IslamicFinance.de

Mohannad Sharaw, Saudi Gazette, reported on 18 April that Bank AlJazira increased the bank's capital from SAR 2.250 bn (255 mn equities) to SAR 3 bn (300 million equities), or a 33.3 percent increase and the the total number of shares of 27 stakeholders reached 142,201,320 mn, representing 63 % of the bank's 255 million equities. The SAR 750 mn hike will be deducted from the net profits account according to the SAMA regulations.

The 42nd general annual meeting of the bank was held at Jeddah Hilton led by Taha Bin Abdullah Al-Qwaiz, head of the board, along with Abdullah Saleh Kamel, Abdullah Al-Angari, Khalid Bin Omar Al- Baltan, Eng. Abdul Majid Al-Sultan, Khalifa Bin Abdul Latif Al-Mulhim, Mishari Bin Ibrahim Al- Mishari, and Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al-Mudbel.

The board likewise approved dividend of SR0.50 per each equity owned and registered at Tadawul by the end of the stock market session on Wednesday and the added profits on April 29.

Source: http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080418071404

Reuters reported on 20 April that JP Morgan eyes a stake in Kuwait Finance House quoting a local daily al-Anba based on an unsourced report. The local paper shall have said that the U.S. bank had applied to the central bank of Kuwait to approve a stake buy, adding it was unclear how large a stake it wanted to acquire.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/innovationNews/idUSL2066795520080420

Albawaba reported on 20 April that Ajman Bank PJSC it had held its Founding General Assembly meeting for shareholders of the company.
Convened on Wednesday 16 April, the shareholders approved all of the meeting’s resolutions including the completion of the incorporation of the Bank; the adoption of the Bank’s Memorandum and Articles of Association; the Founders’ report and the Pre IPO Auditing report.

Ajman Bank will be Ajman’s first commercial bank. Investors include the Government of Ajman and some of the UAE’s leading financial institutions and private individuals.

The Board of Directors comprises:

HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Vice Chairman
HH Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Member
Dr Ali Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Member
Mr Ali bin Abdullah Al Hamrani, Member
Mr Yousef Ali Fadil Bin Fadil, Member
Mr Salem Rashid Al Khadar, Member

The Fatwa and Shariah Board comprises:

Dr Husain Hamid Hassan, Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrazaq Al Siddiq,
Dr Jassim Ali Al Shamsi

Yousif Khalaf, the CEO of Ajman Bank and former CEO of Bahrain Islamic Bank and Ithmaar Bank.

Business 24/7 reported on 16 April that Dubai International Capital (DIC) talks with Dubai Islamic Bank about setting up a Shariah-compliant Islamic bank in Jordan.

Sameer Al Ansari heads Dubai International Capital. DIC manages a $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) fund investing in Jordan.

Source: http://www.business24-7.ae/cs/article_show_mainh1_story.aspx?HeadlineID=...

Tradearabia reported on 15 April that the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the new Islamic bank, Alinma, oversubscribed the SAR 10.5 bn (USD 2.8 bn) three days before the close of subscriptions.

Alinma Bank sought to sell 1.05 billion shares at 10 riyals each representing 70 % of the banks capital. The bank raised 10.64 billion riyals from about 5.4 million subscribers.

The Public Investment Fund and two state pension funds - the General Organisation for Social Insurance (GOSI) and the Public Pension Agency - will equally share the remaining 30 % of Alinma's SAR 15 bn capital.

Source: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CM_141803.html

Mahanum Abdul Aziz reported on 19 April on Bernama that Takaful Ikhlas Targets RM 70 mn in premium from its government housing loan scheme.

Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman is president and chief executive officer.

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/state_news/news.php?id=327888&cat=st

Parag Deulgaonkar reported 22 April in Business 24/7 that Kuwait-based Abyaar Real Estate Development is to launch a USD 1 bnsukuk issue before year-end to finance its projects and will dual list its share on the Dubai Financial Market, for which it has appointed NBD Investment Bank as financial advisor and placement agent.

Marzooq Al Rashdan is Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Abyaar

Source: http://www.business24-7.ae/cs/article_show_mainh1_story.aspx?HeadlineID=...

David Masters reported on 15 April about the new Ernst & Young Report in the Insurance Daily, which says that the GCC countries contribute USD 1 bn to the USD 2 bn global Takaful market, which is supposedly growing at 20 %. Worldwide there are 133 Takaful operators. 59 of these operate within the GCC countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Ernst & Young’s head of Islamic finance is Sameer Abdi.

Source: http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk/2008/04/15/takaful-market-booming-in-gcc/

Full study at E&Y:

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/UK/_Islamic_Financial_Services

Dow Jones Newswire reported on 18 April, that Villamar Sukuk Company Limited has priced USD 190 mn of 2013-dated, sukuk floating-rate-notes through Merrill Lynch and Al Rajhi Banking & Invesment Corporation. It is going to be listed at the DIFX.

Source: http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidDN20080418003227

Bernama reported on 18 April that Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak) fully redeems senior and junior debt issues.

RAM said, it will maintain surveillance on the AA2 ratings of Litrak's Sukuk Musyarakah Islamic Medium-Term Notes I Programme of up to RM1.15 billion and Sukuk Musyarakah Islamic Medium-Term II Programme up to RM300 million, as well as the P1 rating of the company's Islamic Commercial Papers Programme of up to RM100 million.

All the long-term ratings have a stable outlook, it said.

