IslamicFinance.de

Qatar-based Barwa Bank arranged $863mn of notes in 2012, and is therefore the eighth-biggest underwriter out of 25 for GCC sukuk. Barwa Bank chief executive officer Steve Troop said that there was a space for an institutional Islamic bank to focus on sukuk. Barwa Bank which started operations in the third quarter of 2009 will wait until releasing first-half results before pursuing a credit rating. Moreover, it is preparing to sell shares in an initial public offering and is being advised by QInvest.

Qatar-based Barwa Bank has become one of the top 10 underwriters of Arabian Gulf Islamic bonds within three years of opening and plans to seek a credit rating in the second half before a possible sukuk sale. The bank arranged US$863 million of notes in 2012, and is considering its own issuance of sukuk. In addition to sovereign clients, Barwa helped Dubai-based Emaar Properties and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank sell Islamic notes in 2012. The lender had assets of 21.5bn Qatari riyals at the end of June.

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has a tax system that enables sukuk transactions to be carried out without excessive tax costs, according to a study conducted by the experts Mohamed Amin, Salah Gueydi and Hafiz Choudhury. The study reviewed the tax treatment of four common Islamic finance structures ‘murabaha’, ‘sukuk’, ‘salaam’ and ‘istisna’ in the eight Mena countries. Mr. Amin said the study shows clearly that the additional transactions required by Islamic finance are at risk of being subject to taxes, and can make Islamic finance transactions prohibitively expensive. Only Turkey and the QFC have modified their tax laws to facilitate Islamic finance.

Al Jazeera Finance (AJF) has signed a $95m (QR345.8m) 3-year dual currency Murabaha facility with a syndicate of banks from the GCC. QInvest acted as sole bookrunner and structuring adviser to AJF. Qatar Islamic Bank took the Mandate Lead Arranger (MLA) role and is also acting as the Investment Agent. Ahli United Bank, First Gulf Bank UAE and QInvest were the Lead Arrangers. According to Amer Al Jabri, Chief Executive Officer of AJF, the agreement is an important stepping stone towards diversifying AJF's funding sources, and reaching out to a wider group of banking relationships.

The conference titled "Arab Youth & Entrepreneurship: Holistic Approaches to Nurturing Local Ecosystems", which will take place on February 16-18, 2013 in Doha, Qatar, will focus on creating economic opportunities for young people in the Middle East and North Africa. Issues to be addressed include gender issues and job creation for low-income groups. The organizer of the conference is the MENA Child and Youth Program of the Arab Urban Development. The registration is free of charge and all sessions will be simultaneously available in Arabic and English.

Qatar is in a good position to face future challenges due to its economic and business diversification. The emirate is member of several economic and commercial agreements and organizations, and has been engaged in trade and investment negotiations with the European community and Japan. Therefore, Qatar will probably be able to avoid dependence on oil and gas production and to benefit from foreign direct investments in the future.

Bassel Gamal was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB). Mr. Gamal is well grounded in banking and finance, and has had experience in several institutions and positions. He will assume his office next month.

EFG-Hermes Holding SAE (HRHO) said its sale to Qatar’s QInvest LLC has been delayed because of regulatory approvals. This is because the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority hasn’t yet approved the transfer of EFG-Hermes’ Egyptian assets to the new, Qatari-based entity. QInvest will invest $250 million in the venture, with the option to buy total ownership.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK) registered a decline of 9.5% in terms of profit last year. Meanwhile, the biggest Shariah-compliant lender in the country raised provisions against bad loans. According to a recent statement, the net income was 1.24 billion riyals ($341 million). In comparison to that, it was 1.37 billion riyals in 2011. Estimations of seven analysts pointed at a profit of 1.46 billion riyals. In 2012 the bank raised provisions from 194 million riyals in 2011 to 502 million riyals.

This year, contracts worth $159 billion are to be awarded across the Middle East. Project finance loans are expected to grow almost 15% this year. It is expected that the area of project finance will grow from about $35 billion in 2012 to about $40 billion due to the increase in significance of infrastructure demand. On February 17-20 the Qatar Projects 2013 conference will be held in Doha, organized by Meed Events. The key part of the event will be a comprehensive review of contract financing opportunities and challenges in Qatar.

