IslamicFinance.de

Ajman Bank partnered with Al Al Ihsan Charity Association as a main sponsor in its 'Ramadan Aman' Campaign. The objective behind this effort is to prevent drivers from speeding during the Ramadan rush hour before Maghreb prayer that often increases the risk of accidents. As part of the campaign Ajman Bank employees will serve as an active volunteer distributing some of the 100,000 iftar kits through the Holy Month in the emirates of Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah at selected areas. Every year there is a sharp rise in road accidents in the UAE during Ramadan. A considerably large number of these occur shortly before iftar primarily due to speeding.

The Islamic Bank of Britain has launched a pair of new home finance deals. The IBB will now offer a 2-year fixed rental rate Home Purchase Plan at 3.79% and a discounted variable rental rate HPP at 3.59%. Both plans are available to consumers with a deposit of 35%. According to Imran Pasha, head of sales and service at IBB, this is the first time IBB has offered home finance to consumers with a 35% deposit. The launch will benefit home buyers with a larger deposit, existing homeowners looking at re-financing deals or those seeking to release some equity from their property.

Deadlines for Qatar-based Islamic bank Masraf to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Islamic Bank of Britian have been extended to the end of August. The latest deadline again lapsed as talks that have been ongoing since late 2012 continue. The bank has struggled to make a profit in recent years and at the end of 2012 bosses revealed the lender would look at ways to offer more products. In 2009 the bank attempted to boost business by targeting mortgage advisers, launching a website providing resources enabling them to re-sell the Islamic Bank of Britain’s range of Sharia-compliant home purchase plans and commercial property finance products. Yet in 2011 the bank reported a loss of £8.9m despite income from home purchase plans increasing 17.9 per cent to £2.3m.

Jaiz Bank yesterday donated relief materials to the Governor of Borno State for onward distribution to victims of the Boko Haram insurgency. While presenting the items, Dr. Abdulmutallab expressed his sympathy with the people of the state over their travails and donated rice, spaghetti and textile materials to cushion their sufferings. In his remarks, governor Shettima thanked the bank for the donation and pledged to judiciously utilise the items. The governor promised to partner with the bank towards harnessing the full potentials of the state. In order to to further demonstrate his support, the governor also promised to open a personal savings account with the bank.

The Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp. (IILM) has reshuffled its Shariah board, losing four of its original six members. The IILM has been troubled by internal management upheaval, like the change of its chief executive late last year and the surprise pullout of Saudi Arabia's central bank in April this year. The changes to the Shariah board, which monitors the IILM's activities and instruments to ensure that they follow Islamic principles, could indicate further delays to the body's plan to begin issuing sukuk. The IILM announced in April that it aimed to make an initial issue worth up to $500 million in the second quarter of this year but has not yet proceeded with the plan, and it has not given a new time frame for it. The body did not issue a statement on the changes to its Shariah board.

Takaful operators in Malaysia are aggressively strategising their operations to ensure profitable growth and taking advantage of the five-year time frame given to composite takaful players to fully comply with the new Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA). Under the Financial Services Act (FSA) and IFSA, which came into force on July 1, composite insurers and takaful players would be, among others, required to split their life and general insurance businesses under separate licences. Takaful Malaysia group managing director Datuk Mohamed Hassan Kamil said his company will be devising and evaluating potential options to achieve more efficient solutions from the capital management and shareholder return perspectives. On whether the Act would take a hit on Takaful Malaysia’s bottomline in view of the split in operations of its family (life) and general businesses, Hassan said although there would be potentially higher cost initially due to start-up costs, in the long run.

Barwa Bank has signed a cooperation agreement with Qatar Charity to provide QR500,000 for its Ramadan projects in the country. The deal was signed by Steve Troop, Chief Executive Officer of Barwa Bank, and Yousef Al Kuwari, Qatar Charity Executive Chairman, at the charity headquarters. Troop said that Barwa Bank aims to support projects which provide assistance to the needy in the Qatari community in various ways, including forging partnerships with charities such as Qatar Charity. One of Qatar Charity’s projects is Al Baraha which has been extended from 10 days to one month. Around 24,000 people will benefit from the QR950,000 project during the holy month.

