IslamicFinance.de

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has revealed the urgent need to provide humanitarian aid to 8 million of Syria’s children, who are suffering from the ravaging civil war. The aid is estimated to be around $800 million and according to UNICEF there are more than 14 million children in war zones in the MENA region. Furthermore, there are around 10 million Yemeni children who are in need for urgent humanitarian aid. UNICEF spokesperson Juliette Touma pointed out that Saudi Arabia has donated $30 million to aid Yemeni children, but there is still a $60 million shortage of humanitarian funding.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and India’s EXIM Bank, which enables IDB to open its first branch in Ahmedabad. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia there were a wide range of discussions on business and investment in the background of the Kingdom’s $2 trillion Public Investment Fund. Islamic banking could restore equilibrium in Indian society by providing succour to debt-ridden farmers, labourers and other marginalised groups. Hence, Islamic banking has potential as a tool of financial inclusion.

In #Malaysia estate planning is an often forgotten element in a Muslim’s financial plan. According to Abdul Aziz Peru Mohamed, CEO of as-Salihin Trustee, estate planning is how we protect the assets we have spent a lifetime accumulating. He says 85% of the local Muslim population have not done any estate planning. There had been an estimated RM60 billion worth of unclaimed assets since the country’s independence in 1957. This is a substantial increase from RM42 billion worth of frozen assets in 2011. By having a will or trust, the issue of unclaimed assets will not arise as the settlor will appoint an executor or trustee to manage the deceased’s assets.

After the publication of Oman's new Sukuk Regulations on 5 April 2016 new listing categories have been introduced on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM). The Capital Market Authority (CMA) introduces a new "Bond and Sukuk Market" on the MSM. The CMA intends to have existing and future bonds and Sukuks listed on the MSM to be placed into this new category. A number of other new categories also being introduced, such as "Under Monitoring Market" and a "Rights Issue Market".

A senior Iranian banker has dismissed a recent report by the research center of the country's parliament, which suggested that most banks in the Islamic Republic are on the verge of bankruptcy. Esmaeel Lalehgani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Bank Saderat Iran, has said that the country enjoys a strong and stable banking structure. He confirmed that there are some shortcomings in the system regarding the government's debts, low capital and overdue debts. However, these shortcomings do not mean that the banks are on the verge of the bankruptcy.

Le 4e Forum international sur la finance islamique s’est tenu les 2 et 3 juin à Dakar sous le thème: La finance islamique au service du Plan Sénégal émergent (PSE). Ministre Abdoul Aziz Tall a dit que les finances islamiques constituent une solution idéale pour accompagner le processus de réalisation des projets structurants du PSE. Le ministre cite entre autres secteurs prioritaires, l’agriculture, les infrastructures, l’accès des petites et moyennes entreprises (PME), les services sociaux de base.
Selon Mohammed Moustapha Bintubé de la Jaiz Bank le Sénégal constitue un terreau fertile pour l’émergence d’une finance islamique forte.

London Stock Exchange welcomes ICD to mark the listing of its MTN Programme and inaugural $300 million five year Sukuk. ICD will use the proceeds of the Sukuk to support investments in private sector projects. The MTN program, which is a Wakala structure, will serve as ICD’s main funding platform for regular issuance of Sukuk. HSBC was the arranger for the MTN Program and the syndicate group for the Sukuk included 13 international and regional banks.

The current use of Islamic Finance has mainly benefited large corporations. Despite the Shariah focus on community support and involvement, the sector’s contribution to SMEs and social projects is minimal. Combining Islamic Finance with crowdfunding has the potential to address financing issues faced by SMEs. One factor which may boost the growth of the sector is the increased introduction of Islamic finance structures. Most crowdfunding platforms currently use Murabaha and Mudharabah contracts. Other structures which may be considered includes Salam, Ijara and Diminishing Musharaka.

Emirates Islamic Bank has made two donations of Dh2 million and Dh50,000 to inmates of Dubai Police’s Punitive and Correctional Establishments. The Dh2 million was allocated from the Zakat accounts to help inmates who are incarcerated for financial issues. The other donation, that of Dh50,000, was allocated from the charity accounts to pay for plane tickets for needy inmates.

Hassan Usman has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Jaiz Bank. The decision of the Board of Directors was reached after a rigorous selection exercise. Hassan Usman takes over from Mahe Abubakar who has acted as MD since December 2015. Mr. Usman had previously acted as Managing Director in 2013. The Bank recently obtained a National Operating License from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This will enable it to spread across all the 36 states of the Federation.

