IslamicFinance.de

As some areas of banking face competition from peer-to-peer lenders, #Malaysia’s Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 included provisions that can build some of the same types of disruptive innovation into the Islamic banking marketplace. One of the most important was the launch of the Investment Account Platform (IAP) in February 2016 which is a crowdfunding platform owned by Malaysian Islamic banks. The IAP serves as a way to measure customer interest in crowdfunding as an alternative to traditional bank deposits. The investment account growth in Malaysia demonstrates an opportunity for IAP and other innovative FinTech platforms. Islamic banks should realize that they have within their guiding principles a call to embrace risk sharing rather than risk shifting.

Moody's Investors Service has today assigned a provisional (P)B3 rating to the proposed US dollar Trust Certificates to be issued by The Third Pakistan International Sukuk Company. The (P)B3 rating reflects Moody's view that the sukuk certificate holders will effectively be exposed to the sovereign credit risk incorporated in the government's issuer rating. Payment obligations represented by the securities are ranked pari passu with other senior, unsecured debt issuances of the Government of Pakistan. The rating for the Government of Pakistan captures moderate economic strength, structurally large fiscal imbalances, a high government debt burden and high susceptibility to political event risks.

Bahrain's central bank has proposed new governance rules that would require Islamic banks to conduct external sharia audits of their operations, representing a shift away from the long-held practice of self-regulation. Islamic banks in the Gulf have traditionally used in-house boards of Islamic scholars to determine whether religious principles are being obeyed. Some scholars argue that this decentralised approach allows more flexibility and diversity in Islamic finance. Bahrain's central bank said that a public consultation period for its draft rules would close on Oct. 16. These provisions could place Bahrain among the strictest jurisdictions for sharia scholars.

Ahead of the World Bank's annual meeting, president Jim Yong Kim will set out his vision for ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity. He will speak about the links between growth, poverty and inequality, the changing face of poverty, and the role the World Bank Group. Following an introduction by the host of the meeting, Strobe Talbott, Jim Yong Kim will deliver his speech, then will engage in a conversation with Kemal Dervi?, vice president and director for the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. Questions and answers will be fielded at the conclusion.

Fitch Ratings has assigned Bahrain's proposed US dollar-denominated sovereign global sukuk trust certificates, to be issued by CBB International Sukuk Company 5 (CBB5), an expected 'BB+(EXP)' rating. Fitch has also assigned Bahrain's proposed US dollar-denominated bonds an expected 'BB+(EXP)' rating. The expected ratings are in line with Bahrain's Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR), which was downgraded to 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook in June 2016. Certain aspects of the sukuk transaction will be governed by English law while others will be governed by laws of Bahrain. Fitch's rating on the certificates reflects the agency's belief that the Bahraini government would stand behind its obligations.

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the AA2/Stable ratings of Lingkaran Trans Kota’s (Litrak) Sukuk Musharakah IMTN I and II Programmes (2008/2023) with a combined value of up to RM1.45bil. The ratings reflect Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong’s (LDP) robust traffic profile, underscored by its strategic alignment through major townships, which supports its strong debt-servicing capability. According to RAM Ratings, Litrak will preserve its strong cashflow-generating ability, with an average projected annual pre-financing cashflow of about RM215mil throughout the Sukuk’s tenure. This translates into solid debt coverage, enabling the company to maintain a strong finance service coverage ratio of at least two times over the same period.

Emirates Islamic disbursed AED 1 million to Dubai Charity Association from its Zakat fund. The contribution will fund the association’s various charitable activities, such as helping the poor and needy and individuals in debt. The cheque was presented by Awatif Al Harmoodi, General Manager at Emirates Islamic and handed over to Abdul Rahim Gargash, Vice Chairman at Dubai Charity Association. In 2016, the bank has so far distributed more than AED 30 million to various charitable causes. Emirates Islamic has disbursed funds towards medical and rehabilitation equipment to government and privately run institutions including Ministry of Health, Ajman Club for disabled and Al Ihsan Medical Complex.

The central benefit of sukuk is that they give issuers access to a far broader range of investors than a conventional bond can. Their reliance on real, tangible assets and their principle of sharing risk makes them valuable for any smart risk management investment portfolio. While there exists thriving markets for them in the Middle East and southeast Asian Muslim countries, an absence of Western governments is marked. Aside from a few symbolic issues by governments in the UK, South Africa, Hong Kong and Luxembourg, domestic markets have been slow to develop.

Mirroring the conventional banking sector, Islamic finance institutions are turning to IT directors to lead the change towards business innovation. Zubair Ahmed, head of IT and business innovation at Emirates Islamic Bank, says the IT department is no longer viewed as simply an enabler, but as a business innovator in its own right. Ahmed says many of the bank’s innovations are born in the IT department. The bank’s integrated tech innovation approach is yielding results. Emirates Islamic was recognised among Global Finance’s 2016 'The Innovators' of Islamic Finance for EI trade, a Shariah-compliant online trade finance and supply chain platform. In May 2016, it also became the first Islamic bank in the UAE to enable its customers to access basic account services via Twitter.

Wahed Invest announces the launch of Wahed, the first automated Islamic investment platform, to provide access to halal portfolio management for 2 billion Muslims around the world. The Wahed platform analyzes thousands of securities worldwide to create portfolio allocations with the highest growth potential for its clients. According to CEO Junaid Wahedna, the platform democratizes access to the best financial advice for investors. Wahed offers portfolio management for investments as little as $7,500, as opposed to the usual $500,000 minimum required by most wealth management firms. Wahed Invest is currently accessible in the United States and will be available in more than 100 countries by 2017.

