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Islamic finance chatbot

Dear visitor,

Please feel free to ask the chatbot any question, which will reply based on my publications. On the left side you find recent news, on the right side the blog entries with opinion pieces. My interest is in www.islamicwealthmanagement.com, fostering Islamic financial education, advising from time to time on matters of Islamic social and humanitarian finance aside from working in Islamic private banking.

-> the entry field is on the bottom of the post!

All the best, Michael

Academic and Practioners invited to share documents

Dear Writers,

Whether you are an academic or practionner: If you wish to see your paper published on IslamicFinance.de please send us the relevant document along with a confirmation that you hold the copyrights of it and we can upload the work with your abstract provided.

As simple as that!

Best regards,

Michael Saleh Gassner

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Talk on Islamic finance, money, and banking crisis in Zurich and online

As salamu Alaikum,
Next saturday, May 13, 2023, at 15.00 I present as guest of Muslim Student Association in Zurich (@msazurich) on the 1st chapter of my book and then go into the banking crisis and money creation. The talk is in English.

Physical
???? Samstag, 13. Mai 2023
? 15:00 - 17:00
???? Building KAB, floor G, room 01
????? Kantonsschulstrasse 3, 8001 Zürich

Physical attendance - registration linked at @msazurich and in my link tree in Insta profile. (just confirm lengthy privacy in German).
Talk online accessible without registration: Click on Linktr.ee/islamgeldwohlstand - presentation on bigbluebutton/senfcall similar to zoom - no installation required or instagram @islamgeldwohlstand

My German book "Islam, Geld und Wohlstand - Ein Handbuch über Finanzen und Vorsorge" can be obtained:
Instagram:
DE: @islambooks24
CH: @IslamShop.ch
or any other bookstore or online dealer in German speaking countries - if you are publisher interested for your country, please contact me.

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Islamic Stock Screener - open source

Dear All,

as salamu alaikum,

as part of my book project I developed a simple tool for Islamic stock screening. What does it do?

- data pull from Google Finance and MarketWatch
- Calculating cash and debt compliance criteria versus 220days average market cap
- Zakat calculation per share for the zakatable asset approach, if held for investment

***Telegram Group for discussion on Islamic stock screening:
https://t.me/islamicstockscreening

***Live Google Sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VJYojBUrftJkAZRTcdbmN4TAsvaC1eas...

***Resources:
https://github.com/IslamicWealthManagement/Googlesheet

The tool is under a GLP-3.0 License and be used and amended privately with no charge. Users are encouraged to verify and improve the tool for mutual sharing. No warranties given. Feedback directly or via Telegram group highly welcomed. Is your market avalaible, or do you desire a screening for your market?

Other Screening tools are:

Idealratings: https://www.idealratings.com/
Halal Investors: https://halalinvestors.com/
Islamicly: https://www.islamicly.com/
Zoya Finance: https://zoya.finance/

Gassner's picture

Arabic: Sustainable Development Key Performance Indicators (SD-KPIs)

Sustainable Development Key Performance Indicators (SD-KPIs) are three particularly material environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators for the expected business development of 68 different sectors.

The copyrighted SD-KPI Standard 2016-2021 was published by SD-M® on behalf of the the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) and with support of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). A Japanese, Chinese and Arabic translation is also available:

https://www.sd-kpi.com/files/SD-KPI_Standard_2016-2021_Arabic.pdf

According to the BaFin Guidance Notice on Dealing with Sustainability Risks, ESG risks should be strategically considered, e.g. by means of SD-KPI Standard 2016-2021. The Guidelines (German) to the Sustainability Code of the German Council for Sustainable Development recommend the SD-KPI Standards for materiality analysis.

The Big Six® are the six most important challenges for sustainable development in 21st century:

climate change
freshwater scarcity and pollution
deforestation and desertification
absolute poverty
loss of biodiversity
population growth and migration

Egypt's Faisal Islamic Bank records $7.15bln in business volume during August

The Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt has reported a 9.3% increase in its volume of business to EGP 112.751bn in August 2020, compared to EGP 103.149bn in August 2019. The bank’s total assets reached EGP 109.713bn in August 2020, which reflects a 13% growth compared to the EGP 97.124bn reported in August 2019. Faisal Islamic Bank aims to open five new branches over the course of the current year, bringing its total network of branches to 41. It aims to further expand its branch network to 46 by the end of 2021. The bank also plans to offer a number of new services, including “Meeza” debit and pre-paid cards, and new bill e-payment service “Fawri”.

