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Emirates Islamic Bank has launched a range of special Shari'a compliant offers for commercial vehicle, machinery and equipment financing especially designed for the small and medium enterprise sector (SME). The programme is part of the bank's long term strategy to support companies in the SME sector. Under SME Vehicle financing, the bank will offer small businesses, finance for new commercial vehicles starting at 4% profit rate (flat) and at 5% flat rate for used vehicles. Similarly, under Machinery and Equipment category, finance will be offered starting at 5.25% flat rate for new machinery & equipment and 6.25% flat rate for used ones. The bank already provides financing solutions aimed at helping businesses manage cash flow, asset acquisition and expansion requirements.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has been affirmed by international credit rating agency, Capital Intelligence (CI), with a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of 'A'. This reflects the Bank's Islamic banking franchise, evidenced by substantial growth in financings and customer deposits, net financial income differential, and the Bank's capitalisation. In view of the Bank's intrinsic financial profile, Qatar's economic growth potential, and ongoing government support for all Qatari banks, the Bank's Long and Short Term Foreign Currency Ratings are affirmed at 'A' and 'A2', respectively, on Stable Outlook. Based on the strength of the Qatari government balance sheet, the Support Rating is affirmed at '2'.

Noor Islamic Bank (Noor) is targeting Dhs5bn of lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) over the next five years with the launch of Noor Trade. This Shari'a compliant banking service is specifically tailored for SMEs that contribute significantly to the UAE's trade flows. In support of its Noor Trade strategy, Noor has opened its first dedicated trade branch in Almas Tower, home of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT). A second similar branch is scheduled to open in Deira, in July. Under the Noor Trade brand, clients will have access to fully Shari'a compliant financial services, including cash management, trade, and working capital solutions, along with consumer, treasury and takaful products packaged at preferential rates based on eligibility criteria.

Tide Natural Gas Storage LP sued a former group of minority shareholders of Falcon Gas Storage Co., the bankrupt Arcapita subsidiary that sold natural-gas assets to Tide. The energy company says those shareholders' claims in Arcapita's bankruptcy shouldn't be paid before their own. The shareholders have been paid some of the money they were owed but are slated to receive an additional $8.25 million that lies in a $70 million account. The $70 million lies in an escrow account and stems from Tide's 2010 purchase of the natural-gas storage facilities from Falcon. Tide has been fighting for the money in U.S. District Court in Manhattan for two years. Arcapita has argued the $70 million claim by Tide should be subordinated to those of other creditors. The issue, Arcapita says, isn't whether the claim should be placed lower, but rather how much of it should be.

During the past year, there have been a number of cross-regional sukuk, mostly by Gulf issuers tapping Malaysia's highly liquid market. However, sukuk structures are not standardised, and some Gulf-based sharia scholars have objected to certain structures used in Asia, a region which has proven to be more flexible in its transactions. Sukuk issuance in the Middle East outside of the Gulf is also becoming more attractive, notably Turkey, which was recently elevated to investment grade credit status and is bidding to develop an Islamic finance industry. Growth in cross-border Islamic bond issues points to greater convergence in the industry, opening the door to a much wider pool of investors.

Family business members from North Africa, the Levant and the GCC recently gathered in Dubai for an interactive roundtable session to discuss the multiple roles played by women in family-owned businesses. Organised and hosted by Tharawat Family Business Fórum, the roundtable was an opportunity to exchange experiences and thoughts on the subject, and to analyse the development, challenges and opportunities encountered by women in family businesses. The attendees from leading regional businesses explored the variety of roles that women play with relation to the family business, be it as managers, owners or family members and custodians of family harmony. The speakers shared their insights and thoughts with an audience and engaged in interactive group work to explore the topics further.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) has released its IIFM Sukuk Report (3rd Edition) which consists of A Comprehensive Study of the Global Sukuk Market. The research report sheds light on the growth and development of international and domestic Sukuk issuances from 2001 - Jan 2013. According to Mr. Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, Chief Executive Officer of IIFM, the last two years were record years of Sukuk issuances. This year has also started on a positive note and the growth trend is expected to continue in coming years, he added. The report also highlights the different Sukuk structures used by international Sukuk issuers as well as Sukuk structures used at domestic level by various jurisdictions active in issuing Sukuk. Moreover, it contains selected Sukuk case studies in the international Sukuk market and the clarification on the meaning and types of Sukuk Al Istithmar (Investment Sukuk).

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has revised the outlook on the long-term sovereign credit ratings on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from stable to positive. At the same time, the long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings were affirmed at 'AA-/A-1+'. The transfer & convertibility (T&C) assessment for Saudi Arabia is unchanged at 'AA+'. Saudi Arabia can be upgraded during the next 24 months if economic growth remains strong, since continued growth helps to reduce country's social challenges, including unemployment, and enhance productivity and competitiveness. The ratings are constrained by S&P's view that Saudi Arabia's political institutions are at early stages of development. Moreover, given the Saudi riyal's peg to the US dollar, monetary policy flexibility is viewed as limited.

Kuwait's Boubyan Bank (BOUBYAN.KW) has sold a debt that was owed by an investment bank for 2.4 million Kuwaiti dinars ($8.38 million). Boubyan, which is an Islamic lender 58.33% owned by National Bank of Kuwait, said that it sold the debt to an international bank, without naming it. It added that it had previously set up provisions to fully cover this debt in keeping with the instructions of the country's central bank.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), which is already providing Arcapita Bank $350 million in bankruptcy exit financing, is now seeking to give the Bahrain investment firm a $175 million bankruptcy loan that would pay off existing lender Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG). Arcapita said the Goldman loan would pay off the $105 million still owed to Fortress and later convert into the $350 million exit loan that Goldman is already providing. With Arcapita obliged to pay off the Fortress loan by June 14, the company said it needs the Goldman loan approved at a hearing on June 10. Goldman, earlier this month, beat out Fortress in a war over who would provide the exit financing for Arcapita. Fortress's $150 million financing pact, arranged in December for Arcapita, was believed to be the first U.S. bankruptcy loan fully compliant with Islamic Sharia law.

