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Fitch Ratings has assigned Al Hilal Bank's USD2,500,000,000 trust certificate issuance programme an expected Long-term rating of A+ and expected Short-term rating of F1. Key rating drivers are solely Al Hilal's Issuer Default Ratings.

Islamic investment firm Arcapita is the first Gulf company to emerge from U.S. bankruptcy under Chapter 11 rules. Arcapita’s plan is to transfer its assets into a new holding company which will dispose of them over time to pay off creditors and gradually wind-down the firm. Arcapita’s creditors include Barclays, CIMB, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered and the Central Bank of Bahrain – its largest creditor with $255.1 million owed.

Dubai Islamic Bank announced that it has settled all bilateral liabilities of mortgage provider Tamweel, two years ahead of scheduled maturity. The outstanding liabilities were part of a five-year moratorium. The bank cited “robust capitalisation and ample liquidity” as the reasons for early repayment.

Growth of Shariah-compliant banks in Qatar is poised to outpace that of the UAE lenders as borrowing rises amid $200bn in government spending for the 2022 soccer World Cup. Qatar's four Islamic lenders will almost double their asset base to $100bn by 2017, Standard & Poor's has said in a report. Last year, the assets of the largest Shariah-compliant bank in the country, Qatar Islamic Bank, grew five times faster than those of the biggest one in the UAE, Dubai Islamic Bank. Spending for the world's most-watched sporting event will spur lending for roads, stadiums and hotels.

BAJ’s financial strength rating has been affirmed at “BBB” with a stable outlook. The bank’s long-term foreign currency rating has been affirmed at “BBB+” and its short-term foreign currency rating at “A2.” The ratings agency Capital Intelligence noted BAJ’s sound liquidity, strong customer deposit growth and improved profitability and highlighted the benefits of a reviving equity market to BAJ’s business. Nabil Al-Hoshan, CEO and MD of the Bank, was pleased that the banks strong underlying fundamentals had been recognized with this affirmation.

In December 2012, the Supreme Council for the Environment was established in Bahrain. It consists of six ministers, who bring with them an expertise in various sectors. The Council’s declared aim is to protect Bahrain’s natural environment and to monitor potentially harmful industrial activity. The most important issues that the Council has to deal with are protecting marine life from urban sprawl and pollution and creating a balance between infrastructure growth and safeguarding natural resources. In addition, the Council is also responsible for the formulation of Bahrain’s 2020 environmental strategy. Thus, as of today, Saudi Arabia is the only Gulf country without a ministry of environment or a centralized governmental organ dealing with environmental issues.

The creation of a credit bureau in the UAE where consumers' information is shared independently is an essential step in ensuring the financial services market and lenders are dealing with borrowers who can genuinely afford to borrow more. Al Etihad Credit Bureau is scheduled to be up and running by 2015. Already officials say that once borrowers' information is opened up for all financial institutions to check, there will be an immediate and freezing effect on lenders. If the agency had existed before - where information was reviewed in a transparent and neutral manner - there would be fewer expatriates to flee, fewer behind bars, and more maturity in the marketplace all around.

The $490 million short-term sukuk program issued by the International Liquidity Management Corporation is an important stage in the evolution of Sukuk product, according to Abdulwahab Al-Roshood, Kuwait Treasury General Manager at Kuwait Finance House (KFH). The corporation has recently issued the first issuance for 3 months with the participation of 8 gulf and foreign banks including KFH. The sukuk issued by the corporation enjoys the privilege of being short term, rated as the short- term highest credit rating A-1 by the international Standard and Poor's. Al-Roshood expressed his confidence that KFH 's participation of the corporation's businesses since establishment will add value to its efforts and its role in sukuk market.

Maisarah, Islamic window of BankDhofar announced the launch of Oman's pioneering Sharia compliant priority banking services. Maisarah's teams of relationship managers are offering special products and personalised services. Ease of access is one of the features among other privileges that Maisarah has to offer through priority banking centers in the Muscat and Dhofar region. Customers can reap the benefits of savings accounts based on the Mudharaba contract as well as auto financing based on the Murabaha concept without lengthy procedures at preferential prices and services. Under the guidance of the Sharia compliant Board of Directors, Maisarah's banking solutions are on display at their stand-alone branches, which have been designed to minimize wait time and enhance each customer's experience.