#Egypt signs $2bn conventional, Islamic facility to finance budget deficit

Egypt’s Ministry of Finance has signed the first conventional and Islamic financing facility, worth $2bn, to finance the state’s budget deficit. The facility was closed by Emirates NBD Capital Limited, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) as the transaction’s global coordinators, mandated lead arrangers, and book runners. The main authorised regulators and the offering managers include Mashreq Bank, ABC Islamic Bank, British Standard Chartered Bank, Islamic HSBC, the Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), and the Japanese Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

#Russia’s Sberbank structures Islamic finance deal to supply wheat to #Egypt

Russia’s Sberbank has structured its first trade finance deal with an Islamic bank to supply Russian wheat to Egypt. The deal with Saudi Arabia’s International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) was implemented through Sberbank’s subsidiary in Switzerland. Egypt’s state-run General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) acted as the buyer in the deal. The Russian bank said ITFC will enable it to significantly increase its share in Russian wheat exports to Egypt.

#Algerie : Aymen Ben Abderrahmane, la finance islamique lancée en août

Le ministre algérien des Finances, Aymen Ben Abderrahmane, a annoncé la mise sur le marché des produits de la finance islamique. Ben Abderrahmane a dévoilé que deux banques publiques ont achevé les procédures d’obtention d’une fatwa, afin de faire adapter les produits à la charia et que ces produits seront mis sur le marché à compter du début du mois d’août prochain. Il s’agit de la Banque nationale d’Algérie (BNA) et de la Banque de l’Agriculture et du développement rural (BADR). L’Algérie compte 30 établissements bancaires, dont sept publics, et plus d’une vingtaine d’institutions étrangères, en provenance particulièrement des pays du Golfe et de la France ainsi qu’une banque britannique et une autre espagnole.

Faisal Islamic Bank's profit down 54% in Q1 2020

The consolidated financial results of Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt showed a 53.6% year-on-year (YoY) drop in its net profits to EGP 483.53 million in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 from EGP 1.043 billion. Meanwhile, the bank’s revenues fell to EGP 2.63 billion in the January-March period, compared to EGP 3.22 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier. It is worth mentioning that in 2019, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt reported consolidated net profit of EGP 2.78 billion, up from EGP 2.56 billion in 2018, including minority shareholders’ rights.

Une deuxième émission de #sukuk se prépare en #Egypte

Sarwa Capital finalise une opération évaluée à 152,2 millions $. Ce sera la deuxième émission de ce type de produits financiers sur le marché financier égyptien après celle de Talaat Mostafa Holdings en avril 2020. Sarwa Capital est aussi en train de mener des discussions avec de potentiels arrangeurs et garants de l'opération. Pour l'heure, seules deux entreprises financières égyptiennes sont habilitées à émettre des sukuk. Il s'agit de Sarwa Capital et EFG Hermes. Celle-ci est cotée sur la Bourse du Caire.

Sustainable development for real economy: Some lessons from the 12th ICIEF

The 12th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance (ICIEF) was held in Istanbul this month. It was organized by Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Islamic Research and Education Institute (IRTI) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Because of the pandemic the conference committee decided to organize it virtually. 14 eminent personalities and Islamic finance experts shared their thoughts on the future of Islamic economics and finance. Altogether, 132 papers out of some 472 submissions from 40 different countries were selected for presentation. Some papers focused on implementing a circular economic model that facilitates environment-friendly production and consumption. The circular economy concept is very much aligned with the concept of sustainable development and may support achieving the United Nations' SDGs by 2030. Presenters repeatedly underscored that the Islamic financial system can be a major driver in the transformation toward a circular economy.

