IslamicFinance.de

The Islamic Bank of Britain has launched a pair of new home finance deals. The IBB will now offer a 2-year fixed rental rate Home Purchase Plan at 3.79% and a discounted variable rental rate HPP at 3.59%. Both plans are available to consumers with a deposit of 35%. According to Imran Pasha, head of sales and service at IBB, this is the first time IBB has offered home finance to consumers with a 35% deposit. The launch will benefit home buyers with a larger deposit, existing homeowners looking at re-financing deals or those seeking to release some equity from their property.

According to Adil Dahlawi, CEO and Managing Director of Itqan Capital, the Islamic banking sector will witness an increasing demand as Islamic financing jumped 27 percent in one year to $1.1 trillion from $800 billion. He noted that one of the most prominent topics discussed at Al Baraka's 34th symposium for Islamic Economic was zakat on debt, especially with the widespread presence of financial institutions specialized in financing from private companies and Banks. Besides, the increase in demand for private and public financing, whose notable effects are apparent on the financial statements of various companies and institutions were important issues. Standard & Poor's earlier forecast that sukuk sales are to double and reach $3 trillion by 2015 in light of companies which are working to capitalize on this growing and promising market.

On July 1, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) launched BusinessPulse, a portal aimed at providing advice and support to small and medium-sized businesses in the UAE. www.businesspulse.ae has three main sections: ‘Ignite’ is all about seeding the idea and kick starting the business plan; ‘Enrich’ is about funding the plan and ‘Grow’ deals with facilitating growth and future expansion. A key feature of the portal is a comprehensive library of case studies and videos from successful entrepreneurs. It also features a networking section that will enable SMEs to find the right business partners and contacts. Moreover, visitors can apply for a financing facility of up to AED 2 million through the portal and receive funding advice through interactions with ADIB’s Business banking team. BusinessPulse will be supported by a series of events and seminars, offering SMEs an opportunity to showcase their success stories and learn from others.

Iraq is seeing a surge in investment activity. The nation begins to rebuild its domestic infrastructure and boost crude oil production. By the end of 2013, Iraq should see 3.5 million barrels of crude per day. Over this year, Iraq’s government is set to increase spending by 18 percent, reaching $118 billion. And the IMF has already projected that Iraq should see a yearly economic growth rate of around 9 percent. Banking in Iraq has come a long way, too, although basic banking infrastructure—ATMs, bank branches—are still lacking across the nation. However, spates of violence and an endemic culture of corruption are likely to cause some problems along the way. The Iraqi dinar is expected to experience a major improvement in terms of value, but it is important to remember that the development will take a while.

Pakistan's central bank has launched a mass media campaign to raise awareness and acceptance of Islamic finance among consumers in the country. It was developed alongside local Islamic banks, and is expected help the industry reach ambitious targets including a doubling of its branch network in five years and a 15 per cent share of the banking system. The campaign is part of an overhaul of Islamic finance activities in Pakistan, which also includes the establishment of a country-level Sharia board and new rules for Sharia-compliant financial products within the central bank's five-year plan for Pakistan's Islamic banking sector. The country's Islamic banking industry includes five fully-fledged Islamic banks and five takaful (Islamic insurance) firms, with an additional 12 conventional banks offering services through Islamic windows.

In May, John Kerry, the US secretary of state, announced a US$4 billion plan to kick-start Israel-Palestinian Territories peace talks. Sir Ronald Cohen has been arguing exactly that since 2003. He has direct experience of the suffering and dislocation conflict can cause in the Middle East because he and his family became penniless refugees from their home in Cairo after the Suez conflict. In Jordan, apart from Mr Kerry's initiative, there was another example of a strategy towards peace in a business framework with the "breaking the impasse" plan, aimed at getting Israeli and Arab business leaders in the region working together. Sir Ronald was involved in that from its inception. His plans have had significant beneficial outcomes in local projects to reduce prisoner recidivism, tackle homelessness and illiteracy. Most recently he was the chairman of Big Society Capital, the United Kingdom's first social investment bank.

