IslamicFinance.de

Stanley Carvalho reported in Arabianbusiness on 29 March that Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank became the fourth Abu Dhabi bank to announce it has secured financing from the Ministry of Finance. ADIB secured AED 2.2 bn of government deposits and converted it into regulatory capital following similar moves by rivals in the credit crisis.

With the conversion into Tier 2 capital, ADIB's total equity increases to AED 11.02 bn and its capital adequacy ratio (CAR) will be 19.75 percent.

Tiras Mahmoud is CEO of ADIB.

Albaraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) held its Ordinary and Extra Ordinary General Meetings today in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. A cash dividend of USD 27.9 mn was decided, which represents 4 % of the issued capital further bonus shares were approved in an amount of USD 46.5 at the rate for one share for every 15.

After deducting all the expenses, the total net income amounted to USD 201 mn in 2008, reflecting an increase of 37.1 % over the income in 2007 after excluding the effect of the extraordinary profit arising from the IPO of the Group's unit in Turkey from the profits of 2007.

Oksana Kobzeva reported on 18 March on ArabianBusiness that Russia's second largest bank VTB may become the country's first issuer of sukuk. VTB Capital and Liquidity Management House, a subsidiary of Kuwait Finance House, on Wednesday signed a protocol of intention aimed at cooperating in the development of Islamic finance in Russia and other former Soviet countries.

VTB Capital is headed Yuri Solovyov

Cecilia Valente reported on 25 February that UK Islamic bank Gatehouse, a unit of Kuwait's Securities House, is set to close its first real estate deal in the coming months, refinancing a continental European property worth about 100 million euros ($128.5 million). The CEO David Testa is cited to have said the bank expected to seal the deal by the end of the second quarter, declining to identify precisely the property or its location. He defines the range of business the four wholesale Islamic banks in the UK could do at deals between GBP 20-40 mn.

Gatehouse, the latest UK-based Islamic bank to be approved by UK market regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA), will finance the deal through a lease and buy-back bond issuance, known as Ijara sukuk.

The sukuk will be placed in the market through the Channel Island-listed Milestone Capital Platform, which the bank said has the capacity to issue debt to up to $1 billion.

Testa said Gatehouse was also involved in raising $50 million for a commodity deal with a Latin American company, which he declined to name.

Andy Sambidge reported on 25 February in Arabianbusiness that Dubai Islamic Banking reported only a small decline in net profit in 2008, AED 1.73 bn (USD 471 mn) in net profit for 2008. DIB’s total assets as of December 31, 2008, stood at AED 84.6 bn, up slightly compared to the end of the same period in 2007.

DIB’s full-year results reflected total impairment provisions of AED 521 million (including writedowns on its investment portfolio) and mark-to-market losses on equity investments of AED 277 million. The majority of these were recorded in the fourth quarter of the year, one of the primary reasons impacting profitability during the last quarter of 2008.

The Board of directors of Dubai Islamic Bank has proposed a cash dividend of 25 percent and bonus share of five percent for 2008.

Martin Morris reported on 23 February in Arabianbusiness that Moody's, says the fundamental credit outlook for the Qatari banking system is negative, reflecting expectations of a weakening in operating conditions.
In its new Banking System Outlook on Qatar the agency examines the likely future direction of fundamental credit conditions in the industry over the next 12 to 18 months. It does not represent a projection of rating upgrades versus downgrades.

Negative factors evaluated are the asset quality, impacted by property lending and the reduced profitability also impacted by stock market developments. The direct impact of the financial crisis has however so far been limited.

Rania El Gamal reported on 12 February on Arabianbusiness that the operations of Global Jordan unit were halted by court due to a dispute over a financing by Housing Bank by a Jordanian court. An agreement reached allowed the court to revert its ruling. Housing Bank was no longer willing to a accept a guarantee of Global Kuwait in favour of Global Jordan unit.

The size of Global's portfolio in Jordan in September was about USD 900 mn and included investments in real estate, financial services and industry. Global also opened a brokerage business for Amman's financial markets.