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya said on Monday it had applied to the Capital Markets Board to issue sukuk worth up to 1 billion lira ($520 million). The bank said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange it had mandated its brokerage arm for the issue.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has appointed Adnan Chilwan as chief executive. Chilwan, who was previously deputy CEO at the bank, replaces Abdullah Al Hamli who was named managing director. The management reshuffle at DIB comes when the bank is preparing for renewed growth, after it set aside about 5 billion dirhams ($1.36 billion) against bad loans following the 2009-2010 crash of Dubai's real estate market. According to Chilwan and Al Hamli, the bank has dealt with much of its balance sheet weakness and should see profits for 2013 grow in the double digits, allowing it to eye acquisitions in new markets in Asia. DIB, which is in the process of acquiring Islamic mortgage lender Tamweel , became the second Gulf bank to issue a hybrid perpetual sukuk when it priced in March a $1 billion Islamic bond to boost its Tier 1 capital ratio.

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia remains in the hunt for a strategic partner in Indonesia to help expand its distribution network there. The takaful operator was in talks to sell a stake or issue new shares in its Indonesian unit to a local partner last year, but the deal fell through. According to Takaful Malaysia Group managing director Mohammad Hassan Kamil, the group has not given up on its search for a strategic partner and is still actively scouting. Takaful Malayisa needs a strategic partner to put in the capital as well as provide the necessary expertise and people to help run the company. The Indonesian operations currently contribute less than 15% of the group's total revenue and less than 5% of its earnings. However, analysts say that the group's operations in Indonesia are poised for explosive growth of high double-digit rates in the next two to four years.

Iranian Bank Mellat appealed against a decision upholding measures taken by the Treasury to restrict its access to the UK financial market. The Treasury had directed that all persons operating in the UK financial sector were prohibited from having any commercial dealings with the Appellant or its UK subsidiaries. The Appellant argued the Treasury had failed to give adequate reasons for its decision. The High Court and Court of Appeal both dismissed the appeal, however the Supreme Court allowed it. One of the central issues raised was that the lower courts found that the justification for the order was not a problem specific to the Appellant, but a problem with Iranian banks in general. However, the order made no attempt to impose restrictions on other Iranian banks. In that regard, the measure was arbitrary, irrational and disproportionate. The order was also found to be invalid on various procedural grounds.

The Osun State government in southwestern Nigeria is planning to raise a sukuk bond worth 10 billion Nigerian nairas (some $62 million) from the capital market to fund infrastructural development. The state is awaiting final approval from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). The seven-year bond would be issued through a book-building process, which would earn returns for sukuk holders through a semi-annually paid rent structure called the Ijara. A local credit ratings agency, Agusto and Co, has given the note – to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange – an A rating. The move as part of a 60 billion naira debt-raising program by Osun State, which started last year. The funds will be used to finance construction of education projects, among other development initiatives.

According to Adil Dahlawi, CEO and Managing Director of Itqan Capital, the Islamic banking sector will witness an increasing demand as Islamic financing jumped 27 percent in one year to $1.1 trillion from $800 billion. He noted that one of the most prominent topics discussed at Al Baraka's 34th symposium for Islamic Economic was zakat on debt, especially with the widespread presence of financial institutions specialized in financing from private companies and Banks. Besides, the increase in demand for private and public financing, whose notable effects are apparent on the financial statements of various companies and institutions were important issues. Standard & Poor's earlier forecast that sukuk sales are to double and reach $3 trillion by 2015 in light of companies which are working to capitalize on this growing and promising market.

General Manager of International Banking and Acting Chief Investment Officer at Kuwait Finance House KFH Shaheen Al-Ghanim has announced the emerging KFH Investment Company, previously named Liquidity House. He added that this company will be KFH's main investment arm locally, regionally, and globally. Renaming Liquidity House to KFH Investment is one of the results of the new investment strategy, which is considered to be part of KFH's development and restructuring plan. All of KFH investment holdings and activities will be consolidated and supervised by KFH Investment Company. Furthermore, Al-Ghanim revealed that this company will survive Liquidity Management House (LMH). He noted that the Shareholders General Assembly of LMH had been convened last Thursday and approved changing the name of the company.