In #Nigeria the emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has lauded Jaiz Bank for declaring a profit of over N700 million in the four years of its operation. The bank's managing director Mahe Abubakar Mahmoud disclosed that the Bank had a total balance sheet size of N65 billion by May 31, 2016. He explained that customers’ deposit stood at N50 billion, while the shareholders fund stood at N15 billion, making the bank worth N65 billion. Abubakar said the bank was expanding its branches across the nation, with four additional branches in Kano and the neighbouring states.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road initiative, now known as One Belt One Road (OBOR), was designed in 2013 to develop economic cooperation between China and Eurasia. The Chinese government has now decided to speed up the operation of the Silk Road fund. Proposals to strengthen the cooperation of China-ASEAN Interbank Association have also been completed. Also a High Speed Rail project in China is considering using Islamic securities to raise a fund for almost 30 billion Chinese yuan (US$4.7billion). In addition, Hainan Airlines Group is planning to raise US$150 million for ship purchasing and to raise offshore Islamic securities.

In Russia a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Islamic business and finance development Fund (IBFD) and TAWUN, a Shariah consulting company of Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation was led by S.M Muneer from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and Mehmood Arshad, the Founder of TAWUN. Arshad stated that the Russian market is very interesting for his organization and TAWUN has all the necessary experience and competence. They will support Russia to launch Shariah-compliant products and get additional funding from OIC countries.

The #Philippines’ incoming finance minister is looking at raising debt via sukuk bonds and yuan borrowings in a bid to diversify its debt profile. The Philippines last went to the debt market in February selling $2bn of 25-year bonds. Minister Carlos Dominguez is also planning to impose new taxes on more unhealthy products to compensate for a planned cut in income taxes. He also said he would put casinos under an anti-money laundering legislation to avoid a repeat of the Bangladesh Bank heist. Dominguez is returning to the Cabinet after 27 years and will assume office on June 30.

Unless tax systems properly accommodate Islamic finance transactions, prohibitive tax costs can arise. The legislation in South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia explicitly refers to Islamic finance transactions. Strictly speaking, this introduces a religious test into secular tax law, which may not be acceptable to other countries. The UK takes a different approach. UK tax law proceeds by only looking at the economic implications of the transaction, without any concern for whether it qualifies religiously as Islamic finance or not, so religious tests do not enter into the UK tax system. UK law already operates to avoid additional VAT costs. In other countries specific legislation will be needed to create parity of tax treatment between conventional finance and Islamic finance.

Roughly one-third of those suffering from extreme poverty worldwide live in member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In 21 of those 57 countries, fewer than half of the population has access to adequate sanitation. Instability places enormous strain on national budgets. The capital accumulated in some of the OIC countries could play an important role in helping them. If Islamic finance is to play its full part, governments will need to undertake important reforms. There is a need for stronger legal institutions that protect property rights and ensure that contracts are enforced. The industry will need to be standardised and regulated.

In #Australia microfinance organisations are expecting a growing demand for financial help. Every year about 20.000 Australians obtain such loans and the figures are expected to double by the end of 2017. For example Good Shepherd Microfinance has partnered with state and federal governments and the National Australia Bank to provide the loans. Manager Adam Mooney said the increasing availability of no-interest loans of up to $1.200 would steer people away from credit cards and high-interest, short-term loans. He also said Good Shepherd was looking for more support to expand its programs.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) today published two new standards for Islamic forward foreign exchange products for use in Islamic hedging transactions. The Islamic Foreign Exchange Forward (IFX Forward) is intended to help minimize the exposure of Islamic financial institutions to foreign exchange volatility. The new standard does not require the usage of the balance sheet for both counterparties in Foreign Exchange Forward hedging transactions.

Dubai Islamic Bank is opening subscriptions on Tuesday for a 3.16 bn dirham ($860.3 mn) rights issue. The bank is offering 988.4 mn new shares to shareholders in total, with subscription open on the basis of one new share for every four currently held. Shares are priced at 3.2 dirhams each, a substantial discount to Monday's closing share price of 4.95 dirhams. DIB is the latest bank in the Gulf to replenish reserves after a period of strong lending growth. At the end of March DIB's total capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.6%, above the UAE's regulatory minimum of 12%.

Al Baraka Bank Egypt announced that the net income of the bank jumped by 101% for the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. Total assets also increased by 4%, financing and investments portfolio by 4%, deposits by 5% and equity by 6% at the end of March 2016. Chairman Adnan Ahmed Yousif said the bank has an ambitious branch expansion and geographical spread plans. It is on track to complete its new headquarters building in the New Cairo area. The bank's rolling expansion programme envisages a network of 42 branches by 2020.