending on infrastructure including a new airport, seaport, roads and rail systems. Central bank data reveals that the nation’s total credit facilities, including loans, rose an annual 31% in February while deposits were up 5.5%.

Qatar is searching to deepen its debt market. Regarding this aspect, it may list local-currency government bonds and sukuk on the country's bourse this year.
Qatar began to sell treasury bills in May to achieve excess funds in the banking sector and set benchmark rates for companies to issue local-currency debt.
Moreover, the country could spend close to $100 billion (Dh367 billion) in "the medium-term" on projects, involving the completion of a port and airport, a metro system and roads.

A NEW BREED OF TECHNOLOGY & DESIGN INVESTMENT HOUSE TO BE LAUNCHED AND SHOWCASED PARIS, JULY 2012

Qatari Aurum will be launching its first large-scale foray into the world of Technology and Design during an annual gathering of other GCC-based investors and private equity houses in Paris during July this year. The newly¨established group, comprising high net-worth venture capitalists from Qatar, is yet to launch formally but has already set about making waves in an industry reserved for Silicon Valley start-ups and traditionally large-scale US private equity houses. It is expected that the Group will announce its inaugural acquisition of equity in a globally established internet start-up at the Capital & Projects Exchange, Paris, France, July 2012.

The focus of the group is toward bringing a wealth of technology know-how in the internet media and software design services to the GCC region. There is a course laid out to use this investor insight in gathering the choicest design and development houses locally within the region and injecting them with world-class expertise, fuelling a technology-drive unsurpassed in recent times.

The latest study on Islamic finance and wealth management shows that the UAE residents are estimated to be third richest in the Muslim world with per capita income of $49,600 (Dh182, 000).
It seems that Qatar leads the Muslims world with per capita income of $79,000 followed by Brunei at $51,600.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries dominate the top list with Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

In its 2012 Islamic Wealth Management Report illustrated by masterpieces of Islamic calligraphy, by the Chinese Muslim master Hajji Noordeen, deals with the theme “The path to corporate transformation – converting a company to Islam”.

Bank Sarasin reviews the complexities of converting a business to Islam, a topic which is rarely discussed or written about. Conversion is complicated by the need to address every aspect of a business, the lack of broadly accepted standards and regulations, and differences in the Muslim world itself. The Report, released today, is the Bank’s third on Islamic Wealth Management.

Converting a business to Islam can increase the value of a company by 18-25% due to the scarcity of genuine Islamic investments. But the conversion process is arduous, extending from the design to distribution and beyond, to how the company spends its profits. As Sarasin notes, the market potential is massive, with the global Muslim population expected to increase by 26% to 2030, to 2.2 billion, rivalling China and India in terms of market size.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has presented a project financing agreement with Al Million Services Trading and Contracting Co. W.L.L. in order to fund the purchase and operation of 500 new taxi vehicles. The financing will be put in action as per the Islamic finance methods of Murabaha, Wikala, and Istisnaa.
Abdul Kader Mydeen, Managing Director of Al Million Services Trading and Contracting Co. W.L.L., stated that the agreement completed with QIB will help the purchase and operation of the taxi cars asked by the company in order to meet the goals of MOWASALAT.

According to an interview with the CEO of Qatar Islamic Bank the bank signed with Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne an agreement to establish the first Islamic bank in France 2012.

The source is not confirmed by other media and similar news appeared in 2011 before.

Middle Eastern publicly recorded companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of online transparency as part of their strategy to administer best practice investor relations.
This is the key conclusion of the 2011 KWD Middle East Webranking survey that annually reviews corporate websites across the region based on the requirements of the investment community.
The survey prooves that an increasing number of companies are revolving to online channels to communicate with shareholders, disclosing more information on financials, corporate governance, CSR initiatives and company news on their websites.
The winners of the KWD Webranking Survey are as followed: Al Khalij Commercial Bank from Qatar presented itself as overall winner in the Middle East, followed by Aamal Company, also from Qatar, in second place. UAE real estate group Emaar remained on its position as third best corporate website.

Because of the recent global financial crises appetite for Islamic Private Equity has surfaced.
Joined by over 50 expert regional and global speakers, Ihab Asali, QFIB Head of Private Equity embraces the global rise of Islamic Private Equity at the recently concluded Islamic Investment and Finance Forum, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ihab along with other panellists discussed and investigated the potential of Islamic Private Equity after the economic downturn, ways to increase Islamic funds and its impact on the Private Equity market and where quality Islamic Private Equity opportunities are likely to come out.

Barwa Bank’s launched capital will rise to QR3bn from QR1.9bn following shareholder authorization for a rights issue.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani explained that the additional capital comes from the fact that they want to demonstrate a high level of financial strength, both in their domestic market and abroad. He added that additional capital allows us to supply for the needs of Qatar’s largest companies, that being an important consideration as they move onto the development and construction programmes outlined in Qatar National Vision 2030.

Key to the growth of the housing sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is the development of mortgage finance. Because of the demography of the region where some 65 per cent of the population is under 30 years old, demand for affordable housing is expected to raise significantly.
As many GCC countries depend mostly on expatriate population that consist of Muslims and non-Muslims their preference toward Islamic finance is mixed for several reasons. Until 2008, in the pre-crisis period, Islamic financial institutions were preferred to focus on real estate as an asset class and this drove to increased number of players that were offering a variety of Islamic mortgage products.