IslamicFinance.de

Burj Bank has launched an employee driven CSR initiative called "Giving beyond the Workplace Campaign". As part of the program, Burj Bank Employees along with the Senior Management team visited the TCF (The Citizen's Foundation) Qayyumabad campus as an Earth Day CSR Activity. Burj Bank members adopted one class each for the day where they spent their time in storytelling, book reading and educating the students about the importance of Earth Day. Ahmed Khizer Khan, President & CEO of Burj Bank also presented a donation cheque from Burj Bank's Charity Fund to Asaad Ayub Ahmad, President & CEO of TCF.

Barwa Bank has elected its new nine-member board of directors (for 2013-2015) with Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani as chairman and managing director. The other members on the board are Abdulaziz Mohamed Hamad Almana (vice chairman); Mohamed Esmail Ali al-Emadi; Abdulla Abdulaziz Abdulla al-Subaie; Mohamed Ebrahim Mohammad al-Sulaiti; Aisha Mohamed al-Noaimi; Sultan Yousef al-Sulaiti; Jamal Abdul Rahman al-Musalmani and Nasser Hamad Ali al-Sulaiti (all board members). The board of directors also appointed Talal Ahmed Abdulla al-Khaja as a secretary to the board, which will meet at least six times a year and ad hoc as required.

In 2007, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) created the Science, Technology and Innovation Organisation (STIO) to organise cooperative research and pool resources among its 57 member countries. STIO’s operated under the banner ‘Your money for your projects’ butut there is very little to show for its six years of existence. One problem is the politics of power within the Islamic world. It is important to rise above such politics to create organisations with shared ownership. Furthermore, member countries are allowed to spend up to 90 per cent of their financial commitment to STIO within their countries with just 10 per cent going to the organisation. Therefore, countries have tended to see the 10 per cent contribution as an undesirable tax. Without a fresh perspective, major redesign, and some inspiration, STIO is likely to remain dead on arrival.

European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB) is an Islamic finance institution which operates in accordance with Sharia’a law, and bridges the gap between the financial markets of the West/OECD & the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. EIIB evolved into an investment company which invests in bonds/loans on a relatively un-leveraged basis and a mixed bag of private equity (PE) investments. A strategic review was also completed, which confirmed EIIB’s new focus on building recurring revenue streams, primarily within the Asset Management business. With further head-count reductions & cost control to come, plus geographical & functional integration savings to be captured, EIIB's losses will be eliminated in due course.

Kenya-based Takaful Insurance of Africa Ltd. plans to expand into five East African countries, including Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia and the self-declared sovereign state Somaliland, as part of the insurer's plans for the 2013-2017 period, CEO Hassan Bashir said.

Thomson Reuters released a comprehensive guide to Islamic insurance titled "Takaful Primer 2013". The guidebook is authored by Dr. Omar Fisher who had earned a PhD. in Takaful through a combined graduate program of the International Islamic University of Malaysia and Camden University of Delaware in 2005. It features an introduction to Takaful system and its unique features. Furthermore, it includes current industry trends, worldwide statistics, and a perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the Takaful industry. The guidebook contains an extensive glossary of terms in Arabic and English, together with a comprehensive directory of Takaful Operators globally.

Indonesian syariah lender PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia Syariah aims to raise up to US$300 million (RM912 million) through an initial public offering of at least 20 per cent of its capital. The IPO, subject to approval by the market regulator, is expected by the second quarter of this year and will make Muamalat the first syariah bank to list on the Indonesian stock exchange. Bank Muamalat has 2.5 million customers. Indonesia is expected to host several IPOs this year as companies look to tap excess liquidity in the stock market, which reached an all-time high this week.

Islamic banking is the fastest growing segment of Pakistan’s financial services sector, with an average anual growth rate of 59.6%. However, 67% of Islamic banking customers also use conventional banks, largely due to a wider range of services offered by conventional banks. Ultimately, however, the Islamic banks seem to have caught on the need to compete on their service breadth and quality. Islamic bank CEOs have all emphasised the fact that their banks now offer the full complement of services offered at conventional banks. A study revealed that deposits in Islamic banks appear to be growing mostly due to customers switching from conventional to Islamic banks. Very few customers start out from scratch at an Islamic bank.

In Pakistan, a number of businesses have emerged, which are collecting investments informally from an increasing number of people, and offering them very lucrative and frequent returns. Although it may sound incredible, it is not impossible to offer such returns. However, there is a definite need to look into the matter with respect to money laundering, even if the investments are genuine, and the returns offered by those groups actually come from the investments they made. One thing that these informal groups claim is perhaps true: putting your money in banks does not generate appropriate returns to investors. If a proper corporate governance and regulatory framework is devised for these informal Shariah-compliant investment and business groups, one may observe a new way of doing business in compliance with Shariah.

Insurance group Great Eastern Holdings Ltd has no plans for merger and acquisition activities (M&A) as the valuations are high, according to its group chief executive officer Chris Wei. However, the company is closely watching the market. Wei added that the lofty offer prices were underpinned by multiple reasons, aptly that Asia being one of the most attractive markets compared with Europe and the United States, hence, attracting foreign capital. He said the group would continue to grow responsibly and further strengthen its position as a life company rather than just a life insurance company by promoting health in the communities it operated in.

