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According to Hussain Al Qemzi, CEO of Noor Islamic Bank, three to five years will be necessary in order to to comply with new central bank regulations. The regulations state requirements for lenders to limit their exposure to state entities in the Gulf state. The new rules restrict banks from lending more than 100% of their capital to government institutions or more than 25% of their capital to any state-related entities. Hussain Al Qemzi described the given timeframe as "challenging".

According to a recent statement, Saudi Hollandi Bank has completed a SR1.4 billion ($373.3 million) sukuk issue. It is further said that despite the seven-year maturity of the subordinated sukuk, it can be redeemed by the issuer after the end of the fifth year. The price of the Islamic bond 1.15% higher than the six-month Saudi interbank offered rate. The issuance was marketed to Saudi investors, among which were government funds, banks, insurance companies, corporates and sophisticated investors.

According to a senior banker, UAE banks face difficulties in implementing the central bank’s new regulations on curtailing lending to government firms. Noor Islamic Bank's CEO - Hussain Al Qemzi - explains that the objective of the central bank is not clear enough. He further adds that it is not the optimal timing for exercising control and putting in place regulations so that banks do not have enough time to change the situation. They are unable to sell the huge amount the possess of these assets in such a short time in the market available.

Arabia CSR Network took part on the prestigious World Responsible Economy Forum thus representing the Arab region. The key issues of Forums where about 5000 business leaders, sustainability professionals and students came together were: sustainable marketing, corporate models and governance. The Network presented their key perspectives during the panel session and also speaking in plenum on the third day of the conference.

Thalassemia medical centre has acquired a Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (TCD) machine that can help prevention of stroke in patients with sickle cells as a donation from the Dubai Islamic Humanitarian Foundation and Dubai Islamic Bank. The center registers over 150 sickle cell patients who will benefit from a new machine.

Five senior members of QInvest have been replaced in order to increase effectiveness and efficiency while maintaining the bank’s strategic direction which is now concentrated on the joint venture with Egypt’s EFG-Hermes.

Shariyah Review Bureau and Ahmad Lootah & Associates will cooperate in future in order to better serve the growing demands of UAE clients that are seeking advisory on sharia investments. The strategic relationship marks the commitment of both companies to certifying businesses and their transactions from the view of sharia investors.

Kuwait’s The Investment Dar (TID) continues negotiations of the repayment to its creditors in its B-claim group that was due in June but TID missed the deadline for their repayment. The company declined the claim of creditors for an independent adviser to value TID’s holdings. There is still no fixed payment schedule for repayment as the negotiations are still ongoing.

SAUDI Hollandi Bank had emitted a sukuk in value of SR1.4 billion ($373.3 million) with a maturity period of seven years, but it can be redeemed by issuer already after the end of the fifth year. The aim of the issuance is mainly focused on developing the Islamic business of the bank by following prudent asset management strategy and assets-liabilities mix and maintaining a sufficient capital buffer.

Western Union and Saudi lender Bank Albilad have signed an agreement to launch Western Union's Account-Based Money Transfer (ABMT) service in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

KPMG and ACCA report underlines the necessity of the harmonization of the financial reporting and tighter cooperation of Islamic banks with the International Accounting Standards Board in order to develop guidance, standards and educate the investor community on key issues.

Kuwait Finance House has informed its shareholders about the planned raising of the share capital by 20 pct . This move should help KFH to maintain stable ratings, improve capital ratios and boost fund expansion.

Impact investments, also known as responsible or ethical investing , are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact, e.g. in the sector of education, health services or financial services. Compared to the general meaning of impact investing, in Islamic countries, it focuses primarily on excluding "sin" businesses rather than on positive impact on particular philanthropic entities.

GCC became the leader of global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) as the value of their 13 managed funds reached $1.8 trillion. They follow the strategy of diversification across a wide range of industries and asset classes. Although the global financial crisis has slowed down the pace of GCC SWF investments, GCC countries are still on the course of investing outside the region and thus play an important role in the global investment landscape.

A RM500mil (US$163mil) Islamic bond has been issued by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The issued sukuk has an interest rate of 4.75% and will mature in 15 years. The joint lead managers of the transaction besides the Malaysian national bank were HSBC, Maybank Investment Bank and Standard Chartered.

The Legal & Compliance Department of JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM). seeks an attorney in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ("KSA") to support its franchise across the Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB) businesses, including Global Corporate Bank (GCB), Global Investment Bank (IB) and Treasury Services (TS). The Legal & Compliance Department of JP Morgan Chase & Co. comprises over 500 lawyers globally.

The attorney will be based in JPM Riyadh branch and support JPM's KSA senior management. The attorney will partner and work closely with teams across the CIB including GCB, IB and TS business lines to achieve strategic objectives in growing the ***conventional and Islamic*** businesses in KSA and globally.

GFH Capital is a private equity firm based in Dubai, UAE. According to its website, the company has been highly successful investments and fund management over the past ten years. It also points out that it has handled investments worth more than eight billion US dollars in 25 different countries. Its funds to some extent come from the Dubai Islamic Bank, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. The Gulf Finance House is an investment bank Bahrain. It completely owns GFH Capital Limited. Just as GFH Capital, the Gulf Finance House has made numerous successful investments worth billions of American dollars. GFH Capital has made its bid for Leeds United on its own and will handle the deal independently of Gulf Finance House.

According to a statement of Al Izz Islamic Bank, they have elected members of the board. The elections have taken place a month after the initial public offer of the bank's shares. The chairman, who is to lead a board of six members, is Taimur Bin As'ad Al Said. Last month, the bank sold 40% of its capital through a month-long IPO and thus managed to raise 40 million rials ($104 million). Moreover, Al Izz will list on the Muscat Securities Market on December 3rd.

According to the chairman of Boubyan Bank, Islamic banking in Kuwait is growing double as fast as conventional banking. Throughout the Arab region, the demand is expected to be strong. In the first nine months of this year, credit volumes at Islamic banks in the kingdom reached KD11.1 billion ($39.3 billion). This is an increase of 13.2% compared to the same period in 2011. Meanwhile, conventional banks were able to register credit growth of 5.6% reaching KD18.6 billion. This is the reason why Boubyan has no interest in in overseas expansion yet.

Saudi Arabia is studying draft regulations which are probable to contribute to the establishment of real a real estate refinancing company similar to U.S. firm Fannie Mae. The government has been making efforts to develop a housing mortgage sector in the kingdom for a long time. Saudi Arabia's conservative character however stick to restrictions of Islamic sharia law which have made it difficult to secure lending against property. Meanwhile, the country suffers from a shortage of housing, especially among lower and middle-income people. As land prices rise quickly, several months ago the government passed laws to regulate mortgage and lease lending.