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Qatar International Islamic Bank (International Islamic) is exploring investment opportunities overseas, especially in some African countries. However, Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei, CEO and member of the board of directors of QIIB, did not to disclose the details. Moreover, the bank is working to open seven new branches in different parts of the country, including one each at The Pear Qatar and Al Khor very soon. The bank’s total revenue for 2013 stood at QR1.458bn, and the net profit reached QR750.3m, with a growth of 10.5 percent compared to 2012, and earnings per share reached QR4.96.

A cooperation agreement between the bourses of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia – the world's two largest Islamic financial services markets – stands to help the industry grow at a greater clip in both countries. The deal, signed on February 20, will see the exchanges in Kuala Lumpur and Riyadh share expertise and develop human resources jointly. It covers topics such as equities, mutual funds and sukuk. Combined, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia hold $682bn in Islamic banking assets. The Saudi exchange, Tadawul, lists the world’s biggest Islamic banks, while Bursa Malaysia hosts the largest and most liquid market for sukuk.

Qatari Islamic bonds are poised to rebound from their steepest weekly drop since November as investors bet issuers' credit strength will resist the country's spat with its neighbours. The yield on Qatari government sukuk due in January 2023 jumped six basis points last week to 3.27 per cent after the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors. The three neighbours of Qatar, keen to maintain stability in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring, are critical of the gas-rich nation's support for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. The ability of issuers to make all payments is not expected to be affected. Although the longer this goes on, the more likely it will have an impact on pricing of new issuance.

The Shariah-focused independent wealth organisation Mahal Thqa has opened in Dubai. The firm is a joint venture between Middle Eastern financial consultants Mondial and US-based venture capital organisation Shariah Capital. It will be lead by chief executive Sadi Hassouneh and will focus on the Middle East’s Arabic-speaking population offering Islamic investment solutions and fund alternatives. Thqa’s investment approach will be based on protecting and growing its client’s capital over the medium-to-long-term and seeks to avoid the “boom-and-bust” results associated with specific asset class risk.

Oman's Bank Nizwa has partnered with the Ministry of Endowment and Religious affairs to create a seamless opportunity for customers to pay their Zakat. Customers can now easily transfer the required amount from their accounts into the allocated Ministry of Religious Affairs account at Bank Nizwa . They can also deposit cash directly into this account. Customers who regularly wish to transfer Zakat can set up a standing order. Bank Nizwa customers who choose to pay their Zakat through the afore mentioned Bank Account are assured of a waiver of fees on all standing orders linked to this account. There are also fee waivers on internal, local and International transfers associated with this account.

Dubai World has prepaid $284.5 million (Dh1 billion) to creditors under its $25 billion debt restructuring plan. The conglomerate reportedly obtained money for the prepayment from asset sales. Under the terms of the restructuring deal, cash raised from asset sales above a threshold of $300 million is to be distributed as early repayments to creditors, which include big Western and Gulf banks. Last December, a unit of Dubai World sold its 50 percent stake in Miami Beach's landmark Fontainebleau hotel. The price was not disclosed, but Dubai World originally had paid $375 million for the stake in 2008. Moreover, Nakheel said last month it was repaying Dh2.35 billion ($640 million) of bank debt 18 months ahead of its maturity in September 2015.

Saudi investment bank NCB Capital has appointed Sarah Al-Suhaimi as CEO and member of the board subject to CMA approval. Tariq Linjawi, who had been acting CEO, is leaving the firm having successfully managed the organization through a transition period. Al-Suhaimi joins, following CMA approval, from Jadwa Investment where she was head of asset management and CIO, managing over SR17 billion of assets in public and private equity, real estate and fixed income. Sarah is the vice chairperson of the advisory committee to the CMA and is a graduate of King Saud University, with a Bachelor of Administrative Science degree in accounting.

