IslamicFinance.de

Business 24/7 reported on 6 January that the real estate developer said that Deyaar's contracts will be Shariah-compliant and they are going to deal exclusively with Islamic banks. Deyaar is an affiliate of Dubai Islamic Bank. Markus Giebel, the CEO of Deyaar has written a column for Business 24/7.

Zawya reported that Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Ghuddah the Chairman of Minhaj announced the launch of its operations in DIFC, which will provide advisory and training services. Sheikh Amin Fateh is the resident Sharia Advisor. The other Sharia scholars involved are: Dr. Mohammad Sultan Al Olama, Dr. Muhammad Amin Qattan, Dr. Yousef Abdullah Al-Shubaily, SH. Abdul Sattar Kattan and Dr. Ibrahim Ali Alshal.

About Minhaj
MINHAJ is a DIFC based company specializing in providing Shari'ah financial advisory services, supervision, Shari'ah auditing, revision and training for Islamic and traditional financial institutions. It is the outcome of a partnership between Tharaa Holding and a number of most prominent scholars and specialists in the Islamic financial services industry world wide.

AMEInfo reported on 6 January about the announcement of Noor Investment Group to launch its Noor Takaful brand. All services will be offered either through Noor Takaful Family or Noor Takaful General, which are headquartered in Dubai and have a combined paid up capital of Dhs 150 mn, offering a suite of general and family takaful coverage for individuals, businesses and corporate clients. The aim is to expand the reach of these companies to include the Middle East and North African region.

According to Arabian Business, the international expansion plans of Noor are holded for the time.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/542803-noor-investments-international-exp...

Reuters reported on 6th January that Brunei has sold Brunei Dollar 148 million (USD 100.7 mn) of short-term Sukuk, it sold the bonds in four different issuances, with maturity periods ranging from 91 days to 364 days.
This brings total government issuance to Brunei Dollar 1.3 bn to date. Brunei government has been issuing Islamic debt since April 2006.

Chris Cook opined in an Asia Times Online feature as guest writer that the Gulf takes the wrong currency path, commenting on the announced creation of a GCC currency union along the lines of the Euro. He sees the alternative to the central banking model as a peer-to-peer "Gulf Clearing Union" similar to the Swiss Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft. WIR members are obliged to give security over their property by way of collateral, it is a monetary system that is "property-backed". The key innovation that will enable a Gulf Clearing Union is the simple expedient of creating - within a suitable legal framework - a "petro" unit redeemable in a constant amount of energy value. Settlement of credit would take place in petros, in goods or services by reference to the petro, or in dollars or other currency acceptable to the seller.

Chris Cook is a former director of the International Petroleum Exchange and is now a strategic market consultant, entrepreneur and commentator.

Swiss WIR bank concept: http://www.wir.ch/

Devon Maylie reported on 5 January in Barron`s magazine, that commodity-focused companies and hedge funds are introducing special products that comply with Islamic law, either equity based or as direct exposure to commodities. Ian MacDonald, executive director for gold and precious metals at Dubai Multi Commodities Center is cited to claim that there are not enough effort spent on Sharia compliant commodity products so far. The DMCC is seed financing with USD 50 mn each a range of commodity oriented equity funds managed by BlackRock Capital Management, Tocqueville Asset Management, Zweig-DiMenna International Managers and Lucas Capital Management on its platform in partnership with US based Shariah Capital. London-based ETF Securities last year launched an exchange-traded fund for precious metals that is being marketed to Sharia investors. The World Gold Council is also partnering with DMCC to launch a similar product in March.

Arabianbusiness reported on 5 January the successful first closing of the Sharia compliant fund Rasmala MENA Private Equity Fund 2, with USD 120 million in commitments received. The fund is primarily focused on mid-cap opportunities in the GCC and Egypt that benefit from the region’s GDP growth.

Tamer Bazzari is Deputy CEO at Rasmala and member of the Fund’s investment committee.

Reuters reported on 31 December that Indonesia plans to issue international bonds, and Sukuk. Timing is not scheduled yet. Treasury Director General Rahmat Waluyanto was quoted.

More background: http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINJAK38567320081231

Dubai`s corporate bonds pricing in further economic difficulties according to Nish Popa, ING Investment Management. The yield on the 3-year Sukuk issued by Nakheel Development, soared to 32% from 5% in January 2008.

Arab News reported on 31 December that Saudi Hollandi Bank closed its SAR 775 mn first tranche of a SAR 1.5 bn Tier-II Sukuk issuance approved by the bank`s shareholders. The 10-year floating rate note is 2 % above SIBOR (Saudi Interbank Offered Rate) and can be called at the end of 5 years. According to the Chairman Mubarak Al-Khafrah Saudi Hollandi is the first to support its capital in this way. Saudi Hollandi Capital acted as sole lead manager & book runner for this transaction.

Geoff Calvert is the managing director.

AllAfrica reported on 27 December 2008 about the openining of Salam African Bank collaborated by Somali and Djibouti businessmen and openend by Djibouti president Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Mohamed Yusuf Ahmed Allore is said to be one of the managers.