Turkey’s biggest casual dining chain, Big Chefs, sold a minority share to an internationally backed private-equity firm, a sign that resilient consumer demand is drawing some investors to the country, despite July's failed coup rattling the economy. Meanwhile, leading Turkish ice-cream maker Mado is in advanced discussions with Bahrain-based Venture Capital Bank to sell a sizable minority stake, said Mr. Kotan, who is advising the Kahramanmaras-based deserts-and-food company.

The #Pakistani government waived 10 taxes on the upcoming international Sukuk bond issue, which is expected to raise at least $750 million. The government is going to tap the international debt market next month to borrow $750 million to $1 billion by pledging the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway. Headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet granted tax exemptions on the Islamic bonds. This decision violated the Supreme Court judgment that barred the ECC from taking decision on fiscal matters without prior approval of the federal cabinet. The ECC also approved to reduce prices of imported urea fertiliser from Rs1,310 per bag to Rs1,200 per bag, giving Rs30.4 million subsidy.

According to a recent Fitch Ratings report, major Saudi banks continue to report liquidity coverage ratios (LCRs) above 100% despite a 30% outflow of government-related deposits. The banks’ ability to withstand such a shock demonstrates that their liquidity positions are resilient. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) released $5.3 billion (20 billion Saudi riyals) of government-related deposits into the banking sector yesterday. According to Fitch Ratings, Saudi banks will continue to adopt careful liquidity management strategies in order to protect their LCRs from falling below current levels.

In #Pakistan the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet finalised plans for immediate launch of $500 million to $1 billion sukuk in the US capital market. Presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the ECC decided to start process for the launch of sukuk in Washington on Tuesday and wind up the transaction by Oct 5, 2016. The government has already hired a consortium of five banks – Citibank, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic and Noor Islamic – as financial advisers to complete the sukuk transaction. Being Islamic mode, the bond is being raised against Lahore-Islamabad Motorway as collateral that should keep pricing slightly lower than conventional bonds. The government would decide about the exact size of the bond on the basis of investor response and pricing but would remain within $500m-$1bn band.

National Bonds Corporation, a Shari'ah-compliant savings and investment company in the #UAE, announced the results of its financial health check for Q3 2016. The survey found that the majority of the UAE’s residents are yet to sign up for Takaful coverage while only a minority is covered by traditional insurance. Within the UAE national pool of respondents, 89% admitted to not being insured against disabilities through Takaful in contrast to 11% that have traditional coverage against disabilities. The financial health check also charted the financial stability of participants. The results of the present survey are encouraging and indicate that 67% of UAE nationals and 72% of expat residents plan to pay off their liabilities and become debt free by end of this year.

The relationship between capital structure and performance in Gulf Countries Banks, came under the spotlight in a comparative study between Islamic Banks and Conventional Banks. The study was conducted by Associate Professor in Finance and Banking at Kingdom University Dr. Abdelrhman Meero. According to Professor Meero, it is imperative to conduct continuous studies and research in this field, especially as new trends and regulations are periodically introduced by governing authorities in this sector. Results of the study show that there is a similarity of capital structure of Islamic banks and Conventional banks in Gulf Countries. The similarity of capital structure could be the result of the regulation system of the Gulf Countries, which controls the two types of banks by the same capital adequacy regulations.

During the visit, the ICD delegation will meet with representatives of Azerbaijan's financial sector to study the potential of micro-finance market and works done in this sphere. The conference will also be attended by representatives of Germany's KfW Group.

Kuwait Finance House-Malaysia (KFH-Malaysia) is taking steps towards expanding its operations in Sarawak on top of the two existing branches at present. CEO David Power reinstated KFH's commitment to grow and expand after paying a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem. He added that there were 15 branches throughout Malaysia since its establishment in 2006, two of them in Sarawak. He noted they were evaluating the performance of the two existing branches first and consider to set up another branch. KFH Malaysia is looking forward to stronger business ties in the state in the long term to provide Islamic financial services and products to the people of Sarawak.

More than 2,000 groups of women will acquire interest-free loans worth Shs43 billion from the government under the Uganda Women's Entrepreneurship programme (UWEP). According to Mr Puis Bigirimana, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Gender, women entrepreneurs are constrained by limited access to finance as they attempt to grow their businesses. UWEP will promote women's economic empowerment through entrepreneurship skills. Under the programme, groups will receive up to Shs12.5 million each while special projects that benefit a bigger community will receive Shs25 million. UWEP National programme coordinator Ms Brenda Kifuko said all beneficiaries will have to pay back to enable more women access credit. Groups that pay in the first year of reception will only pay the principle amount while groups that pay after the first year will be subject to a 5% interest rate in form of a service fee to cater for inflation.

#Kazakhstan based SK Leasing (SKL) announced that it has engaged Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) to help the company achieve Shari'a Compliance in its business activities. Managing director Duman Nurbayev said SKL is going to be the first leasing company in Kazakhstan to be fully converted into Sharia compliant activities. Also, they are planning to be the first company in the CIS region which will provide a wide range of Islamic Financial products and services. SKL finances projects in the real economy sector for renovation, modernization and expansion of fixed assets. SKL has 3 domestic offices and approximately 240 clients. Its regional network includes representations in Almaty, Astana and Atyrau.