Bahrain's central bank governor Rasheed al-Maraj has said he expected further bank consolidation this year after a spree of tie-ups in 2013. The central bank has been encouraging smaller lenders to merge to bolster institutions weakened by a local real estate crash and fall-out from the island kingdom's political unrest in 2011, which has continued sporadically since then. In 2013, there were four separate examples of consolidation in the Bahraini banking sector, further tie-ups are expected to be announced by the end of the year. Moreover, the regulator is encouraging Islamic banks in the kingdom to get credit ratings to improve transparency. Maraj added he expected all banks would have a rating in the next two years.

Bahrain’s Al Salam Bank has launched a listed sharia-compliant real estate investment trust (REIT) that will invest in a portfolio of Asian properties. The REIT will invest in between 15 and 35 properties and be managed by Swiss-based B&I Capital AG, with Al Salam providing seed capital for the fund. The Islamic lender did not reveal the expected size of the fund. Al Salam was an anchor investor in the Sabana Industrial REIT, which was listed on the Singapore exchange in 2010 and was one of the world’s first REITs to adopt Islamic principles. A handful of Islamic REITs have been launched, including Dubai Islamic Bank’s Emirates REIT in 2010. Malaysia now has three listed Islamic REITs.

Since sharia boards tend to be paid by the institutions whose activities they oversee, the scholars can be open to accusations of conflicts of interest. That's why Bahrain’s Waqf Fund has proposed mandatory external sharia audits for Islamic financial institutions. While the proposal is for Bahrain, it may have an impact on Islamic finance globally because of Bahrain’s central role in the industry. The proposal also ties in with growing pressure for reforms to the sharia oversight system in other countries, like Kuwait. The Waqf Fund will develop a framework for external sharia audits with a team of audit firms, scholars and the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI).

Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank reported a net loss of BHD 29.9 million in 2013, compared to a net loss of BHD 10.1 million in 2012. One of the major factors impacting the performance of the Group for this year is the reduction in benchmark profit rates in Pakistan, coupled with increased minimum profit rate on certain liability products resulting in significant margin compression in FBL. The bank has therefore taken some key decisions including cost rationalization measures across the Group. Moreover, the remaining conventional operations of its subsidiary Faysal Bank Limited Pakistan’s (FBL) will be conversed to Islamic banking, subject to approval from FBL shareholders and the regulators.

Growing demand for more sophisticated financial products and services helped drive growth in Bahrain's financial sector during last year, according to the Economic Development Board (EDB) and Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Bahrain attracted a number of businesses, with the number of registered financial services firms swelling to 415 by the end of the year. Alongside strong growth last year, the kingdom also developed a number of reforms to ensure that the regulatory framework of the Islamic banking sector continues to meet the needs and encourage long-term growth. Moreover, the CBB also recently implemented new rules set to boost the takaful sector by addressing some issues around solvency. Bahrain also had one of the most developed Islamic finance knowledge landscape, and performed well in terms of governance.

ABC Islamic Bank has announced that its net profit for last year was $12.2 million, 48 per cent higher than the previous year of $8.3m. Net profit for the fourth quarter of last year was $3m, 112pc higher than the same period of 2012. Total operating income grew 12.8pc to $18.1m compared to the previous year while operating expenses decreased by more than 20pc to $5.5m. No impairment provisions were required during the year. The bank's capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 27.6pc, predominantly Tier 1, which totalled 26.2pc. ABC Islamic Bank's total assets stood at $1.002 billion, compared to $1.067bn in 2012.

Saudi Arabia's government plans to sell a 15 percent stake in National Commercial Bank (NCB) in an initial public offer. Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said the IPO plan would be submitted to the market regulator in the third quarter of this year. Sovereign fund Public Investment Fund will be the seller. The fund, which currently owns most of NCB, will also sell an additional 10 percent stake to the government's Public Pension Agency. The pricing of the IPO was not discussed but it is likely to be one of Saudi Arabia's biggest. Until now, direct foreign investment is not allowed in Saudi's stock market. Authorities are preparing to open the market but it is not clear when this will happen.

