IslamicFinance.de

Barwa Bank has promoted Talal Ahmad Al Khaja (pictured) to Chief Communications officer. Al Khaja will oversee marketing and communications and public and shareholder relations. Prior to joining the bank in 2009, he worked across private sector institutions and organisations. Holding a Master’s in business management, a bachelor’s degree from Qatar University, and professional certifications, he has amassed over nine years’ experience in administration, marketing, public relations and corporate governance. During his tenure at the bank, he has contributed to acquisitions of the group’s affiliate companies and subscription management in capital financing in 2011. His efforts led to the establishment of the group’s Investor and Shareholder Relations Department.

Barwa Bank's net profit for the half-year stood at QAR 412 million, while earnings per share rose to QAR 1.39in the first half of 2015, compared with QAR 1.38over the corresponding period in 2014. Underlined by growth across its financing assets and investment securities, the bank's total assets soared by 16% to QAR 41.3 billion for the first half of the year; financing assets alone registered an increase of 10% to exceed QAR 24.4 billion. Owing to Barwa Bank's focus on product and service development and integration across business segments, as well as to a heavy push on tech-driven innovation, customer deposits for the first half of 2015, increased by 4% to stand at QAR 23.2 billion.

Shareholders of Qatar's Barwa Bank approved plans for a $2 billion senior unsecured sukuk programme that could be issued in various currencies, the lender said in a statement on Tuesday. The Islamic bank did not specify a timeframe or size for a potential debut deal. It also received approval to pay a cash dividend of 10 percent to shareholders, the statement said.

Qatar's Barwa Bank has hired Cenk Karacaoglu as head of syndications in the debt business, reporting to the bank's head of capital financing Arsalaan Ahmed. Before joining Barwa, Karacaoglu was briefly Al Rajhi Bank's head of trade finance, a post he held for around four months. Prior to that he was a vice president in the fixed income business of Turkey's Bank Asya for just over 11 years. Before he became a banker, Karacaoglu worked in Singapore Airline's finance department for five years. His hire is "part of the ongoing investment into the debt capital markets platform," a spokesperson for Barwa Bank said.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFI), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, plans to sell a dollar-denominated Islamic bond on November 27. IFFI will look to sell a three-year sukuk of benchmark size and pay an interest rate between 15 basis points and 17 basis points over Libor. Qatar's Barwa Bank, Malaysia's CIMB , National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank and Standard Chartered are arranging the transaction. IFFI is rated AA by Standard and Poor's and AA+ by Fitch.

Barwa Bank's profit reached QR641mn in the third quarter of this year, up by 43% on this time last year. The bank registered a third-quarter net profit of QR447mn in 2013, with total assets increasing to QR36.6bn, a 28% rise over the same period in 2013. Financing assets showed a 31% growth to QR22bn in the third quarter and customer deposits grew by 30% to QR22.1bn. Earnings-per-share improved to QR2.12 compared with QR1.9 for the same period last year. The bank's acting group chief executive officer, Khalid Yousef al-Subeai attributted the growth to improvment in processes and managment practises, which has led to greater efficiency and improved profitibilty.

Qatar's Barwa Bank has been appointed by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm) as Joint Lead Manager (JLM) and bookrunner for a benchmark medium term sukuk issue. Rated AA by Standard and Poor's, Aa1 by Moody's and AA+ by Fitch, IFFIm, for which the World Bank acts as Treasury Manager, has mandated Barwa Bank , amongst four other banks, to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, with a sukuk expected to follow the roadshow. The proceeds of the sukuk will be used to provide free vaccines and related health system strengthening support to many of the world's poorest nations.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation Co. (IFFI), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, has picked four banks for a potential U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk. Rated AA by Standard and Poor's and AA+ by Fitch, IFFI has mandated Qatar's Barwa Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Standard Chartered to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. A potential sukuk offer may follow the roadshows - for which a schedule has not been given - subject to market conditions before the end of the year.

Barwa Bank , Sharia compliant banking service provider from Qatar, has announced the opening of a representative office in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). ?Currently in its fifth year of operation, Barwa Bank enjoys strong relations with major corporates, an increasingly growing SME portfolio and one of the fastest growing retail banking activities in Qatar. This momentum is expected to increase in 2014, as it continues to build up activities. This is the first time Barwa Bank has opened an office overseas and is in line with the bank's plans to develop the Sharia-compliant financial market outside as well as within Qatar, said Khalid Al Subeai, Acting CEO at Barwa Bank.