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain has acquired an equity stake in the Education Experts Company for Education & Training, one of the fastest growing education companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Abdullah bin Mansour Al Qahtani, Chairman of the Education Experts Company expressed pleasure in partnering with the Bank. Meanwhile, the Bahrain All-Share Index declined by 0.11% to 1,183.59 points on Wednesday, and Al Salam Bank-Bahrain lost 2.15% to BD0.091.

Standard Chartered has appointed Christos Papadopoulos as chairman of Standard Chartered Saadiq Islamic Banking. Christos, currently the Bank's Regional CEO, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, will take on additional responsibility for the Islamic banking business as its Chairman and continue to be based in Dubai. He has been with Standard Chartered for seven years and was previously Global Head, Financial Institutions prior to being appointed Regional CEO in 2010.

Oman's Alizz Islamic bank has announced the completion of its comprehensive training plan, as part of preparations for to launch operations in the fourth quarter of the year. The training programme introduced branch, call centre and operational staff to the Shari'ah-compliant lender's full range of Islamic products and services and its corporate values.

Abu Dhabi-based Islamic lender Al Hilal Bank plans to launch a $500m sukuk by the end of the year. The bond is expected to be used for general business purposes such as liquidity management and to form the first tranche of a $2.5bn bond programme.

Saudi dairy firm Almarai is said to be looking to sell Perpetual Sukuk, the first from an issuer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This will be senior Sukuk that does not mature which means that from a credit point of view it is treated as equity rather than debt. BNP Paribas, HSBC Saudi Arabia, Saudi Fransi Capital and Standard Chartered are said to the joint lead managers for the Perpetual Sukuk. Almarai already sold SAR1.3bn of five- and seven- year Sukuk in March of this year.

Bahrain's Al Salam Bank has agreed to acquire fellow Bahraini lender BMI Bank , an affiliate of Oman's Bank Muscat , through a share-swap deal. Al Salam will exchange 11 of its shares for each BMI Bank share to create the kingdom's fourth-largest commercial bank. The tie-up is still subject to shareholder approval, with meetings to vote on assent due to be held in either September or October. Shares in Al Salam were 5.9 percent higher at 0726 GMT in muted trading. The tie-up will create a bank with assets worth BD1.79bn ($4.75bn), according to second-quarter results from both institutions.

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has picked Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD, and Standard Chartered to arrange a $750 million loan to fund the company’s expansion at the world’s second-busiest airport and improve its capital structure. DDF’s new dollar-denominated transaction will be priced at 225 basis points (bps) over the London interbank offered rate (Libor). This is 25 bps inside the revised pricing on the dollar tranche of the previous loan. No lifespan for the facility, which will be arranged. The loan is structured so that banks can commit to either a conventional tranche or one compliant with Islamic principles.

Nominations are now open for Campden’s second annual Middle East Philanthropy Awards, which celebrate exceptional philanthropic contributions by individuals and organisations in the Arabic region of the Middle East and North Africa. The finalists and winners of the awards will be recognised in an award ceremony in Abu Dhabi to be held on December 10. To nominate an individual, foundation or initiative that is worthy of such recognition, please submit details through the online forms on the website. Nominations will close on November 10.

Saudi Arabian food company Almarai plans to sell perpetual Islamic bonds, the first from an issuer in the kingdom. Almarai will meet domestic investors in the next two weeks to privately place of 1.7 billion Saudi riyals of senior sukuk that do not mature. BNP Paribas, HSBC Saudi Arabia, Saudi Fransi Capital and Standard Chartered have been mandated as joint lead managers for the perpetual offering. Almarai, which sold 1.3bn riyals of five- and seven- year sukuk in March, is raising funds for a 15.7bn-riyal four-year investment program. The ability to raise cash without disturbing a company's share structure is a key benefit, therefore this might be especially interesting for the region's family-owned businesses.

Following the introduction of the Islamic Banking Regulatory Framework (IBRF) in December 2012, Omani banks are now allowed to offer Islamic banking services. Moody's views this as credit positive for the banks as expansion into Islamic banking has the potential to strengthen their franchises and diversify revenue generation, particularly for the largest banks in the system, which will be able to leverage their existing infrastructure and networks.

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) yesterday announced that the certification granted to Islamic banking and finance information systems offered by Path Solutions has been withdrawn with effect from September 1. Therefore, AAOIFI no longer certifies that the Islamic banking and finance information systems offered by Path Solutions as being compliant to AAOIFI standards, and bears no responsibility on the Sharia compliance of their systems.