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) has successfully placed its 5 billion Saudi riyal (Dh4.89 billion) 5-year subordinated Tier II capital sukuk offering. Great interest from the investor community generated a 2.1x oversubscribed orderbook exceeding the initial target issuance size of 4 billion riyals, allowing the transaction to be upsized to 5 billion riyals without impacting the final pricing of the sukuk. NCB’s issuance was priced at 6-month SIBOR+110bps. HSBC Saudi Arabia acted as a lead coordinator and GIB Capital, HSBC Saudi Arabia, JP Morgan Saudi Arabia and NCB Capital acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners. The issuance proceeds will be used to further support NCB’s growth plans across the various business segments of the bank.

Growth in Asia’s foreign-currency sukuk issuance is being hindered by capital controls, leaving the Persian Gulf dominating a market that exceeded $17 billion in the past two years. Malaysia’s central bank requires local companies seeking to sell overseas bonds to show a legitimate funding need to reduce currency speculation. In Indonesia, corporations must supply information on the potential foreign-exchange risk, whether they intend to hedge, as well as their dollar and rupiah cash flows under rules put in place by the Financial Services Authority in 2002. This is because Malaysia and Indonesia want to protect their reputation and ensure that issuers won’t default on foreign-currency debt.

ABC Islamic Bank has announced that its net profit for the year ending 2013 was $12.2 million, 48 per cent higher than the previous year of $8.3 million net profit. Net profit for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $3 million, 112 per cent higher than the same period of 2012. Total operating income grew 12.8 per cent to $18.1 million compared to $16 million in the previous year while operating expenses decreased by more than 20 per cent to $5.5 million. The Bank’s capital base remains very strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 27.6 per cent, predominantly Tier 1, which totalled 26.2 per cent. ABC Islamic Bank’s total assets stood at $1.002 billion.

The theme for this 2014 Summit is New Markets and Frontiers for Islamic Finance: Innovation and the Regulatory Perimeter.

Please refer to http://www.ifsb.org/preess_full.php?id=240&submit=more for the announcement of the 11th IFSB Summit.

For any queries regarding the Summit, please contact the secretariat:

- Participants' registration

Ms. Yazmin Aziz at yazmin@ifsb.org

Mrs. Ida Shafinaz Ab. Malek at ida.shafinaz@ifsb.org

- Sponsorship and Media

Ms. Rosmawatie Abdul Halim at rosmawatie@ifsb.org

INVITATION TO A RESEARCH INQUIRY
Anti-Terrorism Legislation and Impact in Cross Border Giving

The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropy’s Academy of Philanthropy is leading a research inquiry in collaboration with Cass Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness. After London and Doha, the last of the three dialogues will take place in New York.

This concerns the barriers to giving for international development and relief that affect donors and recipients alike, in the light of continuing international agreements and practices enshrined in legislation. Our work is seeking to identify ways forward for international dialogues to best support and enhance accountable giving and its efficient flow between nations. The findings of the research will be reported to the WCMP’s biennial Global Donor’s Forum, to be held in Washington, DC from April 14-16, 2014.

Donors, nonprofit and development sector representatives, and financial institution executives are welcomed to participate in the dialogue and share their experiences and offer suggestions.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014 - 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Observer Mission to the UN

After gaining the leadership position in Shariah-based retail banking, International Islamic has its eyes firmly set on improving its presence in corporate financing, said CEO Abdulbasit A al-Shaibei. Corporate financing is expected to have an exponential growth in Qatar, particularly in the next two to three years. In line with this, the Doha-headquartered lender has activated its trade finance department. Besides, the bank is an active partner with Qatar Development Bank in its initiative to help SMEs flourish. Registering growth across various portfolios of its core business, International Islamic posted a full-year net profit of QR750mn in 2013, up 10.5% on 2012. The bank earned a total revenue of QR1.5bn in 2013. Assets totalled QR34.4bn last year, indicating a 20.5% growth compared to 2012.