IslamicFinance.de

Sharjah began marketing a seven-year dollar denominated sukuk. It comes as several governments in the Gulf seek to bolster their finances to face the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and a slide in oil prices. Sharjah gave an initial price guidance of around 275 basis points over midswaps for the sukuk. Sources said the issuance would likely be between $750 million and $1 billion.

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has approved a Murabaha Financing of EUR 8 million for the Senegalese bank Banque Islamique du Sénégal (BIS). The Murabaha facility is expected to support around 1,000 jobs within the private sector, including companies in food and distribution. The swift disbursement of this financing by ITFC has enabled local private companies to procure urgent food staples, and support national response efforts to ensure food security.

Hong Leong Islamic Bank (HLISB) has appointed Professor Dr Rusni Hassan as the chairman of its Shariah Committee effective April 1, 2020. Rusni is a professor at the IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance and is an influential veteran in the Islamic finance and banking industry. Her works and contributions to Islamic finance have also been recognised internationally including being listed in the prestigious Top 10 Most Influential Women in Islamic Business and Finance 2019 and Top 50 Most Influential Women in Islamic Finance 2018 by Cambridge IFA.

Elon Musk ist berechtigt, eine etwa 765 Millionen US-Dollar hohe Vergütung zu beziehen, weil der Börsenkurs von Tesla eine vorher vereinbare Zielmarke über längere Zeit gehalten hat. Auch Gewinn und Umsatz haben die vereinbarten Zielmarken erreicht. Musk erhält kein Gehalt, sondern nur Optionen, die aufgrund von vorher definierten Zielen gezogen werden können. Diese beziehen sich auf das Umsatz- und Gewinnwachstum. Die Zielvereinbarung zwischen Tesla und Elon Musk ist so ambitioniert, dass es als nahezu unmöglich gilt, dass Musk sie vollständig erfüllen kann. Tesla muss Musk allerdings den Mindestlohn von rund 37.000 US-Dollar jährlich zahlen. Die Schecks soll Musk angeblich jedoch nicht einlösen.

Muslims concluded the celebration of Eid Al Fitr this week, marking the end of Ramadan in lockdown. Governments in the GCC region urged people to give presents instead of the traditional Eidiyah (cash) to children in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19, further prompting online purchases and money transfers. Tausif Malik, an American-Indian social entrepreneur launched the world’s first halal angel investors network in May this year with the aim to promote innovation and halal entrepreneurship. The network is looking to invest in startups of all sizes in the core sectors of the Islamic economy such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages and fashion. In addition, the network is also taking an interest in startups operating in future technologies - including blockchain, cryptocurrency and financial technology. The biggest markets for the Islamic economy are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia and the Halal Angel Network plans to set up offices in the Middle East and North Africa.

Islamic banking in Central Asia, namely in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is developing fast and is on the best way to become integrated into the global Islamic finance industry. One sign for this are the currently ongoing preparations for the CIS Islamic Banking and Finance Forum 2020 to be held from August 13 to 15 this year in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The event will focus on a broad variety of Islamic banking themes, including financial inclusion and poverty alleviation, takaful, sukuk and Islamic microfinance, the introduction of Islamic finance and operations in the region and their potential, regulation, auditing and Islamic finance contracts, Islamic fintech, the role of Islamic Finance in reaching the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, as well as general investment opportunities in the CIS member states.

Despite the attempts of the government of Kazakhstan to make its Islamic finance market more attractive, Islamic products are still rarely used in Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, the government is continuing its efforts to create a favorable legislative and regulatory framework for the development of Islamic finance so that Kazakhstan can become a regional hub. The recently established Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) aims to become the most attractive platform for the development of Islamic finance in the region. To ensure Sharia compliance, the AIFC established the International Expert Council for Islamic Finance (International Council) and the Central Council of the AIFC on the principles of Islamic finance (Central Council).

Nigerian TAJBank has announced a N150 billion Sukuk Bond of the Federal Government. The FGN Sukuk 2020 is open to investors, which include retail investors, high networth individuals, institutional investors such as commercial banks, insurance/takaful companies, pension fund administrators, asset managers, ethically inclined investors, cooperative societies, religious bodies as well as state investment firms. Considering the state of the economy and as several countries grapple with the economic impact of COVID-19, Sukuk is a tool to help countries and businesses develop sources of long-term, stable financing. Book building commenced on May 21 while funding would be on June 2.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for solidarity and unity in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in his Eid message. He called for solidarity for a large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive health response, guided by the World Health Organization, with a focus on developing countries and vulnerable people. He called for solidarity in tackling the devastating socio-economic dimensions of the crisis - keeping households afloat and businesses solvent, and prioritising the most affected: women, older people, children, low-wage earners and other vulnerable groups.

The Higher Shari’ah Authority at the Central Bank of the UAE, CBUAE, has hosted the 2nd meeting of the Centralised Shari’ah Authorities to discuss the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was held via a video conference and was attended by more than 40 participants from the members. The meeting discussed the Shari’ah parameters set to strengthen the economic and financial support scheme adopted by the governments and regulatory authorities in their respective countries. The attendees also discussed several matters with regards to challenges and Shari’ah treatments.

Ziina, the UAE's first licensed social peer-to-peer (P2P) payment application, has raised a pre-seed round of $850,000. The application will help the UAE bank account holders to use their smartphones to send and receive money as easily as sending a text message. Ziina is the latest addition to the Middle East's fintech ecosystem and is capitalising on the region's rapid adoption of fintech friendly regulation. Ziina's cofounders are Faisal Toukan, CEO, Sarah Toukan, Chief Product Officer, and Andrew Gold, VP Engineering. They are joined by a strong advisory board including serial entrepreneur Samih Toukan, and Emre Tok. The founding team recently launched the start-up's operations out of Dubai's In5 tech start-up incubator.

