IslamicFinance.de

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a pan-African development finance institution, has issued its maiden Sukuk as the first Sukuk to be issued by an African supranational entity. The initial target of US$100 million was more than twice oversubscribed, resulting in the transaction being upsized to US$150 million and a final order book of approximately US$230 million. The privately placed Murabaha Sukuk has a three year tenor and will mature on 24 January 2020. Emirates NBD Capital, MUFG and RMB acted as Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Managers with Emirates NBD Capital also acting as the Sole Global Coordinator. Andrew Alli, President and CEO of AFC, said this Sukuk represents a milestone for AFC and helps to diversify its portfolio to continue delivering real impact across the continent.

Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to collaborate in areas related to endowment services enhancing the prosperity of Muslim societies. Tayeb Al-Rais, Secretary General of AMAF, and Dr Bandar Al Hajjar, Chairman and President of IDB, signed the MoU in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two parties will work towards maximising the availability of Islamic banking services to the endowment sector. AMAF and IDB will also explore the possibilities of forging endowment partnerships and engaging third parties. Other areas of cooperation include building successful marketing strategies and providing advanced endowment tools for banking, finance, and investment.

The Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance (CEIF) IBA held an International Forum on 'Unlocking Islamic Finance Potential in CPEC and Beyond'. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) consists of $45 billion worth of domestic infrastructure projects planned by the government of Pakistan. The Forum analyzed the effects and impact of CPEC on the Islamic Finance industry in Pakistan. In his keynote address Irfan Siddiqui, President & CEO Meezan Bank, highlighted that CPEC is not just a need of China but also of Pakistan. From the government Chief Economist Nadeem Javaid stated that there are four main components of CPEC: Energy, Infrastructure Development, Economic Incentives and Industrial Cooperation. He said that CPEC will greatly lower the per unit cost of energy, incentives such as exemption from local duties and materials, whereas suspension of trade union activities will give opportunities to investors. Therefore, designing cost-effective, Shariah compliant finance options is the need of the hour.

The UN appointed Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty in the Gulf has concluded his mission on 19th January. In his report Dr. Mohamed Ramady highlights that poverty encompasses non-financial targets that encompasses women’s right to work and move freely, inhibiting factors that lead to family poverty. It is meaningless to adopt an absolute line given a large variance in GCC GDP per capita, ranging from around $ 25,000 in Saudi Arabia to $ 95,000 in Qatar. National poverty line figures accordingly vary from $ 1,300 per month to $ 5,000 levels. Cash payment handouts to reduce subsidies to balance national budgets are short-term measures. The key to poverty eradication is education, access to work and removal of social restrictions. To varying degrees, all the Gulf countries have given emphasis to ensuring more female work and civil and political participation. The UN Report also highlighted an uneven corporate social responsibility to carry out effective training and offer more opportunities for female workers and handicapped employees.

#Saudi-based Alinma Bank’s chief executive officer, Abdul Mohsen Al Fares discusses the bank's earnings and lending growth. Alinma Bank achieved a new record in the last quarter. Growth drivers include the infrastructure projects that started two years ago and will take other three of five years to complete. In terms of net interest margins, Al Fares believes that the recovery will come gradually. As interest rate is rising, the margin will also go up. Alinma Bank has expansion plans for 2017, it currently has 164 branches across the kingdom and it plans to open 12 new branches this year.

Goldmoney announced that Goldmoney Network Accounts and Wealth Holdings have been endorsed as Shariah-compliant by the Shariah Supervisory Board of Amanie Advisors. Islamic investors can now instantly purchase, save, and transact in gold globally on the Goldmoney platform. Goldmoney's chief strategy officer Josh Crumb said that the company's platform democratizes access to 100% reserved and allocated gold-based savings, payments, and investment solutions. CEO Roy Sebag stated that compliance with Shariah law was an important step in the company's growth, enabling Goldmoney to expand its offerings to the Islamic market.

Summit will explore intersection of #fintech, #ESG and #Islamicfinance. #RFISummit17

January 24, 2017, Zurich, Switzerland –

Bringing together a diversity of perspectives is critical for continuing the growth occurring within responsible finance. On this premise, the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit 2017 will convene in Zurich, Switzerland from 3-4 May 2017 around the theme “Building Bridges, Expanding Impact”.

