IslamicFinance.de

The 2016 HUMA Islamic Finance Conference was held at Harvard University on October 14 and 15 on the role of Islamic finance in sustainable development goals. CEO of Wahed Invest, Mr. Junaid Wahedna spoke about the future of the industry and the impact of Robo-advising on Islamic financing and sustainable development goals. He said that Wahed Invest brings the latest technology into the world of ethical financing and the feedback from attendees was extremely encouraging. The two-day event included sessions to discuss the functions of Islamic finance, while also critically probing the institutional constraints and the product limitations that may challenge the Islamic finance industry in making a meaningful impact.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) has approved the proposed settlement with assets of an estimated $350-450 million, subject to counterparties' fulfillment of their obligations. The company said the estimated value of the assets is preliminary and subject to regulatory approvals before being recorded in GFH’s financial statements. The recoveries after realisation will have a positive impact on GFH’s financials for the fourth quarter of 2016. GFH shares, which have outperformed the Dubai index, were up nearly 1 per cent to be at Dh1.14.

CIMB Investment Bank (CIMB IB) came out tops on RAM Rating Services' league tables for both corporate bonds and sukuk as at end-September 2016, after having arranged RM21.25 billion worth of RAM-rated corporate bonds and sukuk. The amount represents 56% of the RM37.88 billion RAM-rated corporate bonds and sukuk in the first nine months of the year. In terms of sukuk programme value, Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB), which has arranged RM12.54 billion or 72% of RAM-rated sukuk, takes the lead. As at end-September 2016, outstanding corporate bonds stood at RM536.5 billion, while the gross issuance of corporate bonds and sukuk amounted to RM66.4 billion, almost 50% higher than last year’s January-to-September period. RAM anticipates the corporate bond market to chart a steady course through the remainder of 2016.

#Malaysian banks may have dominated the sukuk market but in value terms the world’s top three sukuk managers, namely HSBC, Standard Chartered and JPMorgan Chase are ahead of any of the local top banks. Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said that despite accounting for 54% of the global sukuk issuances, the country still lags behind global banks. He said local banks could not compete on this front because Malaysia lacks the presence of an Islamic mega bank. Malaysia had in the last 12 months issued 25 of the 30 largest sukuk issuances which collectively totalled US$37 billion (RM154 billion) in value. Thirteen of these sukuk offerings were domestic offerings. Johari urged the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to consolidate their capabilities to produce higher global gross domestic product (GDP).

Cobalt Insurance and Capita Managing Agency have received approval from Lloyd’s of London to launch the first Sharia-compliant syndicate of the specialist insurance market. Once it gets full approval, the new Lloyd’s business will be named Cobalt Syndicate 1438, which is the Islamic calendar’s number for the year 2017. Cobalt founder Richard Bishop said the aim of the syndicate was to look to underwrite new business from emerging markets and working with others in Lloyd’s to extend their participation in those markets. Cobalt will start underwriting in the first quarter of 2017 with initial focus on developing a property and specialty-focused book of commercial business from emerging markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Asian regions.

Qatar Islamic Insurance turned in nine months net profit of QAR 50.117 million, down 29.6 per cent on the QAR 71.212 million recorded in 2015. Earnings per Share (EPS) amounted to QAR 3.34, compared to EPS amounted to QAR 4.75 for the same period of the previous year.

Dar Al Sharia Islamic Finance Consultancy has recently confirmed that the shares of DAMAC Properties are Sharia-compliant for the purposes of investment and trading. Adil Taqi, Group Chief Financial Officer of DAMAC Properties, said this certification will open up new horizons by attracting a wider range of potential investors that seek Sharia-compliant financial instruments. DAMAC's financial ratios are within the acceptable limits prescribed by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institution (AAOIFA) Sharia Standards and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) Sharia Standard for share trading. DAMAC Properties’ financials will be reviewed on a quarterly basis in order to ascertain the ongoing Sharia compliance status.

The Kingdom of Jordan closed its inaugural local currency Sukuk, which was more than three-times oversubscribed. The Kingdom raised Jordanian Dinar JOD 34 million (USD 47.9 million) maturing in 2021, with an expected profit rate of 3.01%. The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) acted as Transaction Technical Support and Advisor. The sovereign issuance is part of a comprehensive joint-Technical Assistance Package provided by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and ICD. According to Finance Minister Omar Malhas, Jordan aims to widen the use of Sukuk in the short-term. The Sukuk will play a critical role in increasing the effectiveness of the financing mechanisms of government needs to cover the budget deficits.

Ahli United Bank Kuwait has opened books on a perpetual dollar sukuk after wrapping up investor meetings on Monday. Books were oversubscribed and were due to close on Tuesday. Citi, Credit Agricole and Credit Suisse ran the roadshow, which started in Abu Dhabi and Dubai last Wednesday before taking in Zurich and Geneva, London and Singapore. Books were opened at 5.75% area on Monday before guidance was refined to 5.5%-5.875%.

Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) in collaboration with the Institute for Corporate Governance recently held the second session of its training programme entitled "The Principles of Corporate Governance in Government Entities". The session targeted second and third level female leaders to promote the role of Emirati women and support their leadership. Shamsa Saleh, CEO of Dubai Women Establishment stressed the important role of the training in highlighting good corporate governance practices. The training session was attended by representatives of various sectors and featured presentations about a range of governance elements. The session supports the UAE Cabinet's decision to make the representation of women on boards of directors compulsory.