Rebecca Bundhun reported on 14 January in Arabianbusiness that Moody's sees the fundamental credit outlook for the UAE banking system as negative, as it comes under strain from falling property prices and tightening liquidity conditions. Moody’s Investors Service said on Wednesday its prediction covered the next 12 to 18 months and reflects the number of bank loans given to 'opportunistic' developers, who would struggle to repay them as the property market undergoes a correction.

John Tofarides is a Moody's analyst.

Martin Morris reported on 10 February on Arabianbusiness that Moody's Investors Service, has assigned Baa1 long-term and Prime-2 short-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings and a D+ bank financial strength rating (BFSR) to Bahrain Islamic Bank. (BisB). The rating outlook is stable.

Soren Billing reported on 10 February in Arabianbusiness that credit default swaps for Mideast lenders have risen substantially led by Bahrain, spreads have widened by 174.2 basis points (bps) in the last three months, followed by Saudi Arabia (114.8 bps), Abu Dhabi (96.7 bps) and Qatar at (70 bps), Corporates in the region have been hit even harder. The CDS spreads on Dubai based companies range between 600 bps and 1,100 bps, which is significantly higher than on Abu Dhabi based corporations, which range between 250 bps and 400 bps. The yield on Nakheel’s Sukuk that matures on Dec. 14 this year reached 41.9 % from 27.7 % a month ago.

Frederik Richter reported on Arabianbusiness on 1 February that Gulf Finance House is looking for acquisitions of undervalued assets in the region.

Deputy Chief Executive Mehran Jamsheer was cited.

Rebecca Bundhun reported on Arabianbusiness on 29 January that Dubai Islamic Bank partners with Hawkamah Institute has signed a "founding member" sponsorship agreement with corporate governance organisation the Hawkamah Institute.

Joanna Hartley reported on 24 January that the Saudi banking sector has posted poor results for the last quarter of 2008 impacted by the global economic environment according to Fitch rating, saying that 2009 will be challenging. The preliminary 2008 results released by the 10 main commercial banks in the kingdom confirmed that the last quarter of 2008 was the worst quarter of the year for all. Despite this the 10 banks remain among the highest rated by Fitch Ratings across the GCC region and generally have sound domestic franchises.

The expectation of tougher conditions for the banks and lower profitability in the coming months resulted in most banks' individual ratings being downgraded in December 2008. Their long-term issuer default ratings largely remain driven by the extremely high probability of support from the Saudi Arabian government (rated 'AA-').

Liau Y-Sing reported on 23 January that the largest Islamic bank is announced to be launched in June operating out of Bahrain with a paid up capital of USD 11 bn; the Islamic Development Bank being the largest shareholder according to Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, chairman of the General Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions. The bank, which has yet to be formally named, has been in the pipeline for several years and is currently undergoing final review by IDB on its capital input. While a total of $1 billion will be raised by private investors, including IDB, the other $10 billion is expected to come from an IPO on the Bahrain stock exchange, Sheikh Saleh Abdulla Kamel is cited.

Stanley Carvalho reported on 21 January in Arabianbusiness that two financial institutions in the Gulf may be licensed to introduce Islamic banking in france later this year according to a member of the French banking delegation, one of them being Qatar Islamic Bank, the second possibly located in Bahrain.

Andy Sambidge reported on 13 January 2009 in Arabianbusiness on the launch of the Sharia compliant Capinnova Investment Bank by The Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and has an authorised capital of USD 500 mn and paid-up capital of USD 125 mn. Capinnova’s core areas of business will include private equity, asset management and corporate finance.

Capinnova’s chairman is A. Karim Bucheery. CEO is Jamal Hijres.

Deutsche Bank announced the launch of “Al Mi’yar”, a platform to facilitate the issuance of Sharia compliant securities domiciled in Luxembourg with Luxembourg Financial Group AG as the Sharia investment manager. Deutsche Banks Trust & Securities Services group providing the settlement framework. The platform allows for access of all asset classes including money market instruments.

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...

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.

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/