Recent estimates from industry stakeholders show continued growth in responsible finance assets in many geographies and sectors. Responsible investment in Europe grew by 42% during the past 2 years, while in the U.S., assets grew by 33%. In Islamic finance, which has a global presence with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, growth in the last 2 years has been 21%. Identifying actionable areas for collaboration will support continued growth towards a more sustainable financial system.

The #UAE-based Emirates Real Estate Fund (EREF) has procured a AED700 million ($190.6 million) Shari’ah compliant finance facility with Emirates NBD. CEO of Emirates NBD Asset Management Tariq Bin Hendi said the facility would enable the bank to complete strategic acquisitions to boost the value of the fund. Over the last 24 months the fund has invested over $163 million in real estate acquisitions including Binghatti Terraces in Dubai Silicon Oasis, Arabian Oryx House in Al Barsha Heights, part of Burj Daman Office Tower in the DIFC and a residential building in Remraam, Dubailand. The partially undrawn facility is a five-year, profit-only Mudharabah facility with a 10% repayment of principal in its fourth year.

The share of sukuk issuance in core markets such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan are expected to keep up their market share in 2017. New sukuk issuance from the core markets rose to $40 billion (Dh147 billion) in 2016 from about $32 billion a year earlier. This represented 28.5% of total bond and sukuk issuance in these markets in 2016, down marginally from 29% in 2015. Malaysian companies continue to be the most active corporate issuers. Several other key markets have introduced or updated sukuk laws in the past few years, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, which should gradually boost issuance. According to Faisal Hasan, Head of Investment Research at Kamco, the outlook for sukuk issuance in 2017 remains positive as GCC economies are expected to return to issuing sukuks to fund their deficits. Analysts say GCC corporates that tap capital markets are more likely to issue sukuk or a mixture of both, rather than only bonds to attract a wider local and regional investor base.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has welcomed the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK)’s instructions and regulations regarding the role of Sharia Supervisory Boards in Islamic banks. Islamic Banks would be given until December 31st, 2017 to fulfill the requirements. Isa Abdullah Duwaishan, Executive Manager Shariah Control & Advisory at KFH, stated that the executive team of the board encompasses qualified Shariah controllers who audit the compliance and commitment of all bank departments to sharia rules. He reiterated the efforts of continually improving the skills of Shariah controllers and the Shariah staff in the bank through engaging them in specialized training courses. KFH's Shariah Supervisory Board issues Fatwa and Shariah reports that are viewed as a reference to other banks.

Bank Islam's managing director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said he would not extend his contract when his tenure ends in June this year. When asked on his successor, Zukri said there was still plenty of time to search for a successor since it was only January. On Bank Islam Visa Infinite MPN credit card-i, he said it was introduced in response to Bank Negara’s call for a cashless society. He said the collaboration with MPN was the bank’s continuous cooperation with the academic institutions starting with the introduction of the UniDebit card in 2012. Meanwhile, MPN chairman Professor Tan Sri Zakri Abu Hamid welcomed the strategic cooperation to strengthen the corporate image of both parties.

According to Fitch Ratings, Malaysia's takaful sector continues to enjoy higher growth than the conventional sector. This growth is driven by a low base, stable domestic consumption and increasing consumer awareness. The rating agency said that regulatory pressure would drive sector consolidation in the short term. As takaful operators realign their strategic focus and gradually retain more risks, Fitch expects some bottom-line volatility in the short term. For the first half of 2016 (1H2016), family takaful grew by 9.8%, while general takaful grew by 5.8%. This compared to 8.2% growth in conventional life and 2.6% in general insurance.

Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II is expected to speak at an Islamic finance conference organized by the International Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIIBF) at Bayero University, Kano. The Director of the institute, Binta Tijjani Jibril, said the conference would draw participants from within Nigeria as well as other countries such as the United States, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Indonesia and Egypt. She added that when the mayor of London came to Nigeria, he advised the government to embrace Islamic finance because of its benefits. Britain is competing with Malaysia to be the hub of Islamic finance in the world because they see it as good business not a religious issue.

