IslamicFinance.de

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is inviting its shareholders to subscribe for new shares, by way of a 1-for-4 rights issue. The Board of Directors resolved on 27 April to increase the issued capital of the Bank by AED 988,437,777 raising the capital of the bank to AED 4,942,188,884. The New Shares will be issued at a price of AED 3.20 per New Share, reflecting the nominal value of AED 1.00 per New Share and a share premium of AED 2.20. The ownership limitation on DIB’s shares remains in place: 51 per cent of the issued share capital of the bank must be owned by nationals of the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) said it had received a letter of intent from a consortium led by Jordan's Bank Al Etihad interested in buying MESC Investment. The proposal sets out the terms and conditions required for the purchase of MESC Investment, a Jordan-based company in which DIB holds a 40 percent shareholding through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Petra and Levant One. MESC owns 52 percent of Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, a Jordan-based unit of DIB.

Khalid Al Aboudi, Chief Executive Officer of Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), rang the market-opening bell to celebrate the listing of a 300 million US dollar Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai. The total nominal value of Sukuk currently listed in Dubai has now reached $42.61 billion, more than the value listed in any other centre. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group has seven other Sukuk currently outstanding on Nasdaq Dubai that have listed since 2014, with a total nominal value of $8.05 billion.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said on Sunday its shareholders have approved the decision to pay more than 24 per cent, or Dh0.2427, per share for the year. The annual general assembly also approved the financial statements for the year to December 2015. The bank posted an 11 per cent increase in net profit in 2015. The bank recorded a net profit of Dh1.943 billion compared with Dh1.75 billion in the same period in the previous year.

Noor Bank reported a net operating profit of Dh561 million for the year 2015, up 40 per cent compared to 2014. The bank attributed increase in profitability to a 73 per cent surge in fee and commission income and a 35 per cent rise in net income from financing. Bank’s total assets increased 36 per cent to Dh39 billion in 2015 compared to Dh29 billion in 2014. While customer financing grew by 29 per cent during 2015 customer deposits were up 35 per cent to Dh32.1 billion last year.

Emirates Islamic announced the launch of Social Banking, offering banking services via Twitter, making it the first Islamic bank in the UAE to offer banking services on a social media platform. Faisal Aqil, Deputy CEO, said banking via twitter is especially relevant given the UAE’s advanced social media and mobile phone penetration. Customers will be able to perform select transactions such as balance enquiry, view their last few transactions, and make enquiries about their accounts or credit cards with a simple tweet. To maintain privacy and confidentiality, the bank will only respond to customer queries via a direct message.

Dubai’s Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) has continued to spread its reach to a greater number of people with its initiatives and beneficiaries doubling last year. AMAF recorded a growth of 19 per cent last year, with its revenue reaching Dh172 million, up from Dh144 million in 2014. Tayeb Abdul Rahman Al Rais, secretary-general of AMAF, said there are currently 26 projects and initiatives that help orphans and ensure their well-being in a sustainable way.

Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance decided to give over ninety percent of its content, the Handbook of Islamic Finance, free of charge. The 800 page ebook came out of the Certified Islamic Finance Executive program as a handy way for bankers and students to access everything in one place: contracts, articles, recommended readings, hundreds of answers to questions, and Dr. Usmani's entire Guide to Islamic Banking. Ethica's spokesperson said the ebook is designed to take a newcomer to Islamic finance through the basics of how a market works on principles of equity, trade, and leasing, without debt.

Dubai-based property developer Limitless is set to complete a drawn-out debt restructuring after the final dissenting creditor sold its share of the company's 4.45 billion dirhams ($1.2 billion) debt. New York-based Stonehill Capital Management sold its debt in the state-controlled company, worth around $15 million at face value, to Dubai Islamic Bank, an existing creditor and one of the members of the creditor committee. They declined to say at what price the debt was bought.

1MDB issued a statement Monday saying Abu Dhabi state-run fund International Petroleum Investment Corp. has failed to pay interest on $1.7 billion on the Malaysian fund's 2022 bonds. The Malaysian government was cautioned about risks associated with the debt-ridden fund in 2014. The state investment fund set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak, has been burdened with debt of over $12 million over the years and has been accused of mismanagement while facing corruption allegations. Apart from Malaysia, the 1MDB investigation is also underway in the United States, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has listed its latest sukuk worth $500 million on Nasdaq Dubai, bringing the bank’s total sukuk listings on the region’s international exchange to $3.25 billion. Following a total of seven sukuk listings this year by regional and international issuers, the total value of sukuk currently listed in Dubai has reached $42.61 billion, the largest amount of any listing centre in the world, underlining the rapid expansion of Dubai as a global capital of the Islamic Economy. Given the challenging market conditions, it was critical to have a strong credit come in and successfully close a deal, said Dr Adnan Chilwan, group CEO, DIB.