KPMG has submitted its recommendations for amending the country's tax law to the Ministry of Finance. The recommendations aim to ensure that Islamic financial institutions are on a level playing field with their conventional counterparts. According to Ashok Hariharan, partner and head of Tax for KPMG in Oman, the recommendations aim to ensure that Islamic financial institutions are put in neither an advantageous nor a disadvantageous position compared to its conventional peers. The recommendations of the international audit firm will circulate among different ministries and agencies to finalise the amendments. Apart from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Legal Affairs Majlis A'Shura will also look into the KPMG report and put forward their recommendations. If everything goes well, the amendments will be announced sometime towards the end of the year.

Qatari entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah al-Thani and International Islamic CEO, Abdulbasit A. al-Shaibei participated in the celebrations held as part of the Charity Art and Photography Auction at the College of North Atlantic in Qatar on May 22. More than 100 selections of art and photography were up for bids. The majority of these pieces have been donated by members of CNA-Q’s art and photography clubs. The proceeds from the auction will go to Qatar Red Crescent. Institutions such as Qatar Red Crescent are committed to serving the local community and others in need. Through various projects they undertake such initiatives.

Saudi Fransi Capital has launched its new fund, the Saudi Fransi Real Estate Fund. The new fund seeks to achieve capital growth, by developing lands and real estate projects, along with the possibility of generating income stream by acquiring existing real estate in Saudi Arabia. It's a closed -- ended Shariah-compliant fund, with duration of four years from the day of closing, but may be extended for two successive periods of one year. The subscription period started on May 18 and will end on July 3. SFC signed a memorandum of understanding with a leading and renowned real estate developer, to be the principal real estate developer of the fund; the fund may assign other developers if needed. Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, CEO of SFC, said that the fund provides the opportunity for capital growth and generating income; since it generates cash during the development phase.

This week saw a big surge of MENA bond and sukuk activity, with four dollar deals coming to market and two other issuers lining up roadshows. The wave breaks the recent regional lull and points to a further flurry in the coming weeks as borrowers try to seize a window before the Middle East summer kicks in.

Dar Al Arkan's $450m 5.75% five year sukuk bucked the recent trend by performing well in the secondary market after pricing on Tuesday. The paper traded up to 100.75 bid on Wednesday, having been priced at 99.47. And despite the general market sell-off on Thursday, the notes were still quoted at 100.25 by the close.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Bahrain must urgently cut spending or risk unsustainable public debt as its fiscal deficit widens and oil prices decline. The smallest Gulf crude producer needs gradual fiscal consolidation equal to 7.7% of economic output over the next six budget years to contain its government debt at 40% of gross domestic product. IMF also recommended that Bahrain pare its fiscal stimulus to 0.9 percentage points of non-oil GDP from 2.1 percentage points. Bahrain’s outstanding debt including interest is about US$11.8 billion, with more than US$3 billion due this year. Moreover, investment in Bahrain’s private sector remains low, which may translate to non-oil growth of less than 4% in 2013. Bahrain is also vulnerable to oil price fluctuations.

Dubai Islamic Bank Group (DIB) today announced that its Long Term Issuer ratings have been affirmed by Moody’s at Baa1 and the outlook has been moved to “Stable”. The confirmation of DIB’s ratings reflects the recent capital injection and the expectation that asset quality pressure will ease which, in turn, should support profitability, according to Moody's. Morover, the systemic importance of the bank to the banking sector and the government ownership of 34% were also cited as some of the factors for the decision. Moody’s also affirmed the long term issuer ratings of Tamweel, which is a subsidiary of the bank (86.5% owned by DIB) at Baa3 and with the recent move by DIB to take over the company, Tamweel’s outlook on ratings has been upgraded to “Positive.”

Qatar resident Ziyad Rahim, head of market risk at Barwa Bank, recently broke a Guinness World Record by completing the Marathon Grand Slam in just 41 days. In the process, he set the fastest time to complete a marathon on each continent and the North Pole and smashed the previous record of 324 days, which had stood for over six years. He is also the first person in the world to complete two extreme marathons - at Antarctica (-20 degrees Celsius) and the Sahara Desert (50 degrees Celsius) - within a month. Ziyad is an ambassador for CARE, a charity educating underprivileged children in Pakistan. He says he runs to promote health and fitness and raise awareness for the less fortunate.

State pension funds in the Gulf are sharply increasing their investments in new assets on the back of the Arab Spring and demographic shifts, according to Invesco’s Middle East Asset Management Study. Regional state pension funds were forecast to grow assets by 19 percent this year. Morover, the study said that about 15 percent of all new sovereign assets in the region were going into state pension funds. In contrast, Gulf sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are expected to increase assets by an average of just 4 percent, down from 8 percent in 2012. Invesco said that the political unrest in the region had caused governments to pour more cash into pension funds as well as so-called ‘development’ SWFs, which focus their investments on assets that contribute to local economic growth.

Stuart Crocker, global head of private banking and wealth management at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Merrill Lynch veteran, has left the bank. Regional private banks were supposed to be making a challenge to the dominance of big international players and Crocker was one of the landmark hires to bolster the case for the local Banks. Crocker joined Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) in May 2011 as global head of private banking and wealth management. Apparently, there is no replacement lined up and Crocker's exit comes amid a change of strategy at the bank. ADIB didn't respond to requests for comment.