Shveta Pathak reported in Business 24/7 on 30 December about the opportunity of micro finance in the Middle East interviewing Jack Lowe, President of BlueOrchard, USA, a Swiss micro finance company.

Jack Lowe, President of BlueOrchard, USA, sees the stable returns and low volatility offered by micro finance as key benefits making it a preferred asset class. The stable returns and low volatility are achieved because micro finance is closely linked to real economy, the society and has the advantage of managing the current situation better.

With the UAE Ministry of Economy having been assigned the task of launching a federal strategy to develop a programme to support and finance small start-ups in the UAE, micro finance institutions are hopeful of tapping the market Lowe told Emirates Business in an exclusive interview.

Excerpts from the interview: http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2008/12/pages/12302008_f5a31399c6914...

Richard Agnew wrote on Arabian Business on 29 December about the Global Challenge: Gulf investors are being sought to fund USD 100 mn contests to tackle world changing breakthroughs in fields such as space exploration and life sciences. Peter Diamandis is chairman of the US-based X-Prize Foundation, which manages on behalf of the investors the contest.

Launched in 1996, the X-Prize Foundation is credited with helping to kickstart the commercial space industry through the Ansari X-Prize — a USD 10 mn competition won by the Paul Allen-backed SpaceShipOne vehicle in 2004. Large prices should change the way people think, from questioning the feasibility to discussing the delivery. Future contest may focus on mapping the ocean floor, boosting food production, and for example a person who is severely handicapped from spinal cord injuries could be given the ability to regain their functionality.

http://www.xprize.org/

The UAE is hosting the sixth International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition - DIHAD 2009 from 7th - 9th of April 2009 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai. It is organised by Index Holding with the offical support of the United Nations and the UAE Red Crescent Society. The theme of the event is "Empowering Communities: From Disaster to Development". Specialised sessions are offered:

- Building Community Resilience and Capacity for Disaster Preparedness and Response
- Climate Change and the Global Food Crisis: How can Communities prepare and respond.
- Case Studies of Mitigation, Preparedness and Response to Disasters and other emergencies at the Community Level Urban and Rural Environments.
- Technologies, partnerships and approaches to support communities to prepare and respond to Disasters and direct their development.
- Recovery from Disasters and Sustainable Development -Community Mobilization, and Community Empowerment and Development through Micro-Credit: Global Experience.

Reuters reported on 30 December that Japanese investors have expressed interest in developing Islamic capital market products, according to a local newspaper quoting Aseambankers Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Rashdan Mohammed Yusof. No company names were disclosed in the interview, however Aseambankers, the investment bankers of Maybank Group plans to develop the Sukuk market in Japan.

Hedge Fund Review reported on 22 December about the Falcon Fund launched by Da Vinci Invest of Zurich, aiming to invest in the carbon markets and forestry.

The fund will actively trade the carbon markets on a short-term basis and invest in forestry for the long term. Da Vinci Invest expects this strategy provide consistent value growth, diversification and an environmental benefit. Rainforest Invest, Forest Finance and Miller Forest will source opportunities in Panama, Costa Rica and Paraguay.

Only land formerly used for agricultural will be planted. No rainforest will be cut to farm the plantations. The Da Vinci Green Falcon Fund will charge a 2% management fee and a 20% incentive fee.

Da Vinci Invest, incorporated in 2004 as a UK company, is based in Zug.

UGPulse.com reported on 18 December that Global Trust Bank considers to introduce Sharia banking. Global Trust Bank was recently created and has its headquarters in Nigeria.

Richard Byarugaba is the Managing Director and told journalists that the bank is going to carry out a survey in the Ugandan market to see whether Ugandans need and are ready for such a product of sharia banking.

Manabu Hara reported on 12 December in Asahi Newspaper that the Japanese Government has taking a step more to introduce Islamic finance. Earlier this month, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) amended financial regulations to let bank subsidiaries handle Islamic finance operations. But still Murabaha transactions are subject to tax issues.

Switzerland-based Zurich Financial Services Group has established a joint Islamic insurance venture with Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company (ADNTC). The joint venture, called Zurich Takaful Company Limited, will be based in Dubai at Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) and will deal with family takaful businesses across the Middle East. It is 51% owned by Zurich and 49% owned by ADNTC. Zurich’s initial focus will be establishing its DIFC office as a regional hub, which will then act as a springboard for future growth in the region.

Mohammed Abbas and John Irish, reported on Gulf News (Reuters) on 9 March about the Sukuk market tendencies driven by sellers issuing in local currencies at low rates. The fallen LIBOR rates due to Federal Reserve policy are above off-setting for the increased margins asked for credit clients.

Local currencies are in favour as long as speculation is around about reevaluation of the dollar peg - this also limits the foreign demand for Sukuk and exposure to Gulf credit markets. Local currency Sukuk are relying on the GCC internal demand for such paper.

Source: http://archive.gulfnews.com/business/money/10212004.html