IslamicFinance.de

Nakheel's bonds have brought their bondholders four times more returns than global peers this year. This year's return of the company's notes is 48%. Thus, the average gains of 11 per cent for the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Real Estate Index were surpassed by far. Compared to Nakheel, bonds of high-yielding American home builders registered an increase of 23%.

Global Islamic banking assets are expected to reach over $1.8 trillion in the coming year. This forecast by Ernst & Young is significantly higher than some industry estimates published earlier. The Islamic banking industry continuously grows worldwide and manages to sustain its quick pace. The top 20 Islamic banks demonstrate growth rates of 16% during the last three years. Saudi Arabia appears to be the largest market for Islamic assets.

According to HSBC Holdings, bond sales by Gulf government-related companies will experience growth at the beginning of next year. Thus, more than $1trn can be invested in different planned projects. Georges Elhedery, head of global markets for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC, supports the opinion that the optimistic attitude is very reasonable.

Dana Gas PJSC completed restructuring its $920 million of Islamic bonds after reaching an agreement to pay twice the average yield on emerging markets corporate sukuk. Bondholders, some of which are BlackRock Inc (BLK) and Ashmore Group Plc (ASHM), will be paid $70 million in cash. The remaining Shariah- compliant debt will be split into convertible bonds and an ordinary sukuk of equal value worth $425 million. The profit rate of the five-year convertible bonds will be as high as 7% and the profit rate of ordinary sukuk 9 respectively.

According to a recent report by KFH-Research, one million wealthy families in the Gulf region are in possession of investment assets worth about USD 1.2 trillion. The report further informs that the world's population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) grew by a marginal 0.8% year on year to 11 million in 2011. In comparison to growth rates of 17.1% in 2009 and 8.3% in 2010, last year's growth is considered rather sluggish. There is also a decline in the aggregate financial wealth of these HNWIs as high as 1.7% to USD 42 trillion in 2011. The main reason for this is believed to be the challenging global macroeconomic conditions and volatile global financial markets.

It is estimated that the total Islamic assets of the UAE are worth $75 billion. This sum puts the country on the third place regarding the global market for the Shariah-based banking industry. The worldwide assets in this area are expected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2013. The world's leader in Islamic assets is Saudi Arabia with an estimated total of $207 billion for 2011. The Islamic banking industry continues its rise as the top 20 Islamic banks grew 16% in the past three years.

In the area of today’s capital markets it is easy to talk and make statements about vision, mission, and strategy. Turning them into action, however, is a completely different thing. So, the question remains how to get economic talk into work done for the world’s leading economies, companies, academic institutions, governments, and regulatory authorities. "The power to convene" is considered to be a key capability leading towards executing plans and promises. It is illustrated with recent examples and analysis of this power's potential and ways to use it are discussed.

Civil interest in Bahrain causes transactional business to be slow while litigation is flourishing. Therefore, the country's lawyers are determined to take up a key role in Bahrain's development. Different opinions have been expressed on who or what exactly is to blame for the currently slow business for lawyers.

HSBC claims that bond sales by government-related companies in the Persian Gulf will be able to pick up at the beginning of next year. Then, more than $1 trillion in planned spending will be supported. The reason for the optimism towards bond sales is that this year's issuance by government-related enterprises fell to about $9.9 billion. Compared to that, it was $13 billion last year and $8 billion in 2010.

It is expected that Islamic banks will expand further since they are currently competing more and more with conventional lenders in attracting mainstream customers. The Islamic assets of all commercial banks' in total are estimated to reach $1.55 trillion this year, $1.8 trillion in 2013 and over $2 trillion mark. Nearly 30% of the total - $450 billion in assets - are owned by Islamic banks in the Gulf region.

Arab investors in a €400m (US$516m) French property fund operated by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) are seriously thinking about legal action because they have received neither any dividend nor audited financial statements on the fund's status for the last three years. The launch of the Al Rayyan II French Property Fund took place in 2005. It is managed by Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) on behalf of DIB. The fund was used to invest in several income-producing properties in France. Initially, a yearly return of around 8% was given to the investors.

According to Hasan S. AlJabri - CEO of SEDCO Capital - banks in Saudi Arabia have success in Shariah-compliant financing and arouse attention and excitement around the world. Together with some of the leading global managers SEDCO has been working on the development of sophisticated Shariah-compliant investments making them more rewarding than conventional investments. The reason for that is pointed out to be the low leverage.

An exclusive home finance scheme for high-end residential communities was launched by Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) on Saadiyat island. THe new scheme is applicable to purchases of the luxury Saadiyat Beach Villas. A unique and simple home finance package for potential residents of the Villas including 100% finance up to Dhs30m repayable over a period of 25 years with a competitive profit rate starting from 4.99% will be offered.

At a recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM) the Savola Group gave its approval for the issuance of a sukuk. The bond's total total value shall not be higher than the company’s paid-up capital. THe EGM furthermore voted the delegation of the issuance of such tradable debt instruments to the Board the authority without reverting to the General Assembly.

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) announced the successful integration of of Dubai Bank customers, branches and operations into its platform. The most branches have now been converted to EIB systems and brand. The remaining ones will undergo conversion at the beginning of December. EIB further explained that customers whose accounts have been migrated from Dubai Bank will receive new account numbers. The old account numbers and existing identification will still be valid for the foreseeable future across all banking channels.

The second Hawkamah MENA judicial and financial colloquium started on the 5th of December at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The event lasts for two days and is being held by Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED), DIFC Courts, Dubai Judicial Institute, European Bank For Reconstruction and Development, ICAEW Middle East, INSOL International and The World Bank Group. Key topics of the colloquium are the legal, financial and policy dimensions of insolvency and restructuring. The discussions include case studies on restructuring and panel discussions on insolvency law reforms.

The UAE has improved its ranking in terms of corruption and has moved one place up in a global ranking of countries perceived as the least corrupt. According to this year's survey, it is the only state in the Arabian Gulf to move to a better position. The annual study of the Berlin-based Transparency International examines the outside perceptions of dealing with public sector officials. It showed that the UAE reached the 27th place, alongside Qatar. The latter, on the other hand, has moved five places down since 2011.

Saudi Arabian financial services company Sidra Capital (Sidra) and Swiss alternative investment house INOKS Capital SA (INOKS) made an announcement about investments in various transactions by its jointly managed Sidra Ancile Global Structured Trade Finance Fund (STFIF). The joint facility totals $13.5 million. STFIF is regulated both by Saudi Arabia Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) of Luxembourg. The fund has given approval to a number of investments in various transactions since the closure of its first offering of subscription in September 2012.

Qatar's emir has eventually given his approval to the regulatory reform which is expected to simplify the slow and complex process of doing business in the country. However, no timetable for the completion of a reform first mooted five years ago was given. According to a central bank spokesman, the law ensures an umbrella body which will regulate banks, financial services and insurance companies and the country's bourse as well as banking, financial and insurance companies licensed by the Qatar Financial Center.

According to an announcement by Noor Islamic Bank, the bank will launch its new product Business Instalment Finance. This new package will serve to cater to the financial requirements of small businesses. Small businesses which already have a business relationship with Noor Islamic Bank will have access to loans at competitive profit rates. Part of the new package is fixed-term financing of up to AED 750,000 for 48 months. Documentation and the processing time will be held at minimum.