The Islamic Development Bank's board of executive directors has approved new finances worth $790 million to carry out different projects in member countries. The board agreed to give $220 million to the renewable energy program of the Development Bank of Turkey and $200 million for an electricity project in Damietta, Egypt. The new finances approved by the board will also benefit Morocco, Uganda, Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Yemen, Togo, Jordan and Mali. It has also agreed to provide grants to educational projects for Muslim communities in Kenya, Nepal and Congo. Moreover, the board discussed the decision taken by IDB governors to increase the bank's capital from $45 billion to $150 billion and arrangements to celebrate the bank's 40th anniversary.

There is a huge demand for Sharia-compliant products but there are not enough quality players in this space with the correct ability to provide Sharia solutions, according to Akber Naqvi of alternative investment firm Al Masah Capital. He was speaking at the Opalesque Gulf Roundtable which took place in Abu Dhabi on May 20th, 2013. He further said that his company is looking for the right partners who can come up with innovative Sharia solutions, and that there is a gap in the market for that. Sharia-compliant specialists and individual specialist asset managers should expand in this area, he added. Christian Stauffer, founder and CEO of EuroFin Asia Group, noted that even in Islamic Finance, there is a demand for asset classes that demand for non-directional and non-correlated classes of asset.

Middle Eastern debt issuance surged 40 per cent in the first half of 2013, the strongest period on record, according to new data released by Thomson Reuters. Debt raised reached $26bn, including $20.8bn of investment grade corporate debt in the first two quarters of the year, accounting for around 80 per cent of debt capital markets activity. In a further sign of a brighter outlook for the financial sector, debt capital markets underwriting earned banks $102m, more than double the income of the same period last year, and the best first-half performance ever, the report said.

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has successfully concluded the repricing of its $1.75bn debut facility arranged in 2012. The Repricing was well received by the market with support from its existing syndicate of international, regional and local banks, with several institutions also offering to increase their commitments as well as accepting the lower pricing. However, no new commitments needed to be allocated. Citibank, N.A., London Branch acted as sole co-ordinator and bookrunner for the Company in connection with this Transaction. DDF's goal is to increase sales this year to $1.8bn to grow sales to $3bn within five years.

The Bahrain-based investment firm Tadhamon Capital acquired two assets within its prevalent Social Infrastructure Platform in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2013. The two transactions are valued at approximately £32 million (US$50 million) which brings the total value of the assets held under the Platform to £123 million (US$190 million). The first transaction was established between Tadhamon Capital and Maria Mallaband Care Group Ltd (MMCG) to forward fund the development of the £6.7 million 53-bed care homes in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire (west of London). The second transaction builds on the Platform's existing strategic relation with McLaren Properties by arranging the acquisition of 251-bed Brunswick House student accommodation scheme in Cambridge at a value of £26 million.

The UK government's national savings scheme, NEST, recently announced that HSBC was its choice of fund manager for its Sharia investment mandate. Chris Gower, head of European consultant relations at HSBC, said the fund follows a quantitative passive method. What is unusual it that the fund can have no exposure to financials. This practice leads to the Islamic index being overweight in the oil and gas sector and the healthcare sector. In terms of expectations of the fund Gower explains that HSBC works with a large number of UK defined contribution (DC) pension schemes. It opens up an investment universe to investors who would maybe otherwise not have the possibility to save for their retirement. Gower says the fund is looking forward to working together with NEST.

The Hamas government relies heavily on the taxes and tariffs imposed on goods flowing through the crossings with Israel and the tunnels with Egypt to cover monthly costs and payments for governance. The Hamas government taxes the majority of the Egyptian products to raise revenue, while the taxes on the Israeli supplies, including basic goods, go to the government in Ramallah. Now, the supply of goods smuggled from Egypt through underground tunnels has nearly come to a halt, severely exacerbating the economic hardship already being suffered by the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Tax receipts from goods entering through the tunnels account for about 40% of the government's general revenue. Thus, as a result of the tunnel closures, the government has been forced to borrow from the National Islamic Bank in Gaza to pay the salaries of local staff.

