IslamicFinance.de

Bahrain-based Tadhamon Capital BSC has announced its successful exit from Paris Gardens - its first investment in a Central London student accommodation property. The sale of the property saw investors of Tadhamon Capital achieve more than 70 per cent return on their invested capital within a 30 month period. Since completion in the summer of 2013, the property has generated a stable net income of 8 per cent to investors. The sale of the property generated an IRR in excess of 25 per cent. Simultaneously, Tadhamon Capital has entered into a JV agreement for the development of a new, high-quality student accommodation, located at the centre of Kingston-Upon-Thames (South London).

Lloyd's of London has set its sights on Islamic insurance to strengthen its push into emerging markets and is in talks with regulators to set up shop in Malaysia. The plans are part of the venerable London insurance market's strategy to expand in fast-growing regions where insurance penetration remains low. It has already opened an office in Dubai's financial free zone and is a founding member of the Islamic Insurance Association of London (IIAL) being launched this month. The body is designed to support participants that want to develop Islamic products while ensuring common principles are used. Lloyd's currently has nine managing agents in its Dubai office, with plans for as many as 12 firms by the end of the year.

The Government of Malaysia sold the world's first 30-year sovereign sukuk yesterday and, in the process, shrugged off domestic woes to establish a long-dated benchmark Islamic curve for other sovereigns to follow. The 30-year was part of a two-tranche offering of US$1.5bn in Islamic 144A/Reg S bonds to the international markets at a time when 1MDB's M$41.9bn debt woes threaten to derail the government's bid to rein in its fiscal and budget deficits. Malaysia stayed disciplined and kept to its initially targeted issue size of US$1.5bn split between the US$1bn 10-year note and the US$500m 30-year note. The 2025s, priced to yield 115bp over US Treasuries, rallied to 112bp/109bp and the 2045s, priced at 170bp, traded at 164bp/161bp.

Dubai's drive to develop its Islamic finance sector is fuelling growth of sharia-compliant banking but the benefits are unevenly distributed, with some lenders struggling to compete against burgeoning competition. Several initiatives announced by Dubai could have a big impact on the Islamic banking sector but have not yet materialised. One such initiative is a central sharia board of Islamic scholars that would oversee the sector. This could reduce costs for banks and increase the confidence of customers. Another project still in the planning stage is the world's first fully sharia-compliant export-import bank, which could spur the growth of Islamic trade financing.

At least 21 million children in the Middle East and North Africa are either not attending school or are at risk of dropping out, according to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The organisation said there had been “impressive” progress in raising school enrolment in the region during the past decade, with a 40 percent reduction in the number of out-of-school children. However, a combination of poverty, discrimination, poor quality learning and conflict had caused progress to slow in recent years. There were now one-in-four children and young adolescents out of school or at risk of dropping out.

Middle East buyers took up only 2% of the 30 year sovereign Sukuk issued by Malaysia (the 10 year issuance allocation consisted of 24% Middle East buyers). This low take up by Middle East can be read a few ways: 1. Sukuk primary subscribers remain hold to maturity investors, and a 30-year note was too long for Middle East buyers to commit to. 2. The drop in price of oil is hurting and Gulf investors are planning only up to a ten year horizon. 3. With the issuance being oversubscribed and attracting interest of over US$9 billion, Malaysia decided to be give Gulf investors only the shorter term ten year issuance. 3. CIMB and Standard Chartered did a great job of marketing to Asian buyers, whilst HSBC did a less stellar job in the Middle East market.

Turkey, as the chair of G20 group, promotes Islamic finance because it offers additional financial instruments with less uncertainty and shared risks, according to the country’s deputy prime minister Ali Babacan. His comments were made during a panel discussion at the annual spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group in Washington. Islamic finance is safer, according to Babacan, who cited the 2000 and 2009 financial crises. Also for regulation purposes, macro credential purposes, it is considered as a less risky kind of financing means, he added. The more countries develop stronger legal frameworks to support Islamic finance, the more attention the system would get as issuers and investors who are sensitive to Islamic rules participate in the structure.

The value of the shares in Bank Asya have jumped 41.8 percent following a recent announcement by the bank saying documents belonging to 90 percent of privileged shareholders have been sent to the banking watchdog. The bank's shares were priced at TL 0.95 on Turkey's stock exchange, Borsa ?stanbul (B?ST), at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Thursday's reading was 76 percent higher than the historic low of TL 0.54, recorded in September 2014. The interim board established by the TMSF after the takeover announced on April 9 that 152 out of 185 privileged shareholders had submitted their documents to the BDDK. Since that day, Bank Asya shares have risen by 41.8 percent, strengthening shareholders' hand in their bid to take back the management of the bank.

Pervez Said is no stranger to adversity. In his 33 year-long career, he has worked with 10 different organizations, having served as chief executive at four different institutions. He is considered to be the pioneer of Islamic banking in Pakistan due to his instrumental role at the State Bank of Pakistan in the formative years of Islamic banking. But his current stint at the House Building Finance Company may well be the biggest challenge he has taken on yet. You can find excerpts from a recent interview in which Said discussed the housing crisis in Pakistan and the role HBFCL is playing in alleviating it following the article link.

We are pleased to inform you that the July - December 2014 issue of the Malaysian ICM Bi-annual Bulletin published by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is now available online at the Source link below.