As the conventional financial system is losing credibility, many believe some form of an ethical finance system could be a better option. Ethical finance can mean investing in companies which have business models that are sustainable in an ecological, social, economic and political way. Islamic finance, through its investment filters, provides one means of doing so. However, for ethical finance to take firm root, it must appear to be as competitive as conventional finance. Customers, after all, may not be willing to pay a premium for their beliefs. Moreover, it is important to mention that Islamic banks are open to non-Muslims and Muslims alike. If Islamic finance was presented as ethical financing, which is what it is, there is a lot of demand.

The Islamic Development Bank plans to invest US$3 billion into the Egyptian market over the next five years as it sees promise and many long-term investment opportunities there. The funds would come in the form of financing and investment. Over the past few years the bank has made investments in Egypt worth US$3 billion, of which US$1 billion came during the last year alone. The Islamic Bank increased its investments in Egypt after the 25 January revolution, at a time when several international institutions had doubts about investing in the nation. The bank’s main objective is to support development.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is reviewing the government's recent measures on the Padma Bridge Project to take a decision on revival of its committed funding support for it. As part of the original deal, it was supposed to to provide US$ 140 million for the approach road on the bridge's Jajira side. The ministry of finance is hopeful of getting the fund from the lender. However, IDB is observing what steps the government takes on the main bridge construction and river training work. So far, the project has not yet matured enough for IDB to reconsider its decision on it.

The 2nd Joint District Judge Court, Dhaka has given its verdict on Social Islami Bank Ltd's plea to dispose off the entire shares and delist the names of Islamic Charitable Society and Shahir Abdulraouf Batterjee from the bank's Share Register Book. The order depicts that the Islamic Charitable Society and Shahir Abdulraouf Batterjee being banned and non-existent entity, and hence, SIBL is entitled to sell the aforesaid shares and deposit the sale proceeds thereof in the special reserve account / suspense account. The Court also empowered SIBL to delete the names of both Islamic Charitable Society and Shahir Abdulraouf Batterjee from the bank's Share Register Book after selling of the aforesaid shares.

Business men and royalty from the Middle East have been acquiring majority shares in some of Europe’s supposed “less attractive” soccer clubs. Malaga, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are the three biggest Middle Eastern owned assets, and all three have made improvements since the introduction of their respective owners. What the 2012/13 Champions League season has shown is that investment from Middle Eastern owners can only get a club so far, after that the club has to let the players gel and grow together. The Champions League crown will once again be the main target next season, and if the clubs use the summer months well, they could be serious challengers; Manchester City most likely as underdogs, but Paris Saint-Germain, certainly as one of the favourites.

UBL Funds introduced the UBL Islamic Principal Preservation Fund on April 01, 2013. For the first time in Pakistan, investments can be made in a Shariah Compliant investment scheme with 100 percent exposure into the stock market while benefiting from the principal preservation advantage. According to UBL Funds' CEO Mir Muhammad Ali, the investors benefit with the fund's pioneer methodology of Constant Proportion Portfolio Insurance (CPPI) in Shariah compliant investments. The CPPI method is intended to control risk and protect capital via daily valuation of risk budget available and daily portfolio rebalancing thus aiming to preserve the principal investment.

The Kuala Lumpur-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) plans to issue $500 million through its sukuk programme in the second quarter of this year. The long-awaited announcement was overshadowed by the unexpected pull-out of Saudi central bank, selling its shareholding to Qatar and Malaysia. According to industry executives, the pull-out would not necessarily deter Saudi commercial banks from buying the IILM sukuk - and that even if it did, demand in other countries would be more than ample. A key factor will be the yield that the IILM sukuk pays versus the cost of funds at individual banks.

The report “State of Social Performance in Nepal” from the US-based Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) examines the social performance (SP) of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Nepal. The report notes that the biggest SP management challenge facing the 37 Nepali MFIs is that of tracking outcomes related to institutions’ development goals. The report “Trends in Sharia-Compliant Financial Inclusion” presents an analysis of recent advancements in Sharia-compliant financial inclusion as well as challenges inhibiting its further expansion. Finding sustainable Islamic models could be the key to providing financial access to millions of poor Muslims. In the report “Private Sector Development Solutions – Jobs”, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) argues that good jobs provide a clear pathway out of poverty. Because 60 percent of the developing world’s current jobs are in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, the authors highlight the need for enhanced access to finance to allow for more investment and growth.

Islamic finance and socially responsible investing (“SRI”) have been two of the most rapidly growing areas of finance over the last two decades. Although both types of investors seek to achieve a strong return on their investments, Muslim and non-Muslim SRI investors are also looking for their investments to make a positive impact on their societies. Islamic finance and SRI both suffer from a distinct lack of liquid fixed income investment options. A socially responsible sukuk could fill a need for both markets simultaneously and also help bridge the divide between the conventional and Islamic financial markets.

Arcapita Bank and its debtor affiliates have filed a first amended joint plan of reorganisation and a related disclosure statement in their Voluntary Chapter 11 cases in the US. The agreements implemented by the plan allow for the orderly sale of the portfolio investments at a time and price that maximises recoveries for both Arcapita's creditors and its investors. The plan avoids expensive litigation and facilitates a prompt emergence from bankruptcy. A hearing on approval of the proposed disclosure statement related to the amended plan is scheduled before the US Court on April 26. A confirmation hearing date has not yet been scheduled.