IslamicFinance.de

The number of the I phone Quran application users that was launched by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) 3 years ago has reached a million and 800 thousand, around 1800 daily users. The third version of I phone Quran application has high resolution, in addition to having the numerous features like night Reading and different color schemes. Moreover, the number of Android users of the Quran application has increased to reach 50 thousand, about 60 users a day. The Android app has been recently launched with many distinguished features, and users can download the application for free by typing 'KFH' during the search. KFH is keen to upgrade its applications and its programs on the internet. KFH is also eager to use advanced technology to serve the public, since this is part of its social responsibility.

Nakheel has released interest and profit payments of AED197 million (US$53.7 million) to its lenders in compliance with its restructuring requirements. The company emphasized that it remains focused on meeting its commitments in accordance with the terms set out in its company restructure and revised business plan. Nakheel's commitment, achievements and newly-announced projects will continue to contribute to the growth of Dubai’s real estate and tourism sector, including the government target of 20 million annual visitors to Dubai by 2020.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) plans to expand in North Africa as the lender seeks to access more-populous markets. The bank applied for licenses in Algeria and Libya and is considering Tunisia and Morocco, Chief Executive Officer Tirad Mahmoud said. Interest in Shariah-compliant banking has increased since 2011, when revolts in North Africa catapulted Islamists to power. Moreover, the bank wants to be better placed to serve companies, such as Dubai-based mall operator Majid Al Futtaim, which operate across the Middle East and North Africa and rely on global lenders such as HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Citigroup Inc. Mahmoud said MENA expansion is essential to capture market share from foreign lenders.

Just above 95 per cent of employees in the Middle East Africa region believe corporate social responsibility (CSR) is very important and are keen to engage in more community service work, according to Bayt.com survey. Almost 90 per cent of the respondents in the survey consider CSR to be a moral responsibility for corporations. The survey found that respondents across the Mena region are eager to dedicate themselves to CSR work, with 73 per cent preferring to give time and effort towards charitable causes rather than merely donating money. According to the survey, respondents would like their company to be involved in helping the poor or those with special needs (51.2 per cent), providing free education and scholarships (20.4 per cent) and saving or protecting the environment (11.2 per cent).

Oman Development Bank (ODB) is considering the launch of an Islamic window to offer Sharia-compliant products to small and medium-sized firms. After Oman adopted Islamic finance in December by issuing regulations for the sector, developing Islamic finance and smaller firms are two policies which the government hopes will cut unemployment. Government-owned ODB is likely to opt for an Islamic window instead of a full-fledged conversión into an Islamic bank. The Islamic window is not expected to start operating before the end of this year. Under the rules for Islamic windows, ODB would only be able to offer Islamic products through stand-alone branches, which would require converting some of its existing 15 branches or opening new ones.

Iran's president Hasan Rouhani has reportedly appointed Valiollah Seif, a private banker, as the head of the country's central bank. Seif will replace outgoing central bank head Mahmoud Bahmani. Seif ran the private Karafarin bank in Iran. He also supports independence for the central bank and a floating rate for Iran's currency, the rial, against foreign currencies. Seif takes over the central bank as sanctions over Iran's disputed nuclear program have been putting heavy pressure on the country's economy for the past two years. Oil exports have been slashed in half and the rial has lost two-thirds of its value since late 2011. Inflation also has shot up in the country.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is to offer UAE nationals mortgages worth 100 per cent of their property in conjunction with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment. DIB will offer housing loans worth up to Dhs2 million over a 25-year period, with interest rates starting at 3.99 per cent. The announcement by DIB is in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MRHE), which ‘aims to enhance the quality of life for UAE nationals living in Dubai by helping them access superior housing’. The move flies in the face of impending regulations from the UAE’s Central Bank that is expected to cap lending for local first-time homeowners to 80 per cent of the home’s value and 75 per cent for expatriates, with lending for additional homes expected to be capped at 65 per cent and 60 per cent.

Islamic banking is a growing option in America as various Islamic banks pop up across the country to service those who wish to preserve Shari’aa law or those who just want to use an Islamic bank. The key to these Banks is the shared risk. If the financial models show that the borrower is making a bad investment, the bank will tell them that it’s a bad economic decision and it will not invest with them. The underlying message is that the borrower is in a partnership with the bank, so there are no hidden fees. This may be a much better and less risky model to consider that can get you on the property market with just a 5 percent deposit. Islamic bank also offer Islamic bank accounts. Money from demand and checking accounts cannot be used in lending, it’s considered a trust.

Ethical investment which has similarities with Islamic based investments has reached US$32 trillion (RM105.6 trillion) in size in the US and the European Unión, according to Nicholas Kaiser, a global investment manager specialising in the issues of ethical and Islamic investment. Though the number of very wealthy Islamic investors in the US were scarce compared to investors in conventional funds, he said his Amana funds are doing very well in the US. The funds attracted American citizens from all backgrounds and Muslim investors are only a small number of the investors in the Amana fund, he added. Nevertheless, it appears that while Amana’s success is the result of the discipline of its Islamic investment nature, investing in Islamic stocks does not necessarily bring profit to the investors.

A bachelors degree in Islamic banking and finance programme has been inaugurated by Al Khawarizimi International College (KIC). The new programmes will start from September 1. KIC said the programme will develop a clear understanding of the structure of the Islamic finance industry. The bachelors degree will provide students with the opportunity of learning Islamic principles and methods of banking, economic, finance and accounting through Sharia. Moreover, KIC is also planning to offer more higher education programmes in Islamic economics such as Islamic hospitality and Islamic insurance. According to KIC, graduates rarely face difficulties in finding employment opportunities.