Nakheel made a net profit of AED1.2 billion (US$327 million) in H1 2013, a 57% increase on a net profit of AED767 million reported for H1 2012. Revenues for H1 2013 stood at AED4.23 billion, up 36% on revenues of AED3.1 billion noted in H1 2012. The results for H1 2013 reflect the on-going support of the Government of Dubai and the commitment by Nakheel to delivering the post restructuring plan. They also demonstrate the continuing growth and strengthening of the real estate market in Dubai, and the return of investor confidence and trust in Nakheel and its projects. Besides several Nakheel projects under development, the company is evaluating a number of additional projects. Moreover, Nakheel focuses on meeting its restructuring commitments to its stakeholders by making interest payments to bank lenders and profit payments to its sukuk holders.

The Deloitte Islamic Finance Knowledge Center (IFKC) in the Middle East has signed an MOU of a collaborative training initiative with the Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI). This collaboration aims to develop industry-based training programs for the industry of Islamic Finance and Takaful in order to streamline professional education and capacity building. Four key objectives are identified to provide 'Continued Professional Development' and Executive Education programs for the Islamic Finance and Takaful industry stakeholders. First, the collaborative approach amongst industry stakeholders will be strengthened. Moreover, high quality practitioner training and support to industry stakeholders will be provided. Another goal is to assist clients, developing talent management strategies and competency-based training approach in Islamic finance practice. The forth aim is to set the standards of professional excellence and good practices of leadership development in Islamic finance.

Malaysia's new Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) gives regulators greater oversight as the country seeks to retain its position as the world's second-largest Islamic Banking market. The new rules will boost protection for depositors by making religious advisers legally accountable for financial products, and liable to steep fines and prison time for wrongdoing. The new rules also include a plan to require Islamic life insurers to separate the life arm from other parts of their business. The regulations also could spur takeovers in the Islamic insurance sector through capital-base provisions that encourage larger participants. The IFSA also gives Malaysia's finance ministry more powers to further scrutinise financial holding companies and non-regulated entities if they pose a risk to financial stability.

Exeter-headquartered crowdfunding website Crowdcube is to launch in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region after forming a joint venture. Crowdcube MENA is led by a group of experienced bankers, entrepreneurs and asset managers with experience in US/Canada, Europe and the Middle East. Crowdcube MENA believes the region presents unique challenges. However, given the success of Crowdcube, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (previously FSA) in the UK, it is considered possible to leverage this experience of working under a Tier 1 global regulator to implement a successful business model to service the MENA región. According to Omar Rana, co-founder of Crowdcube MENA, various regions are currently examined to assess the best way of leveraging Crowdcube's platform to provide crowdfunding in the MENA region.

Saudi-based Al Rajhi Bank posted a slight rise in its second-quarter net profit. The bank made 2.12 billion riyals ($565.3 million) in the three months to June 30, compared with 2.09 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier. Profit for the opening six months of the year was 4.17 billion riyals, up from 4.10 billion riyals in the corresponding period of 2012. The results are in line with analysts' forecasts that expected the bank, on average, to post a net profit of 2.13 billion riyals for the second quarter.

The Gulf Finance House of Bahrain said that it is hoping to receive more active investments to salvage the investment firm's falling figures. A new business model was proposed which consists of new strategy calls such as better involvement with the investments that the firm creates, and better decision making on projects which are in development. Previously, the GFC passed such projects to third party developers without considering to halt their completion. The firm's acting chief executive Hisham Al Rayes said that they were now looking at fundamentals and more calculated risks. Instead of using sub-developers the company is now going vertical in the development of its projects.

The ebullient GFH Capital general counsel David Haigh speaks to Alex Newman about buying Leeds United, his unorthodox legal career and lofty political ambitions. When David Haigh recounts his first meeting with Ken Bates the anecdote reveals as much about himself as it does about the famously combative ex-chairman of Leeds United Football Club.