This is a lead role, so only apply if you have deep relationships in Qatar with a lot of experience in the GCC. Arabic speakers/GCC nationals is a benefit but not essential. Department: Corporate Clients/ Commercial Clients/ Financial Institutions/Government/quasi-Government/International Banking Division: Relationship Management Group: Wholesale Banking

High command of broad product range for credit, investment banking, transaction banking and Islamic banking products

The countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a very high chance of success in the development of their financial markets and promoting their competitiveness. This is shown in a recent research by Deutsche Bank. One of the key factors stressed on in the research report is progress made in corporate governance-related matters. The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf countries has made significant advances in establishing effective financial market regulation and oversight as well as a strong grip on market abuse and financial fraud. Continuing to follow this direction and committing the resources needed to achieve optimal consistency and effectiveness in regulation and market supervision is seen as crucial for achieving the goals of financial development and economic diversification.

Qatar Islamic Bank is introducing specific sector-related packages which shall correspond to the different needs of SMEs. The first such packages focus on the key sectors of construction, trading and services. A new programme is being launched which shall providing special services to the country's small and medium sized enterprises. Exclusive financial benefits, guidance and advice will be offered. The programme is named Aamaly and will support SMEs which are recognized as one of the main contributors in innovation and job creation in the country.

? three-day Financial Literacy Training of Trainers course was organized and held by Silatech - a social enterprise aiming to to increase employment and entrepreneurship among youth in the Middle East and North Africa. 20 instructors from the Sudan Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (SABFS) took part. After the training, they now can offer a four months long microfinance development program to approximately 1,000 credit officers in Sudan. The materials used in the training were developed by US-based Microfinance Opportunities.

Yesterday Qatar Exchange (QE) and Al Rayan Investment made an announcement about the launch of the QE Al Rayan Islamic index. The new index relies on QE listed stocks of minimum free float size and liquidity that are Shariah compliant. Its debut date is set on January 7th 2013. The goal of the index is to support the creation of Shariah-compliant exchange traded fund (ETF) by Al Rayan Investment. The issuance was carried out with a fatwa by its Shariah Board.

In 2012, Qatar’s banking sector was buttressed by high oil and gas prices and a large-scale infrastructure programme. The banking sector continuously benefits from substantial GDP growth in the economy of the country. Real GDP reached 19% in 2011. This increase was caused by strength in oil prices and the substantial increase in LNG production to 75mnt (from 55mnt). The latter was able to drive hydrocarbon sector GDP up by more than 30%. The output of the non-hydrocarbon sector continued its growth as well, sustaining a 9% rate due to ongoing capital expenditure on infrastructure development.

The first edition of the Qatar CSR Report 2012 has been released. The central part of the report are the most recent developments in CSR from both government and private institutions. Reviewed developments include Qatar National Vision 2030, National Development Strategy 2011-16, Qatar 2022, National Day, and National Sports Day. In addition, the Millennium Development Goals are described in detail. The United Nation's ten principles on climate change in Qatar, and strategies carried out by the respective public and private sector entities to implement it in the country are incorporated in the report.

According to a study by the National Bonds GCC Savings Index, about 90% of the people in a number of GCC countries feel they are not saving enough for their future. The percentage of people, who do not put away any money for future saving, is 71% of residents in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, 74% in Saudi Arabia and 65% in the UAE. The study further shows that in Saudi Arabia 92% felt they were not saving enough. The percentages in the other countries involved in the study are 91% in Kuwait, 88% in Bahrain, 87% in the UAE, 85% in Oman, and 84% in Qatar.

The deadline for discussions about the takeover of the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) by Masraf, the biggest Qatari bank, had been extended to January 7. IBB which is majority-owned by Qatar International Islamic Bank is trying to invigorate its business after the profit downturn in 2011 when it reported a loss of 8.9 million pounds. According to a separate statement released last week, IBB registered a 63% growth in home financing and a 43% up in long-term savings deposits in the first nine months of 2012. Management of the bank will continue focusing on secured financing and increasing of the loyalty of young savers.

SJ Seymour Group is the leading independent Fixed Income specialist in Asia.

We are seeking to employ highly experienced, professional sales individuals with a proven record of success and established clientele in the Middle East. In addition to a wide general knowledge of capital markets, successful candidates should be able to demonstrate specialist skills in one or more of the following areas: emerging market debts, structured debt products or Islamic capital market products.