The Islamic Development Bank and Saudi Fund for Development have provided finances amounting to $ 21.7 billion for 90 projects in the Bank's Member States in Africa, Asia, and Middle East. In its annual report for the year 2012, the Islamic Development Bank pointed out that the projects were in fields of infrastructures, agriculture, rural development, health, education, transport, energy, and water.

The British government is seeking to renew sanctions against Iran's Bank Mellat regardless of a court ruling branding the ban as unlawful. Britain's Treasury is now attempting to intervene in the European Union Council's appeal against a decision by the EU General Court in January to quash sanctions imposed against the Iranian bank. This comes after reports that Bank Mellat intends to make a legal claim of 500 million pounds against the UK government for loss of business caused by US-engineered illegal sanctions on Tehran between 2009 and 2013. Earlier on June, Britain’s Supreme Court also overturned a ruling against Bank Mellat over its alleged links to Tehran's nuclear energy program, saying the British government was wrong to have imposed sanctions on the bank.

Jordan Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour reportedly said that the Government is discussing plans to establish a state-owned bank that would offer low cost credit facilities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The proposed bank would not accept deposits but would operate on similar lines to the former Industrial Development Bank (IDB) with the aim of boosting SMEs and the broader industrial sector. The IDB was sold and now operates as the Shari’ah-compliant Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank. The Jordan Government aims to be the largest shareholder in the proposed bank but has indicated that international and regional financial institutions would be interested to become partners.

The Islamic Development Bank recently allocated $32.6 million to stop children in Pakistan from suffering paralysis or death at the heads of polio. The disbursement was the first of the $227 million the IDB approved for polio eradication efforts in Pakistan. The disbursement was made through the WHO on August 3. The contribution will be used to help train and support more than 200,000 health workers and volunteers to immunize 33 million children in Pakistan with the oral polio vaccine. The money will also be used to improve immunization services for other vaccine-preventable diseases and to strengthen disease surveillance throughout Pakistan.The WHO expressed its appreciation to the IDB and the OIC as important partners in the growing global effort to eradicate polio.

Zaheeruddin Khalid, director of portfolio management at Saudi-based Jadwa Investment, said that the mutual funds market is dominated by asset managers backed by commercial Banks. However, in the segregated accounts market, Jadwa Investment is one of the major players along with the big five. He moreover explained that Shariah-compliant products investing in Saudi Arabia have generally had performance similar to the conventional products. Shariah-compliant versions of most conventional products are available in the Saudi market. Most innovations are taking place in the private investment product side instead of the public products (mutual funds) because of higher demand for the former, he added.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), represented by the Personal Finance Department, has organized a meeting with suppliers of installments finance. The meeting discussed the current market conditions and how to find means to improve it in a beneficial way to all parties on the one hand, and catering to clients' needs on the other. Personal Finance Executive Manager at KFH Talal Al-Hnaidi said, on the sideline of the meeting, that the bank is keen on organizing continuous forums and meetings with large companies and institutions. Moreover, Al-Hnaidi mentioned that KFH supports merchants and communicates with them to discuss the market conditions and to share ideas, thoughts and information that can serve the progress business and can contribute in strengthening the economy and obtaining growth.

On 4 June 2013, Rüdiger von Hülst and Matthias Grund of the Berlin and Frankfurt offices of international law firm K&L Gates hosted a roundtable in relation to the future role of Islamic finance in the German economy. Represented at the roundtable were representatives from the investment management, banking, legal, academic and diplomatic communities. One of the general findings was that there has been an increasing depth and breadth of experience in the UK from which Germany could benefit. However, current activity in Islamic finance in Germany is still nascent. There are several possible areas for the expansion of Islamic finance in Germany, such as investments in the healthcare sector and municipal owned real estate. Islamic finance would offer various advantages like diversification of financing sources, or attracting foreign direct investments. For more information on the roundtable, please see the attachment.

India’s central bank has allowed a firm in the southern state of Kerala to operate as a non-banking financial company that follows Islamic principles ? a small step towards developing syariah-compliant finance in the country. Cheraman Financial Services said it had obtained approval to operate from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and would follow the Islamic ban on interest. RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao has said Islamic banking was not possible in the country but syariah-compliant products could be delivered through alternative means.

The founders of Bosna Bank International (BBI), the first bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina to do business based on Islamic principles, are to inject an additional 15 million euros to its capital stock to ensure business growth, according to the bank's director Amer Bukvic. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Dubai Islamic Bank and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank had decided to inject fresh capital into BBI to the amount of 30 million convertible marks (EUR 15.3m). The fresh capital will be used to reinforce the bank's position in the medium-sized banking segment on the Bosnian banking market. BBI's assets will amount to 500 million convertible marks (EUR 255.7m) after the capital increase. Moreover, Bukvic announced that the bank would be releasing loans to the value of 300 million convertible marks (EUR 153.4m).

The Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) has opted to integrate Salesforce.com with its core banking systems in a bid to avoid costly and time-consuming upgrades that it would have faced if it had decided to roll-out on-premise solutions, such as Oracle Siebel or Microsoft Dynamics. Even though Salesforce is slightly more expensive over a three year Return on Investment (ROI) period, COO Mohamed Gamil believes that the benefits of a public cloud platform far outweigh the extra investment required. The Bank has just completed its third major project using the Salesforce platform, where it is now looking to bring on board as many systems as it can, so as to make application processes for online customers as seamless as posible. IBB went live with a new on-boarding application in January 2012, where it is now also integrated with the bank’s Misys platform using IFrame, so that existing customers can also take advantage of applying for new current accounts online using the Salesforce tools.