Capital Intelligence (CI) has downgraded the ratings of Tadhamon International Islamic Bank's (TIIB), based in Sana'a, Yemen. TIIB's Financial Strength Rating (FSR) is downgraded to 'B' from 'B', and the Outlook for the FSR is downgraded to 'Negative'. The Outlook for TIIB's Foreign Currency Ratings, which are affirmed at 'C' Long-Term and 'C' Short-Term, are downgraded to 'Negative' as is the case with all CI-rated Yemeni banks, reflecting the current turmoil and severe economic weakness. The Support Rating is maintained at '4', reflecting the limited capacity of support. Non-performing loans (NPLs) and assets are expected to rise, which will require additional provisioning, thereby hitting profitability.

Dubai Islamic Bank said its first quarter profit rose 34 per cent as the biggest Islamic bank in the UAE by assets shrugged off a sharp drop in the price of oil and continued to gain market share in Sharia-compliant financial services. Net income rose to Dh850 million in the first three months of 2015 from Dh637m in the same period last year. Revenue increased 20 per cent to Dh1.56 billion from Dh1.3bn in the same time frame. Chief executive Adnan Chilwan said that he expects 15 to 20 per cent growth in loans this year. He said this year that loan growth would continue to come from corporations and individuals.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the prudential and supervisory standard-setting body for the estimated US2.3 trillion global Islamic finance industry, convenes its 12th Annual Summit on 19 - 21 May 2015 at the Rixos Almaty in Kazakhstan. The Summit, which is hosted by the National Bank of Kazakhstan, could not have a more pertinent theme: 'Core Principles for Islamic Finance: Integrating with the Global Regulatory Framework.' Indeed, the Council of the IFSB at its 26th Meeting, held in Jakarta, Indonesia in early April, approved the adoption of a new Standard on Core Principles for Islamic Finance Regulation (CPIFR)(Banking Segment), known as IFSB-17.

Jordan chose the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, to support the country's debut sovereign issue of sukuk. The ICD will provide "transaction technical support" for the domestic issue of Jordanian dinar-denominated sukuk, which is expected this year. The sukuk will be used to absorb excess liquidity held by Jordan's Islamic banks, which is estimated to total 1.4 billion dinars ($2 billion). Khaled Al-Aboodi, chief executive of the ICD, said the issue would help to develop Jordan's capital market and provide an alternative to its Treasury bills for investment by Islamic banks.

Zakat House Director General Ibrahim Al-Saleh applauded Kuwait Finance House’s support to Zakat House to execute charitable projects that serve the community. Al-Saleh praised, during receiving a cheque with a value of KD 5,878,129 million from KFH’s Chief Executive Officer, Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh, KFH for collaborating with Zakat House which contributes to accomplish the goal of encouraging charity and the spread of meanings of brotherhood among various segments of the society. It’s worth noting that the donated value will be distributed to help the poor families in Kuwait, to support charity committees and societies working in the field of humanitarian aid and to execute pro bono projects as per the rules and regulations of Zakat House.

The Money we are working towards here is a value-led means of exchange – the manifestations of value being decided by its users – the commoners. What follows is a consideration of three important design areas from a commons perspective: convertibility, the equitable allocation of issued money, and how to provide capital investment; followed by a comment on division of labour. The paradigm of money as a common pool resource may be able to provide insight and encourage radical monetary innovation. New money forms do not need growth. Designers can choose to exclude or discriminate against deprecated behaviours, recognise and reward behaviour compatible with an explicit transparent value-set, and prioritise the well being of commoner-insiders.

XL Group P.L.C. and London-based managing general agency Cobalt Underwriting Services Ltd. have launched a Sharia-compliant equine coverage. The policy, which is sold through Lloyd's of London, covers named perils, mortality, theft, infertility and permanent disability. No further information on the policy limits or premiums was given.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has expanded the scope of its investigations to two more insurance companies and detained three persons in a case that involves a huge embezzlement on account of oil products' insurance. FIA has taken into custody three persons and has also identified two more persons. The insurance companies had entered in a deal with one of the biggest oil refineries in 2002 to insure oil consignments imported in Pakistan. In this deal, insurance companies had earned a commission Rs 152.39 million at a total premium of Rs 950.23 million and these companies in order to conceal this earned amount withdrew the same through various cheques of 170 fake agents.

Sydney-based Waratah Resources Limited plans to launch an Islamic commodities trading business as it shifts focus from Asian markets to the Middle East. The move adds to a growing number of firms keen to tap into an Islamic finance market that is developing beyond its traditional homes in the Middle East and southeast Asia. Waratah will setup a company domiciled in the Malaysian offshore finance centre of Labuan under a 50/50 joint venture agreement with Malaysia's Amanie Holdings, an Islamic finance advisory firm. The firm's next goal is to secure funding arrangements with partners who have been introduced by its sharia partners over the past few months, to provide the required capital for its joint venture vehicle, said executive chairman Ben Kirkpatrick.

The Government of Malaysia kicked off bookbuilding on its much-anticipated sukuk this morning, showing tenors of 10 and 30 years at guidance of around 135bp and 185bp over US Treasuries, respectively. The 144A/Reg S offering follows a week of roadshows that ended in New York yesterday evening. Based on guidance alone, the sovereign is providing a small pick-up, but, if demand proves robust, this is likely to be narrowed. Malaysia Sovereign Sukuk will be the issuer of the Islamic notes, and the Government of Malaysia, rated A3/A- (Moody's/ S&P), will be the obligor. Proceeds will be used for the government's general purposes, including the redemption of an existing US$1.25bn trust certificates due this year.