IslamicFinance.de

Earlier this week, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) was host to a meeting on a high level discussing the launch of a new national home finance company with committed shareholders. The brand name of the company will be Bidaya. In particular, the status of the new company's development and plans concerning the next steps towards the launch were discussed. According to Khaled Al-Aboodi - CEO of ICD - the Mortgage Law together with the recent release of draft regulations give the industry clarity and direction which was very necessary.

This month, the first international mutual funds, which will be run by a Saudi Arabian manager, will be launched from Dublin. Equity funds investing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region will be launched by NCB Capital. The operations will be compliant to the principles of Islamic Sharia law. This move is considered to be a continuation of the bank's strategy to become a significant player in the sharia market.

AED1.05bn (US$410m) have been set aside by the government of the UAE in order to clear defaulted debts which Emirati nationals owe. According to a recent statement, the Higher Committee of the Nationals' Defaulted Debts Settlement Fund has given its approval for this sum complying with a directive by the Gulf state’s president HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The directive states that rescheduling of loan repayments by indebted citizens is not to exceed half of their monthly income. Banks on the other side have agreed to cut interest on monies owed by 1%.

IT and Shared Services professionals , Information Security Specialists, Senior Business Analysts, Senior Program Managers, Senior System Analysts

Candidates are expected to have over 5 years of experience at a financial institution.

Engineers
Senior Architect (Dammam) , Minimum 5 years experience in Design, Supervising, Project Management
Senior Architect (Riyadh), Minimum 5 years experience in Design, Supervising, Project Management
Senior Supervisor (Riyadh), Minimum 2 years experience in building mobilization, preferably with a Master’s degree in IT

The main function is to create and maintain relations with existing and potential customers,identify and initiate selling and cross selling initiatives and provide ongoing high quality customer service, with the aim of achieving set targets and contributing to the profitability of SIB. To maximize product sales and grow market share to meet the bank\'s targets by meeting customer needs and actively selling, cross-selling retail banking products. Handle general customers’ queries feedback and redirecting them as appropriate to other staff area. Establish, build and maintain relationships with key customers.

Responsibilities include increasing business, deposits and profitability. Managing and guiding the team through well defined objectives and responsibilities to achieve optimum business. Maintaining regular contacts with priority banking customers, thus ensuring that customer attrition is maintained at the minimum. Skills essential for this role are: Knowledge of Arabic & English language. Knowledge and understanding of banking rules, regulations and compliance requirements. Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills.

Responsibilities include profiling existing clients in order to fulfill their banking requirements, identifying and establishing new relationships and maintaining regular interaction with existing Priority Banking customers.

You must achieve and maintain sales targets, negotiate with customers to deliver the most favorable financial terms possible for the Bank, and maintain an ongoing dialogue with customers to ensure that they are aware of all SIB products/services.

The Young Professionals Program (YPP) is the strategic talent pipeline for the professional career in the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. The Program is designed for outstanding young graduates who can significantly help the IDB Group to carry out its mission and attain its objectives.

This Program enables each Young Professional (YP) to receive extensive exposure and experience of the IDB Group’s various activities through job rotations in different departments. Participants will initially spend two weeks Orientation stage in HRMD. Then, 27 months in Foundation stage which will be split into three rotations of 9 months each in IDB Group departments.

Participants will also benefit from a coaching/mentoring arrangement and a wide range of relevant training and developmental opportunities.

Upon successful program completion, the participant will gradually climb up the professional grades in the IDB Group.

Closing Date: 31-Dec-2012

In order to stabilize the role of Islamic banking in the country, Jordan's government will establish a leading regional center for Islamic finance. This was made possible particularly by the rapid growth of Islamic banking in Jordan after the enforcement of laws organizing the work of takaful insurance and sukuk. So far, the assets of the four Islamic banks operating in Jordan is $4.6 billion. This constitutes 5% of the total banking assets. With an annual growth of 13% they develop better and faster compared with traditional banks in terms of deposits and financing.

CMA Board of Commissioners' resolution concerning its approval for Alinma Investment Company's offer of "Alinma Multi Assets Defensive Fund" and "Alinma Multi Assets Aggressive Fund" has been issued.

National Commercial Bank (NCB) has received the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions' approval to become a member of the council. The resolution was made after a meeting in Jeddah. According to secretary-general of the council - Dr. Omar Zuhair Hafiz - the general assembly of the organization has nominated NCB to become a member of the council's board of directors. The bank's membership is likely to contribute to the promotion of the activities of the council through offering a series of innovative Islamic banking services and products.

The resolution of the CMA Board of their approval of the offering of Saudi ORIX Leasing Company’s sukuk has been issued. The total size of the offering has not been determined yet, this will be done at a later stage by the company. It is soon expected for the prospectus to be made public.

According to a statement by Mr. Fahad Al-Mukhaizeem - strategy and corporate affairs general manager at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) - KFH-Research together with Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and Central Statistical Bureau intends to prepare economic indicators for the private sector. Moreover, they consider an upgrade to the mechanisms followed in its researches. Such a move will stabilize business and give additional value to the national economy. A documented scientific product will be released which will include a number of indicators in Kuwait's private sector business field.

A tier-one US-based investment bank requires a new Head of Islamic Finance to run their operation in the Middle East. Candidates with at least VP-level experience in working with Sharia products, and a good knowledge of the emerging Middle-East markets. Fluency in Arabic would be a notably advantage, as would previous experience of working in the region. Strong technical and client-facing skills are a must, and good leadership qualities are necessary.

The team concentrates on Islamic finance work, across a broad variety of matters under both English and UAE law, spanning the whole of the MENA region and beyond. Acting for leading global and regional financial institutions on project financings, general banking transactions and Islamic structuring of capital markets, structured products and funds.

31 October 2012, Ref HJJ-PM-1324

A global US firm is looking to recruit an Islamic finance associate into its expanding Abu Dhabi based offices. The ideal candidate will have between 2-4 years' experience from the UK, Australia, NZ or Canada.

09 November 2012, Ref REM-PM-1286

International Division of an Islamic Bank based in UAE are seeking to recruit a Head of Risk Management who will report into the CIO for the International Business.

Swisslinx Middle East is URGENTLY seeking an experienced Trust or Fund Administrator to join a new entity of our reputable client, a Regional Bank. In this role, you will be based in the DIFC. You will be reporting directly to the Head of Private Office / Private Banking.

22.11.2012: eFC Ref Nr 1128580

Weqaya Takaful Insurance & Reinsurance was assigned a BBB credit rating with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor's. Thus, its rating has been reaffirmed. The rating is based on continuous regular surveillance of the company's performance for the second year in a row by the rating agency. It is a reflection of Weqaya's competitive position and strong capitalisation.

A key business demographic in the Middle East are family businesses. However, various factors like increased competition, a global economy that is going through turmoil, reduced or more expensive credit facilities, the call for greater transparency and, in some countries, greater regulation have caused family businesses serious difficulties. The latter are not able to change these factors, which are mostly beyond their control. What they can do, on the other hand, is to improve their corporate governance. Generally, corporate governance is defined as structures, policies, plans and regulations which determine the way the management of an entity will function.