IslamicFinance.de

Tunisian Islamic bank Zitouna was the first to succeed in placing on the national financial market in December 2015 the Islamic bonds sukuk for a value of 22.5 million euros. The result exceeded expectations - set at 20 million euros - the management of Zitouna said. at a Forum on Islamic finance held at Kram in Tunis. The Forum was attended by several protagonists of the Tunisian economic and financial scenario like central bank governor, Chedly Ayari, the president of Cmf, Salah Sayel and former finance minister, Jalloul Ayed. Zitouna bank, on behalf of its president Ezzedine Khoja, has announced it is launching a new business plan in 2016-2020 with the objective of becoming the bank of reference in Tunisia and a leading Islamic bank in Africa.

C’est un chantier attendu depuis plusieurs années au Maroc qui sera inauguré sous peu. La finance islamique (ou participative) a fait l’objet d’une rencontre à laquelle plusieurs experts ont pris part ce mercredi 24 février, dans le cadre de la 7e édition du Forum africain de la finance islamique (FAFI) organisée à Casablanca, qui s’achève demain. Le développement de la finance participative devrait permettre au Maroc d’atteindre entre 3 et 5% du total des actifs bancaires, soit un potentiel estimé à 70 milliards de dirhams environ. Au Maroc, des décisions ont été prises pour disposer d’un comité "Charia" centralisé. Les infrastructures logistiques ont aussi commencé à se développer.

Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) President Thabet Al Wir highlighted the Jordanian experiments in Islamic banking and halal food as a gate for cooperation with Germany to support the Kingdom's investment and economic environment. At a meeting with a German delegation representing the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the German Federal Ministry of Finance, Wir described the Jordanian expertise in Islamic banking as top at the regional and international levels. The Kingdom is also among the first countries to accredit the Islamic banking system, he said. The presence of many Muslim communities in Germany provides a chance for the country to benefit from the Islamic system in its banking sector, the JIC president added.

Al Baraka Bank Egypt, part of Bahrain's Al Baraka Group (ABG), is planning to pump one billion Egyptian pounds (US$127.7 million) to support Egyptian SMEs, its chairman Ashraf El-Ghamrawy said. The investments, with a five percent interest rate, are in favour of the central bank's initiative to advocate small and medium-sized enterprises. Earlier, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the banking sector would inject 200 billion Egyptian pounds ($25 billion) to support small and medium businesses. Within this year, Al Baraka Bank Egypt plans to sign a new partnership worth 200 million pounds with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) to finance small and medium businesses led by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and President of the Islamic Development Bank Ahmad Mohammad Ali have singed a $200,000 grant agreement under which the bank will finance capacity building project for societies. The agreement aims to improve the quality of life in rural areas to curb poverty, increase economic growth and integrate the poor in the local community. The total cost of the project stands at $350,000, $200,000 of which will be covered by the Islamic Development Bank while the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) will contribute $100,000 and the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development $50,000. Fakhoury stressed the need to support the plan to enable Jordan to deal with the issue of hosting Syrian refugees.

Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt's volume of business has increased by 7.4 percent to register EGP 56.141 billion (US$7 billion) at the end of January 2016. The indicators also revealed that the bank's volume of business hit EGP 52.259 billion at the end of January 2016. Furthermore, the total assets of the bank increased by 7.6% from EGP 51.756 billion in January 2015 to EGP 55.701 billion in January 2016. In addition, the bank's current accounts and saving pools rose 7.5% to record 49.494 billion, compared to 46.048 billion in the same period of the previous year. However, the Liquid assets gained 6.6% to LE 3.081 billion, up from LE 2.889 billion in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, the bank accounts inched up 3.5% to 1.157 million, up from 1.117 million a year earlier.

The Deputy Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD) at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Adnan Mazarei said that it is necessary to establish a minimum level of security in Syria before the IMF and international institutions can evaluate its economic needs. In an interview, Mazarei said that the Fund estimates the urgent humanitarian needs and costs, the costs of reconstruction and contributes to the reconstruction of the institutions that were destroyed. He also said that the removal of sanctions on Iran will have a positive effect by allowing the country to produce and export more oil, it has also regained access to its international reserves which will also allow greater investment, and all of these things will encourage growth.

The Royal Jordanian Airlines announced the successful closure of its US$ 275,000,000 dual conventional and Islamic secured syndicated facility. The syndicate comprised of seven banks based in Jordan, UAE and Qatar; they are Mashreq, Arab Bank plc, Al Khalij Commercial Bank (Al Khaliji) Q.S.C, Dubai Islamic Bank, and The Commercial Bank/Qatar acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers, Arab Jordan Investment Bank as Lead Arranger and Bank al-Etihad as Arranger. Mashreq Bank acted as the sole book-runner for the loan. The facility carries a tenor of 5 years and the proceeds of the facility will be primarily utilized to consolidate and refinance RJ's existing debt and further support the company's on-going strategic growth and turnaround plans on the short- and medium-run.

The Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem confirmed that the World Bank aims to give $20 billion to the Middle East to help ease the Syrian crisis within the next five years. The figure is three times what the World Bank has spent up until now, and Ghanem added that his institution has given $4.9 billion to the Middle East and North Africa since July last year and most of this went to Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and, to a lesser extent, Lebanon. The increase had already started before the Syria crisis, when $1.6 billion was given to the region every 12 months. With regards to the monitoring of loans, Ghanem said that the World Bank helps the government design a project and provides technical assistance. Then a team of experts supervises it every six months.

Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt) Fund, originally initiated by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to support national economy, is planning to launch a leasing firm, its executive chairman Mohamed Ashmawy said. The anticipated firm will be with a capital up to 100 million Egyptian pounds (US$13 million). The firm will help provide job opportunities for the youth. Since the fund was initiated in 2014, individuals and businessmen have contributed billions of Egyptian pounds to the fund. The fund's executive committee encompasses leading businessmen like Naguib Sawiris, former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and a representative from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Un an après l'adoption de la loi autorisant l'implantation de banques islamiques au Maroc, un troisième acteur va faire son apparition sur la scène de la finance islamique au royaume, en l'occurrence de la Banque participative du Maroc. La nouvelle banque est née du partenariat entre la Banque populaire et le groupe américain Guidance financial Group pour créer une filiale (détenue à 80% par la BP) proposant des produits islamiques. Jusque-là, deux banques islamiques ont été créées au royaume. Il s'agit d'Al Baraka Bank, détenue à parts égales par BMCE Bank of Africa et le groupe bahreïni Baraka Banking Group, et Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB).

In Iraq, authorities continue to battle ISIS while advancing important political reforms. And microfinance – in the broad sense of providing credit, savings, payments, and insurance to low-income households and small businesses – is one intervention poised to promote local economic activity and help manage economic shocks. The 2014 Findex survey found that only 11% of the adult population has an account at a formal financial institution. It also revealed a significant gap between Iraqi citizens who borrowed formally (4%) and those who did so informally (65%), hinting for a much higher demand than that currently served by the financial sector. This is notably because Iraq’s financial system remains seriously underdeveloped, as highlighted in the World Bank’s 2011 Financial Sector Review.

President Beji Caid Essebsi and the Bahrain Prime Minister agreed to restart the mega project Tunis Financial Harbor, said official spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic, Moez Sinaoui. This mega project is financed by the Gulf Finance House, an Islamic Investment Bank of Bahrain, with a budget of 7.5 billion dinars. It will set up the first financial center for offshore banking institutions in North Africa. The Financial Harbor will house a set of shopping centers and residential units and recreation spaces: marina, golf courses.

It is a common perception that the Arab world lags behind when it comes to financial inclusion. According to the 2014 Findex figures and excluding Gulf countries, the region indeed reports the highest percentage of financially excluded adults, with 80% of the population or about 200 million not having access to an account, and 95% not having access to credit. Yet, this has not always been the case. However, limited advocacy efforts concerted from within the industry as well as a lack of champions within public authorities both played a contributing factor here. Microfinance professionals can attest that 2010 marked the beginning of a new era, with positive signs of long-lasting, albeit arduous, change.

From Oman to Algeria, the MENA region is being hammered by low oil prices, which fell below $28 a barrel on January 18, a drop of more than 60% since June 2014. Some countries have been hurt particularly hard. In Libya, for example, the World Bank estimates that the fiscal deficit is more than 55% of GDP and the current account deficit is about 70% of GDP. In Saudi Arabia, central bank reserves have plunged from $732 billion to $623 billion in less than 12 months. Some 75% of the Saudi government’s budget comes from oil. Given the deficit, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) notes that Saudi Arabia needs to sell oil at around $106 a barrel to balance its budget. A regional country that could potentially do better in 2016 is Iran.

Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed its Shari’ah Quality Rating of AA (SQR) assigned to Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB). Rating derives strength from JIB’s evident commitment to Shari’ah compliance, which stems at the helm of the institution and is cultivated across management cadres. It is in majority owned by Albaraka Banking Group (ABG). The rating is also supported by Jordan’s effective regulatory Shari’ah governance standards, which with recent revisions are closely aligned with best practice. The bank has been proactive in adopting the revisions in central bank guidelines, and their full implementation is targeted to be achieved within the ongoing year.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that overall sovereign creditworthiness in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region has deteriorated since Standard & Poor’s last published six months ago. The rating agency has published the report Middle East And North Africa Sovereign Rating Trends 2016. The average rating for the hydrocarbon-endowed sovereigns of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain , Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, is currently close to ‘A’, having been at ‘A+’ prior to the downgrade of Saudi Arabia and the inclusion of Iraq in the average. For those with more limited hydrocarbon resources (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Ras Al Khaimah, and Sharjah), it is closer to ‘BB+’. The outlooks are negative on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, reflecting weakening fiscal profiles and uncertain policy responses.

Zain Jordan has signed a MoU with the Islamic International Arab Bank on supporting entrepreneurs and startups. Under the agreement, the Islamic International Arab Bank will provide support for Zain Jordan's Innovation Campus members in various areas of collaboration, in addition to exploring development opportunities in creativity and entrepreneurship. Zain Jordan CEO Ahmad Hanandeh said that Zain supports startups in facing challenges and equips them with the latest technological tools.

A new International Finance Corporation (IFC)-supported report by Wamda Research Lab finds that although support for entrepreneurs and start-ups has grown substantially across the Middle East and North Africa, many challenges remain, hindering job creation and economic growth. In Exploring Conditions for Entrepreneurs in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and UAE Wamda surveyed nearly 500 entrepreneurs from the four countries, which have seen the majority of entrepreneurship development initiatives in the region. The report looks at the main trends in entrepreneurship and the challenges entrepreneurs face in growing their businesses. Access to finance is one of the main challenges cited by entrepreneurs in the report.

Jordan’s Ministry of Finance has prepared a plan of estimated issuance of government bonds for the year 2016 which puts net domestic borrowing for the current year at some JOD 896 million. Separately, the MoF has also revealed plans to issue Sukuk worth JOD 150 million to provide finance for the National Electric Power Company. Secretary-General of the Finance Ministry, Ezeddin Kanakriyeh, said the Sukuk would be tendered in two equal separate issuances. This indicative plan will be updated periodically in accordance with the requirements and developments in the light of the cash flow management plan prepared by the Ministry, which takes into consideration the value of the expected cash revenues and expenses through the implementation of the 2016 budget.