There’s an increasing awareness of the significance of Islamic social finance and philanthropy with more organizations reaching out to potential donors. In the Middle East, three donors explain why they choose to give to refugees through the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund. The most important reasons for them are how widely the organization distributes aid and how transparent and honest it is. Houssam Chahine, UNHCR's regional head of private sector partnerships, says the need for Zakat and Sadaqah for refugees this year is even greater. He is confident that the Fund can raise more donations this year in support of vulnerable refugee families, because challenging times persuade people to find ways to give more.

On April 11, the UN-secretary general, Antonio Guterres, urged religious leaders of all faiths to unite and work together to fight the common battle against COVID-19. The call for interfaith solidarity is echoing at a time when governments are discouraging or even forbidding all kinds of public gatherings including religious festivals, rituals and large congregations. Religious leaders from Christianity, Judaism and Islam have come together to develop creative ways to provide comfort, care and worship services to individuals and families via different digital media. Multifaith unity and collaborative efforts are very much needed to mitigate the pandemic.

Egyptians have been paying tribute to Saudi businessman Saleh Kamel who died in Jeddah on Monday after suffering a heart attack. Members of the country’s business, political, religious, and entertainment communities joined in mourning the passing of the prominent figure. Kamel, who was the chairman and founder of the Dallah Al-Baraka Group established part of his economic empire in Egypt including Arab Radio and Television (ART), and Al-Baraka Bank. He also used the ART Institution to fund charity projects throughout Egypt. Kamel had always been a strong supporter of Egypt and in March 2015 headed a delegation of 100 businessmen and investors at a major conference in Sharm El-Sheikh aimed at boosting the Egyptian economy.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) launched its family shield takaful policy, designed to provide nationals and residents financial security during unforeseen circumstances. The product is tailor-made to mitigate financial liabilities of the family of the insured, in case of unforeseen events like death or disability. For QR75 per month, customers can purchase a family shield term takaful plan through the QIB mobile app and get takaful coverage for QR250,000. QIB continues to make all financial products and services available digitally. It offers customers the possibility to perform all daily banking needs through its mobile app at any time, from anywhere, without the need to visit a branch.

Saudi billionaire Saleh Kamel died on Monday and has been buried in Makkah, but his legacy is sure to endure. Even at the age of 79, despite suffering from age-related health issues, Kamel remained active and busy. After graduating, he worked at the Saudi Ministry of Finance. After 10 years with the ministry, Kamel moved to the private sector. He founded his flagship Dallah Al-Baraka Holding Company in 1969 in Riyadh. He expanded the Group's acitivity to include financial and banking services, health care, manufacturing, real estate, tourism, trading and more. Dallah Al-Baraka Group also has the honor of being chosen to clean and sterilize the Two Holy Mosques. Kamel was also a well-known investor in the media and satellite television production. He established Arab Radio and Television and formed a partnership with the Arab MBC channel. Dubbed "the father of contemporary Islamic finance", he received Malaysia’s Royal Award for Islamic Finance in November 2010. The tycoon’s wealth was estimated to be about $2.3 billion. Kamel aspired to creating jobs. He believed that all people should have dignity and that all lives are precious and deserve to be honored.

According to Fitch Ratings, Saudi Islamic banks’ financial metrics deteriorated mildly in 2019 but remained sound. As for conventional banks, the rating agency noted that the impaired financing ratios continued to increase in 2019. Islamic banks have lower impaired financing ratios and financing impairment charges than conventional banks due to their lower proportion of corporate banking. Islamic banks’ profitability remained above conventional banks’ in 2019. Strong deposit growth at Islamic banks in 2019 allowed their financing/deposits ratio to drop below their conventional peers’. Saudi Islamic banks remain well capitalised, with an average Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 17.8% at end-2019. According to Fitch, if the current economic disruption continues, weaker asset quality and profitability are likely to put pressure on capital.

Mr. Ayman Sejiny, the CEO of The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Mr. Satesh Khemlani, the Managing Director of Finterra, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to achieve sustainable business growth. Both organizations have common beneficiaries and share similar social impact development goals. The collaboration with Finterra is based on its highly powered blockchain solutions for Islamic social finance under the names of SadaqahChain®, WAQFChain® and ZakatChain®. The MoU was digitally signed during a virtual signing ceremony. The parties will explore opportunities of blockchain in OIC member countries in close collaboration with national licensed crowd-lending/crowd-funding operators.

The global coronavirus crisis has exacerbated existing inequalities and laid bare the fissures in our societies. If philanthropic actors were able to ignore this state of affairs before, they no longer can. If we are to first survive, then thrive, we can no longer afford to shy away from supporting radical changes in the world. "The Role of Philanthropy in Society" study demonstrates the transformative potential of philanthropy. The study reveals a charitable impulse that is rooted historically and culturally in all of the countries in the study. Funding for progressive work does exist, but is limited. In all of these countries it has traditionally come from foreign funders. One of the major developments in emerging market countries has been the rise of corporate philanthropy. Common to all country papers emerging from the study is a mistrust of NGOs by donors who see civil society as unaccountable. Individual giving holds promise, as well as community philanthropy.

Sheikh Saleh Kamel was among the founding fathers of the modern Islamic banking industry and founder of the Albaraka Group.

May Allah accept his deeds and reserve a place in Jannah.

Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un