In a statement to Dubai Financial Market, it was reported that Ajman Bank’s AGM has approved and ratified a proposal from the board of directors to increase the bank’s capital base. Under the proposal, Ajman Bank’s authorized capital will become AED 2.1 billion and the paid up capital will increase from AED 1.05 billion to AED 1.55 billion.

Dubai-based lender Emirates Islamic is laying off 200 staff to cut costs, according to a report. An un-named source confirmed that the bank was downsizing its workforce. However, Emirates Islamic declined to deny or confirm the report. Several banks in the United Arab Emirates have trimmed local operations as they look to reduce costs. Barclays is reducing its Dubai workforce by 150 people and closing its offices in Emaar Square. Earlier this year, the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah also revealed that it will cut expatriate staff as it seeks to reduce its headcount by up to 250. The overall banking industry across the GCC is slowing because of low oil prices.

Dubai Islamic Bank returned to the international debt capital markets with a very successful $500 million 5Y Sukuk issue yesterday. This deal is the first GCC bank issuance since November 2015 and essentially marks the reopening of the market after a hiatus of 4+ months. The transaction is being hailed as a tremendous accomplishment in the current environment where the GCC has gone through a well-documented change in onshore liquidity conditions and witnessed multiple rating downgrades, which have been mainly the result of the drop in oil prices. The offering was oversubscribed (2.4x) attracting more than $1.2 billion in demand from 87 investors.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is expected to price a dollar-denominated sukuk of benchmark size as soon as Tuesday after releasing initial price thoughts for the offering, a document from lead arrangers showed. Pricing for the five-year sukuk has been earmarked to be in the area of 245 basis points over midswaps, according to the document. DIB chose seven banks to arrange meetings with fixed income investors in London on Monday, ahead of the possible sukuk issue, it was announced last week.

Oil prices and regional tensions have taken their toll on the Islamic finance sector. Sharia-compliant funds suffered their worst sales in four years, falling more than 74 percent on 2014’s figures. But Magali Mouquet, executive director responsible for IR at Emirates REIT, says that as one of only three sharia-compliant real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the world, adhering to Islamic finance principles has brought only opportunities to the Dubai-based trust. Mouquet says other investors – those perhaps looking for an SRI angle rather than a focus on Islamic finance principles – are also interested in the trust, which offers ‘guaranteed transparency’.

Dubai Islamic Bank is embarking on a roadshow for a senior dollar sukuk, and looks likely to be the first bank from the Gulf Cooperation Council to enter the public bond markets this year. Bank ABC, DIB, Emirates Islamic Bank, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have arranged fixed income investor meetings to take place in London on March 21. DIB, rated Baa1/—/A, will print the Reg S note under its $2.5bn sukuk programme.

Holborn Assets as part of its strategic growth plan to diversify and move into new markets has developed and launched its own bespoke shariah wealth and financial planning service. Increasing demand from its advisers and clientsprompted Holborn to undertake research on Takaful (Islamic Life Assurance) providers in the UAE market. This exercise culminated in Holborn signing terms with Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Co. Salama is the largest Takaful and Retakaful provider in the world, dominating the UAE market in terms of size.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has launched four new Wakala Deposit product variants. The DIB Wakala Deposit product variants offer various schemes in terms of tenures and profit rates. DIB’s Long Term Wakala Deposits offer a 15.25% profit rate on a 5 year, or 8% profit rate on a 3 year tenure. Customers can also subscribe to DIB Maximizer Deposits, an 18-month facility which is developed on step-up profit rates of up to 6%. Furthermore, the Recurring Wakala Deposit is a deposit product whereby a fixed amount is deposited on a monthly basis. A minimum goal of AED 12,000 (AED 1,000 per month) is agreed upon – as well as the recurring instalment payments.

The region's thriving asset management sector saw a further addition towards the end of last year with the launch of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The new financial centre is likely to mark a bold step for the emirate's plans to attract new firms and develop the local asset management sector. As the UAE's richest emirate, Abu Dhabi is already home to a large number of wealthy investors and a thriving financial services community. Despite the close proximity of northern neighbour Dubai's highly successful DIFC, industry participants have welcomed the addition of the ADGM to the region. Abu Dhabi is home to the region's largest sovereign wealth fund (SWF) in the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and a number of other multi-billion dollar funds also call the emirate home.