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=327699

Eileen A. Mencias reported in Manila Standard Today on 15 April that the Philippine Government plans a USD 900 - 1000 mn 5-year sukuk through Al-Amanah Islamic Bank to provide a long-term financing package for the acquisition of the Metro Rail Transit-3 project along Edsa to replace bridge finance by the Development Bank Philippines (DBP). First Metro is teaming up with the DBP to arrange the Sukuk bonds. DBP is in the process of taking over control of Al-Amanah Islamic Bank. CIMB and Islamic Development Bank are supposed to assist in structuring.

Juanchito Dispo is executive vice president of First Metro Investment Corp.

Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=business2_april15_2008

Moody's released on 14 April that Moody's assigns first-time IFSR of Aa3 to ICIEC with stable outlook stable outlook.

The Corporation was established in 1994 at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. ICIEC provides export credit insurance and re-insurance for exports emanating from its member countries, to anywhere in the world, to cover the non-payment of export receivables resulting from commercial or non commercial risks.

ICIEC is a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB, rated Aaa by Moody's), which holds 51% of ICIEC's issued shares through its waqf fund, a special fund established by IDB.

Moody's notes that ICIEC's rating reflects both the stand-alone fundamentals as well as potential support from its shareholders/IDB Group member countries.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/153294.html

Business Intelligence reported on 13 April that International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally-focused Islamic investment bank based in Bahrain, announced the successful initial public offering of ARTES, the exclusive distributor of Renault, Nissan and Dacia in Tunisia.

Aabed Al-Zeera is Chief Executive Officer of IIB.
Mohamed Hadi Mejai is Executive Director, Investment and Business Development, IIB.

Source: http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?c=3&cg=2&t=1&id=19150

Talal Malik reported on 14 April in Arabian Business that Dow Jones Indexes opens its first Middle East office in Dubai.

Michael A. Petronella is president of Dow Jones.
Sumeet Nihalani is Dow Jones' senior director of sales for the region.
Imran Vohra is Head of Dubai office.
Rushdi Siddiqui is global director of Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes.

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/516453-dow-jones-indexes-opens-first-midd...

Business Intelligence reported on 14 April that the "First Persia Equity Fund", opened its second-phase of subscription and it aims to raise Euro 250 m, the fund was established in July 2007 with Euro 34 mn.

Shares listed on the Teheran Stock Exchange, TEPIX, which advanced 3.9% so far this year, trade at an average of 4 or 5 times earnings. That compares to a multiple of 15 for the MSCI GCC Countries Index, a measure of more than 140 companies in six GCC states.

Stephen Austen is the fund's Managing Director. The fund is said to have outperformed the benchmark so far.

Source: http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?c=3&cg=2&t=1&id=19192

Shami Bank released on 13 April the successful closure of its USD 90 mn Shamil Bosphorus Modaraba, an investment vehicle with an expected 60 % over three years focussing on residential and mixed-use real estate developments in Istanbul, and secondary homes on the Turkish coast.

The total cost of the projects targeted is approximately USD 450 mn. Shamil Bank subscribed to 10 % of the USD 90 mn.

Abdul Hakim Al Mutawa is Investment and Private Banking Head of Shamil Bank.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_pressreleases&view=d...

Property Report reported on 11 April that the Emirates NBD Group launches the Sharia compliant Emirates Islamic Global Property Fund, an open-ended daily dealing investment fund to provide investors with access to property globally.

The fund will be managed by Emirates Investment Services Ltd (´EIS´), the asset management arm of Emirates NBD group and a company licensed and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. It uses an Islamic certificate that derives its returns based on the profit from a reference index linked to the value of physical commercial property and real estate globally.

EIS has partnered with New Star Asset Management to structure this product as the manager of the reference fund to which returns of the Fund will initially be linked.

Jamal Bin Ghalaita is Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management at Emirates NBD.

Source: http://www.property-report.com/aprarchives.php?id=1373&date=110408

Kuwait Financial Centre released on 7 April the launch of Markaz Islamic Income Fund, a Sharia compliant money market fund with a variable capital of KD 5 mn to KD 50 mn. The fund is licensed and approved by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry the Fund shall invest its money in all available financial and money market instruments within the State of Kuwait and abroad in Kuwaiti Dinars and/or other major currencies actively traded in the financial markets. The Fund investments shall include Mudaraba Sukuk, Murabaha or Wakala, and other Sharia compliant Islamic instruments.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/152636.html

Deal Journal reported on 10 April about potential ambitions of Hong Kong based corporations to issue Sukuk. Those companies cited include the Airport Authority Hong Kong, which is wholly government-owned. The Chinese newspaper Mingpao is cited that the other firms are rail operator MTR Corp. and Hong Kong Mortgage Corp.

MTR denied it is planning an Islamic bond issue.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/04/10/hong-kong-considers-islamic-bonds/

Bank of London and the Middle East released on 14 April the appointment of Mahmoud Faruqui as Senior Advisor.

Having been involved in the Islamic finance industry for over 30 years, Mahmood has extensive experience in advising banks on Strategy, Governance and Sharia'a aspects of product structuring and documentation.

Mahmood has previously worked as Board Member/Advisor of Habib Bank, Alfaysal Investment bank, Faysal Bank, Faysal Islamic Bank of Bahrain, Dar-Al-Maal Islami (DMI) Geneva, and Habib Bank AG Zurich.

As a founder member and secretary at the Pakistan Banking Council, he played a key role in negotiating and obtaining authorised bank status for five Pakistani banks from the Bank of England.

Humphrey Percy is CEO of BLME.

Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_pressreleases&view=d...