Mohammed Obaidullah of the Islamic Development Bank highlighted the role of customers in strengthening Islamic banks and financial institutions by asking right questions and monitoring the bank’s activities and dealings. The customer is the driving force who can make Islamic banking move, he said while giving a lecture on the relevance of Islamic banking and finance in the modern world at the Islamic Education Foundation. Obaidullah called for the establishment of independent Shariah bodies to monitor and approve the activities of Islamic Banks. Moreover, Islamic banking and finance have become a strong industry that will not be shaken by defaulting of some institutions or individuals, he added emphasizing the importance of taking protective regulatory measures. Obaidullah hoped that India would soon get on the bandwagon of Islamic banking since the country could get the much-needed funds available in GCC countries for its infrastructure projects.

On July 1, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) launched BusinessPulse, a portal aimed at providing advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE. www.businesspulse.ae has three main sections: ‘Ignite’ is all about seeding the idea and kick starting the business plan; ‘Enrich’ is about funding the plan and ‘Grow’ deals with facilitating growth and future expansion. A key feature of the portal is a comprehensive library of case studies and videos from successful entrepreneurs. It also features a networking section that will enable SMEs to find the right business partners and contacts. Moreover, visitors can apply for a financing facility of up to AED 2 million through the portal and receive funding advice through interactions with ADIB’s Business banking team. BusinessPulse will be supported by a series of events and seminars, offering SMEs an opportunity to showcase their success stories and learn from others.

The MENA Private Equity Association has released its 2012 annual report highlighting the outlook of the private equity industry in the region. According to the report, the sector continued to show signs of recovery in 2012 with investments and exits both registering significant growth. The report also revealed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and high growth technology and media companies were one of the most active areas in the industry. On the other hand, private equity had suffered from persistent uncertainty in Europe and depressed fundraising environment in 2012. MENA managers focused in 2012 on enhancing value and exit opportunities for their current portfolios. The report concludes that while private equity activity in some countries remains depressed due to uncertainty, investment in these countries is expected to return to historical levels in the short to medium term.

Iraq is seeing a surge in investment activity. The nation begins to rebuild its domestic infrastructure and boost crude oil production. By the end of 2013, Iraq should see 3.5 million barrels of crude per day. Over this year, Iraq’s government is set to increase spending by 18 percent, reaching $118 billion. And the IMF has already projected that Iraq should see a yearly economic growth rate of around 9 percent. Banking in Iraq has come a long way, too, although basic banking infrastructure—ATMs, bank branches—are still lacking across the nation. However, spates of violence and an endemic culture of corruption are likely to cause some problems along the way. The Iraqi dinar is expected to experience a major improvement in terms of value, but it is important to remember that the development will take a while.

Three million muslims live in Britain, and more and more of them are demanding financial products compatible with their faith. British business leaders are eager to cash in on this expanding revenue stream.David Slater and his colleagues of London and Partners, backed by the British government, are now pushing for London to become the global hub for Islamic finance and they’ll be pressing their case at the 9th World Islamic Economic Fórum which will be hosted by London in October. The U.K. already has the largest Islamic banking sector outside the Middle East and Asia. Britain has also changed its commercial and taxation laws to accommodate sharia-compliant finance. More sukuk have been issued on the London Stock Exchange than any other bourse, worth more than $34 billion.

Pakistan's central bank has launched a mass media campaign to raise awareness and acceptance of Islamic finance among consumers in the country. It was developed alongside local Islamic banks, and is expected help the industry reach ambitious targets including a doubling of its branch network in five years and a 15 per cent share of the banking system. The campaign is part of an overhaul of Islamic finance activities in Pakistan, which also includes the establishment of a country-level Sharia board and new rules for Sharia-compliant financial products within the central bank's five-year plan for Pakistan's Islamic banking sector. The country's Islamic banking industry includes five fully-fledged Islamic banks and five takaful (Islamic insurance) firms, with an additional 12 conventional banks offering services through Islamic windows.