#Turkey's Erdogan says Islamic economy can pull world 'out of crisis'

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Islamic economic system is the key to getting out of crisis as global economy continues to suffer from coronavirus pandemic. President Erdogan said the loss of nearly 440,000 lives worldwide can't be attributed to Covid-19 alone, saying many countries have an economic system that protects only strong and the rich. Erdogan said Turkey is among the countries that has fought the pandemic with the least damage. Pointing out the country’s first-quarter growth of 4.5%, Erdogan said that Turkey has shown that it distinguished itself positively from other countries not only in the health sector but also in the economy, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Humania’s US$125 Million Islamic Financing Facility

Clifford Chance has advised four international development finance institutions on a US$125 million Islamic financing facility to Humania. Led by International Finance Corporation (IFC), the institutions involved in the consortium were: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund), and OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund). Humania is a private healthcare company within the Bait Al Batterjee Group. The financing will be used to develop greenfield general hospitals in Alexandria (Egypt), and Casablanca (Morocco).

#Egypt Faisal Islamic Bank gets FRA's approval for capital raise

The Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approved a request from Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt to publish the disclosure form to proceed with its capital increase procedures. The disclosure form included the board of directors’ approval to raise the company’s issued capital by $66.02 million to $506.2 million from $440.19 million. The capital increase will be carried out by issuing 66.03 million shares at a nominal value of $1 or its equivalent in the Egyptian pound per share through a 0.149-for-one bonus issue.

Banque Zitouna fête son 10ème anniversaire

Fondée en 2010, Banque Zitouna s’est rapidement développée en peu d’années s’imposant ainsi en tant que banque islamique entièrement évolutive en Tunisie. Le long de ses 10 années d’existence, Banque Zitouna n’a cessé de se réinventer toujours en accord avec ses valeurs de Banque islamique, en créant de la proximité avec ses clients et ses territoires, vecteur principal de sa réussite. En mars 2019, le Groupe Majda Tunisia a racheté les parts de l’Etat dans le capital de la banque. Banque Zitouna envisage également une expansion à l’international notamment en Afrique, au Maghreb et en Europe, outre la mise en place d’un plan de transformation digitale et le développement de nouvelles activités à travers la création de nouvelles filiales.

Egyptians pay tribute to Saudi businessman Saleh Kamel

Egyptians have been paying tribute to Saudi businessman Saleh Kamel who died in Jeddah on Monday after suffering a heart attack. Members of the country’s business, political, religious, and entertainment communities joined in mourning the passing of the prominent figure. Kamel, who was the chairman and founder of the Dallah Al-Baraka Group established part of his economic empire in Egypt including Arab Radio and Television (ART), and Al-Baraka Bank. He also used the ART Institution to fund charity projects throughout Egypt. Kamel had always been a strong supporter of Egypt and in March 2015 headed a delegation of 100 businessmen and investors at a major conference in Sharm El-Sheikh aimed at boosting the Egyptian economy.

Albaraka Türk's 5th International Calligraphy Competition Exhibition on Instagram

The fifth International Albaraka Calligraphy Competition Exhibition meets art lovers on Instagram. Albaraka Türk continues to boost its success in culture and art events as well as in participation banking. The fifth edition of the bank’s International Calligraphy Competition Exhibition was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and later went online on Instagram. The works in the competition have been decorated with illumination and included in the collection. The exhibition has been given a new form with unique content and presented to art lovers on Albaraka Sanat's official Instagram account ( https://www.instagram.com/albarakasanat/) with over 70 stories in total.

Islamic bank, Türk Eximbank ink $100 mln deal to aid SMEs

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Türk Eximbank signed a syndicated murabaha deal of $100 million to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The new murabaha facility is expected to increase companies' export capacity and workforce, similar to the previous one. According to IsDB, the new facility will play a significant role to alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the manufacturing sector by providing long-term funding to companies to finance their capital expenditures.

International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation extends US$100m COVID-19 Emergency Financing for purchasing wheat and sugar in favor of Egypt

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has signed a US$100 million financing agreement with the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) to cover the Egyptian Government’s commodity needs during the Corona outbreak. ITFC CEO Hani Salem Sonbol said the financing supports the importation of critical basic commodities such as wheat and sugar. The wheat policy is of strategic importance to the Egyptian Government to ensure food security for all Egyptians. Since 2018, ITFC has been supporting the Governments’ efforts through a trade finance facility benefiting the GASC, Egypt’s largest wheat purchaser.

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