Despite the efforts of the #Kenyan regulators, some toxic products have been allowed into the market under the banner of Islamic finance. The lack of clarity among regulators has allowed unscrupulous managers to mask certain offerings as Islamic, which has tainted the sub-sector’s reputation in recent months. Chase Bank was placed under receivership in April after special purpose investment vehicles it had classified as Islamic products were contested. Juma Makomba, the Sharia compliance manager at Takaful Insurance of Africa, said Chase Bank was not brought down by Islamic banking products because the facility would have qualified as a Qard-Hassan. He added that Qard-Hassan is given to somebody who is in distress, but the product they were calling a Qard-Hassan was in fact Musharakah.

#India’s first fully Sharia-compliant fund launched its third investment fund, Realty AIF 1 (Alternative Investment Fund). The fund is meant for the real estate sector with IL&FS Trust Company acting as trustee for the fund and Secura Investment Management as promoter. According to managing director Mehaboob, the fund will raise 200 crore and the minimum investment under the scheme is 1 crore. The tenure of the fund is seven years from the final closing. Mehaboob added that an annualised RoI of 15-20% is expected, with a profit share post hurdle of 80:20 with catch-up. Company officials said the investments under the fund will be made in the modes of investment in equity, quasi-equity and equity-related instruments. Other modes include investment in a co-investment capacity with development companies or other promoters of a portfolio company, and investment in special purpose vehicles created by the company.

Sabana Shariah Compliant REIT released its fiscal third-quarter earnings yesterday. The REIT’s portfolio currently consists of 21 industrial properties in Singapore. Gross revenue was S$23.0 million in the reporting quarter, down 9.7% compared to the previous year. Net property income declined 24% to S$13.9 million during the same period, mainly due to higher operating expenses. As a result, the REIT’s distribution per unit for the quarter also tumbled by 32.2% to 1.20 cents based on a unit count of 739.8 million units. At the end of the reporting quarter, the REIT had a net asset value per unit of S$0.81, down 23.6% from the S$1.06 seen a year ago. According to manager Kevin Xayaraj, industrial rents are expected to be under pressure with the onset of the softening demand and high supply of industrial space in the market. Market conditions are exptected to remain challenging.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Kuveyt Turk's proposed US dollar-denominated sukuk certificates an expected 'BBB(EXP)' rating. The expected rating is in line with Kuveyt Turk's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'BBB', which has a Negative Outlook. The issuer is KT Kira Sertifikalari Varlik Kiralama (KKSVK), which is wholly owned by Kuveyt Turk. The documentation includes a negative pledge provision that is binding on Kuveyt Turk, as well as financial reporting obligations, covenants, Kuveyt Turk event (including cross default) and change of control clause. Certain aspects of the transaction will be governed by English law while others will be governed by Turkish law.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Afriland First Bank have signed an agreement in which both parties will cooperate to establish an Islamic Window in Ivory Coast. The cooperation reflects ICD's ambition to promote Islamic Finance in its member countries and support its growing presence and activities in Africa. The agreement was signed by Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, CEO and Managing Director of ICD and Olivier Dadjeu Kengne, CEO and Managing Director of Afriland First Bank Ivory Coast. Both directors expressed their strong support for the partnership. The partnership with ICD aims to diversify Afriland First Bank's activities and meet the needs its customers, particularly the needs of a large Muslim community, which is actively involved in trades.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has launched a new automated complaint management system, a system that helps customers to track the status of an issue and to understand what is happening at every step in the process. The complaint management system is accessible by all employees, ensuring that every person working for the bank is able to contribute to improving customer service. The moment a request/complaint is logged into the system, a text message (SMS) is sent to the customer providing a unique reference number related to the inquiry. This allows QIB customers to get easy updates on the status of their complaint any time. Upon a suitable resolution of each case, QIB customers receive a closing/confirmation SMS. Constantinos Constantinides, the bank's chief strategy officer said the new system would increase customers’ satisfaction and maintain their loyalty to QIB.

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) has conducted an auction of US$1.11bil (RM4.63bil) three-month tenor sukuk priced at 1.35389% profit rate. The IILM said the 11 primary dealers that participated in the Sukuk offering were Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Turk, Barwa Bank, Boubyan Bank, CIMB Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Maybank Islamic, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar National Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. The IILM Sukuk is rated A-1 by Standard & Poor's Rating Services and the 29th series brings the total cumulative amount of the IILM Sukuk that were issued and reissued to US$21.14bil (RM88.14bil).

In #Pakistan the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) allowed exemption from withholding tax on purchase of immovable property by the Second Pakistan International Sukuk Company. The company has already enjoyed several exemption and concessions, exemption from levy of various advance taxes, profit on debt and tax on income from property. This further exemption was granted to strengthen the Islamic debt market by attracting investors by grant of tax concessions.

According to Moody’s Investors Service, Oman and Indonesia have made the most progress this year in terms of taking initiatives to advance Islamic finance. According to Khalid Howladar, global head of Islamic finance at Moody’s, Oman’s strategy has already yielded substantive results and new sukuk regulations have been published. Over three years Oman’s Islamic banking sector has gone from zero to an agregate of around 10% of the banking system’s financing assets as of June 2016. Indonesia has several inititives to accelerate growth. Also, the country launched a 10-year Islamic finance master plan that consists of action plans and interventions covering key aspects. Meanwhile, markets that seem to have stalled this year are the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

Kenya launched an office dedicated to oversee its Islamic finance industry and help prepare for the issue a debut sovereign shariah-compliant bond. With 11% of Muslim population, Kenya has seen the emergence of Islamic institutions in recent years, including two banks, five Islamic banking windows offered by commercial lenders, insurance firms and a unit trust fund. The government wants to build up the industry as part of a long-term plan to turn Nairobi into an International Financial Centre. Kenya, which has applied to become a member of the Islamic Financial Services board, is carrying out legal and policy reforms to facilitate the growth of the industry. According to Kamau Thugge, the principal secretary at the Treasury, the government will consider issuing a sovereign Sukuk as soon as the legal and policy reforms are implemented.