Fitch Ratings said it expects sukuk issuance in 2017 to continue at the same pace like last year. Sukuk issuance in core markets rose by 26% in 2016 and maintained its share of capital markets funding despite large conventional bond issues by Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. New sukuk issuance with a maturity over 18 months from the core markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and Pakistan rose to $40 billion in 2016 from about $32 billion a year earlier. In 2016 10 key markets issued sovereign sukuk and other sovereigns in the GCC region have indicated they could issue sukuk, or a mix, in the future. Sovereigns and supranationals are likely to remain the dominant issuers, but bank issuance may also rise in some markets, driven by issuance to meet regulatory capital requirements.

Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) is negotiating with banks an extension of up to two years on a 10 billion riyal ($2.7 billion) Islamic credit facility used to pay for building work at the kingdom’s Grand Mosque in Mecca. Contractors in Saudi Arabia have had to deal with delays and late payment after the government trimmed spending to adjust to the impact of lower oil prices. Mecca’s mayor Osama bin Fadl Al-Bar told Reuters in September that the expansion would be completed in either 2017 or 2018. But the timeline for the mosque has now been delayed. SBG had received some of the backlog of payment owed to it by the government in recent months, but a large portion remains outstanding.

UPDATE:
Abstract/Paper Submission
Please note that colleagues should send 1,000 words abstract by FEBRUARY 3, 2017, which should provide a short background, aims of the paper, the methodology and method used, and the findings (or expected findings).

***SASE HAS EXTENDED THE DEADLINE TO 17TH FEBRUARY 2017***

https://www.dur.ac.uk/dcief/events/

Acceptance notifications will be sent by March 1, 2017.

Paper submissions and session proposals must be made through our online submission system; for additional information on how to submit, please follow the link:
https://sase.org/events/conference-submission-and-award-guidelines

Sharing Economy of Islam beyond Islamic Finance:
Re-constructing Collaborative and Disruptive Economy from Islamic Moral Economy Perspective

SASE Conference on ‘What's Next? Disruptive/Collaborative Economy or Business as Usual?’
Universite Claude Bernard, Lyon 1, France
29th June – 1st July 2017
https://sase.org/event/2017-lyon/#mini

Call for Papers:

The goal of this event is to strengthen boards of directors of microfinance institutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The case studies include topics such as governance, risk management, client centricity, sustainable growth and operating in challenging environments. This event is organized by Calmeadow, the Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) and Sanabel. Calmeadow is a Canada-based NGO with 30 years of experience in financial inclusion and corporate governance initiatives. CFI brings eight years of experience in risk management and governance. Sanabel is a microfinance network with 90 members which serve a total of approximately 1.6 million clients in 13 Arab countries.

Banks in Iran have made progress since the signing of the nuclear deal, yet many obstacles to doing business internationally remain. The deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was meant to free up Iran’s economy and banking sector by lifting the sanctions imposed on the country in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme. Under the nuclear sanctions, the US fined several big banks for dealing with sanctioned countries. For that reason, many large international banks fear being fined again if they re-engage with the country, even though they are now allowed to do so under the terms of the JCPOA. So far, only small banks have been willing to re-engage with Iran.

#Saudi Arabia’s Bank AlJazira has reported a drop in profits of 32.25% to SAR 872 million for 2016. Profits for Q4 2016 were down 4.4% on a year ago to SAR 152 million. Earnings per share were down from SAR 3.22 to SAR 2.18. However, the loans and advances portfolio contracted by 0.18% to SAR 42 billion. The bank attributed the fall in net income to a decrease in operating income by 14%. There is also a decrease in net special commission income, net trading income and other operating income against an increase in net exchange income and net banking fees. Total equity as of end-2016 was SAR 8,104 million, comparing with amount of SAR 7,413 million the previous year, an increase of 9%.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has launched its First Shari'ah compliant equity investment structured note of the year 2017. The note is linked to a basket of undervalued blue chip companies from diversified sectors including healthcare, technology & telecommunications. The investment note has a maturity of one year and minimises investment risk by providing 100% capital protection to the capital invested. The note is currently open for subscription until 22 January, 2017 with a minimum investment requirement of $30,000. ADIB’s last three matured equity investment notes have yielded returns of 4.2%, 4.8% and 6.2%, respectively.