Barwa Bank has been appointed as one of five Joint Lead Managers for the UK's £200m debut sovereign sukuk. The Qatari lender takes its place alongside HSBC, Standard Chartered, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and CIMB of Malaysia. Of the five banks involved, Barwa Bank is the only Qatari bank selected and the only wholly Shariah-compliant mandated bank on the panel. Britain's first sovereign sukuk delivers on the government's commitment to become the western hub of Islamic finance. Very strong demand for the sukuk is expected, resulting in a price that delivers good value for money.

Qatari lender Barwa Bank expects a sharp increase in its 2013 net profit, driven mainly by billions in infrastructure spending by the Gulf state and growth in its debt advisory and asset management business. The unlisted lender is awaiting regulators' approval a public floatation as part of two share sales planned to raise more than 2.05 billion riyals. It posted a profit of 345 million riyals ($94.75 million) for 2012, a 41 percent increase from the previous year. Moreover, Barwa Bank, through its fully-owned investment banking arm, The First Investor (TFI), plans to partner with local investors in Qatar to invest in the healthcare sector. The bank also manages a Shariah-compliant Gulf equities fund, with 113 million riyals in assets. The fund has returned 19 percent to investors since inception in late 2012.

Qatar-based Barwa Bank recently announcd aseries of changes to its leadership team including the promotions of Khalid Al-Ahbabi to General Manager, Wholesale & Business Banking and Hussain al-Abdulla to General Manager, Personal Banking & Wealth Management, a new role for Keith Bradley as Group Chief Operating Officer & General Manager International as well as the appointment of Nasser Mohamad Al-Hajiri as Chief Administrative Officer. Each individual has several years of experience in the banking sector.

Qatar-based Barwa Bank has reported half-year profits of QR303.6mn, up 85% from the QR162.9mn recorded in the same period last year. Return on equity increased from 6.6% to 11%, with earnings per share rising from QR0.55 to QR1.01 on the back of a 10% increase in total assets to QR27.8bn. The highlight of the first half has been the high level of activity in corporate banking as major infrastructure projects have started to bear fruit. Also, contributing ware the strong performances in the bank’s treasury and trading businesses. Barwa Bank has also seen selective expansion in its retail footprint with two new high-profile branches nearing commissioning and good response to its special outlets located in the Ministry of Interior and the Navy.

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.

Maran Nakilat Company, a joint venture between Nakilat and Maran Ventures, has secured $662.4mn Islamic refinancing. At a ceremony held in Doha, Maran Nakilat signed the Murabaha refinancing agreement with Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Barwa Bank. With the refinancing, Maran Nakilat will be able to expand its fleet of LNG carriers from four vessels to six, with the delivery of two new carriers scheduled for early 2014. At the same time, Nakilat has also increased its ownership of Maran Nakilat Company. Latham & Watkins advised Maran Nakilat on commercial and legal matters related to the refinancing, while Allen & Overy advised QIB and Barwa Bank.

Barwa Bank has acted as joint lead manager on Albaraka Turk Participation Bank's (ABT) $200m Tier 2 sukuk. This transaction represents the first Sukuk Murabaha transaction issued in the international capital markets from Turkey. Barwa Bank has been involved in almost all meaningful sukuk business over the last 12 months, guided by its strategy to become a key player in the Islamic debt capital markets. The ABT sukuk is another milestone for the bank, having been involved with several high profile issuers earlier this year as Co-Lead Manager, notably, the government of Dubai, Emirates Airlines and Dubai Islamic Bank.

Qatar resident Ziyad Rahim, head of market risk at Barwa Bank, recently broke a Guinness World Record by completing the Marathon Grand Slam in just 41 days. In the process, he set the fastest time to complete a marathon on each continent and the North Pole and smashed the previous record of 324 days, which had stood for over six years. He is also the first person in the world to complete two extreme marathons - at Antarctica (-20 degrees Celsius) and the Sahara Desert (50 degrees Celsius) - within a month. Ziyad is an ambassador for CARE, a charity educating underprivileged children in Pakistan. He says he runs to promote health and fitness and raise awareness for the less fortunate.

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.

Barwa Bank expects its sukuk trading platform to become full-fledged by the year-end. Moreover, it sees the market as very competitive and lucrative with a great potential, according to chief investment officer Bashar Jallad. He said Barwa Bank was active in both the primary and secondary sukuk markets and started to act as a custodian for some of the clients. Barwa Bank’s sukuk trading platform is already functional but has not reached the optimum level, Jallad added. A focus area for the bank is relationship management.

Barwa Bank has appointed Khalid al Subeai as Chief Executive Officer at its wholly-owned investment banking subsidiary, The First Investor QSC (TFI). He is responsible for driving TFI's strategy and day-to-day management. Prior to joining Barwa Bank, Al- Subeai has held several leadership positions within the Finance sector in Qatar. Under his leadership, TFi is looking to expand and develop its investment banking franchise.