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Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group is planning on issuing its first sukuk for its Jordanian unit later this year, chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said. Jordan Islamic Bank is planning a 10-year local currency sukuk by year-end, said Yousif, without giving a size for the transaction. This would mirror deals by Al Baraka units in Pakistan and Turkey which have allowed them to boost regulatory capital as Basel III global banking standards are being phased in around the globe. In December, Jordan Islamic amended its articles of association to allow it to both issue and buy sukuk, as well as to establish special purpose vehicles for such transactions. Al Baraka is also planning a sukuk for its South African unit this year, said Yousif.

U.S. advisers who are not alert to the special investing needs of Muslims are missing an attractive segment of the investing populace. The U.S. Muslim population is expected to reach 6.2 million by 2030, almost three times the nation's 2.6 million Muslims in 2010. Muslim-Americans are younger and better educated than the average U.S. citizen. Moreover, they want to see a greater number of appropriate financial products. Meeting their investing needs is similar to working with clients who want socially responsible investments, but it requires additional expertise. But the main point is that advisers can help Muslims get in the market.

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Wednesday a banking regulators' decision to take over management at Islamic lender Bank Asya ends a period of speculation and restores a safer environment. Zeybekci also told a news conference broadcast live on TRT television that it was "unfair" Turkey had to pay a high cost due to its interest rates and accused the central bank of lagging the market after the bank decided against holding an extraordinary policy meeting to cut rates.

Bahrain's central bank is drafting legal documentation to set up a sharia board of scholars that would oversee the kingdom's Islamic finance sector. The central bank already has a sharia board but its scope is limited to vetting its own products. A country-level approach could help to limit differences between products, speed the design of new products and boost investor confidence. A "legal instrument" is now being prepared that would set out details of the sharia board, Khalid Hamad, the central bank's executive director of banking supervision, said. He did not specify a timeframe. The United Arab Emirates is the only other regulator in the Gulf to have announced a plan to adopt a centralised sharia approach.

A unit of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank has provided $80 million worth of sharia-compliant reinsurance to cover political risk for oil and gas projects in Egypt. The deal covers the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for its own insurance policy on the exploration projects of Houston-based Apache Corporation, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment & Export Credit (ICIEC) said in a statement. The announcement comes as Egypt is seeking new sources of energy to cope with its worst energy crisis in decades, caused by declining gas production and rising consumption. The policy would allow the country to retain foreign direct investment during a critical transtional period.

Tawreeq Holdings, an investment group based in Dubai and Luxembourg, has launched an Islamic trade receivables financing platform catering to the Gulf region's small businesses, with plans to tap the capital markets to fund the venture. The firm's CEO Haitham Al Refaie said the concept aims to give smaller firms a funding alternative to bank loans. Besides start-up capital from regional investors, the firm plans to raise additional funds, he added without giving monetary figures. Tawreeq's platform provides sharia-compliant factoring by connecting corporates, suppliers and investors to securitise trade receivables.

Bank Islami Pakistan has received regulatory approval to study the acquisition of KASB Bank Limited. An acquisition could see Karachi-based Bank Islami add 105 branches to its existing network of 213, while the transaction would require the conversion of KASB Bank's conventional financial products into sharia-compliant ones. In November, the central bank placed KASB Bank under a six-month moratorium as it struggled to meet capital adequacy requirements. Last week, Bank Islami's board of directors approved a plan to raise 3.5 billion rupees ($34.8 million) via subordinated Islamic bonds to fund its expansion strategy.

An Airbus-backed, sharia-compliant aircraft leasing fund has signed its maiden deal to buy five A330-200 planes with an option for four more. Based on list prices, the deal for the nine planes is worth approximately $2 billion, according to Dubai-based International Airfinance Corporation (IAFC), which manages the fund. The fund, which exclusively finances Airbus aircraft for clients in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, was launched in June with seed capital from Airbus and the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank. The fund has a target size of $5 billion and uses a 4-to-1 mix of sharia-compliant debt and equity.

Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) has reissued $860 million worth of three-month Islamic bonds. The auction drew 11 bids worth $1.065 billion, with the sukuk priced at a profit rate of 0.553 percent. The IILM last went to the market in November when it increased its outstanding sukuk programme, rated A-1 by Standard and Poor's, to $1.85 billion from $1.65 billion. IILM sukuk are designed to meet a shortage of highly liquid, investment-grade financial instruments which Islamic banks can trade to manage their short-term funding needs.

Gatehouse Bank is marketing a new CMBS-style transaction backed by the rental cashflow from a Paris office property. The deal is backed by an acquisition facility of more than EUR100m, where the rental payments will be securitised through two classes of fixed-rate certificates. This new structure, labelled a commercial rental-backed security (CRBS) by Gatehouse, removes the uncertainty because the certificates are backed by the direct legal ownership of the building. The bank will look to attract typical CMBS buyers, which are increasingly seeking to access this asset class.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi has applied to issue 143 million lira ($60.5 million) via sukuk. The sukuk will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans, which has a focus on loans to corporate clients. No tenor or details of underlying assets were given for the deal. Separately, the bank has also received regulatory approval for a 71 million lira sukuk for trailer manufacturer Tirsan Treyler Sanayi ve Ticaret.

Tunisia's Amen Bank launched two Islamic mutual funds this week, managed by Tunis-based United Gulf Financial Services-North Africa. Moreover, El Wifack Leasing said it had received central bank approval to become the country's third full-fledged Islamic bank, with 150 million dinars ($80 million) in capital, adding the firm would bring international shareholders to the venture. These are welcome steps for the industry which has been waiting for the government to issue a debut Islamic bond. Meanwhile, the Islamic Development Bank teamed up with Tunisia's newly created sovereign wealth fund, Caisse de Depot de Tunisie, to set up a $30 million fund to support local businesses.

Last week, an immunisation programme secured a $500 million (£319.4 million) issuance of sukuk, in the largest debut issue ever by a global non-profit organisation. The sukuk from the International Finance Facility for Immunisation Co (IFFIm), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, is part of a broader trend to use bond markets to fund development and humanitarian projects. IFFIm, backed by nine sovereign donors including Britain and France, will use the proceeds of its sukuk to finance projects for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). The sukuk could encourage other non-profits to consider this funding tool.

Islamic lender Kuveyt Turk has launched a $250 million dual-currency murabaha loan into general syndication. The sharia-compliant loan, which can be denominated in dollars or euros, is split into a one-year tranche and a two- tranche paying an interest margin of 80 basis points (bps) and 100 bps, respectively over three month Libor/Euribor. Arab Banking Corporation, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Barwa Bank, Emirates NBD, Noor Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank are mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the deal. The loan will be used for general corporate purposes and is due to close by the end of the year.

Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) plans to up its stake in Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KCB) to gain majority ownership, its chairman Ahmed al-Mutawa said. The investment firm will increase its stake in KCB to between 52 percent and 54 percent once it has received regulatory approval from the Bahraini authorities. GFH currently owns 47 percent of KCB. Increasing its stake to the range indicated by Mutawa would cost GFH between 2.65 million dinars and 3.72 million dinars ($7.03 million-$9.87 million). KCB and unlisted Bahraini lender Bank Al Khair dropped merger plans in March after they failed to agree terms for the tie-up.

Lahore-based Asia Insurance Company Ltd will seek shareholder approval next week to offer takaful products.The company will seek approval to allocate 50 million rupees ($492,853) in capital to its takaful operation, the minimum capitalisation requirement. It will also seek to increase its authorised capital to 500 million rupees from 300 million currently. Asia Insurance joins a growing list of firms in offering sharia-compliant products including United Insurance Company and EFU insurance group. In May, Pakistani regulators introduced new takaful rules that allowed conventional firms to enter the sector. Regulators expect as many as half of all conventional insurers in Pakistan to eventually offer takaful products.

Bank Asya closed 80 branches and cut its headcount by 1,708 people in a bid to boost profitability next year. Bank Asya has seen its profits and capital base collapse since it found itself at the centre of a power struggle between now President Tayyip Erdogan and his former ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic cleric whose sympathisers founded the bank. The bank made a 301 million lira ($133 million) net loss in the first nine months of this year after a 60 million lira profit a year earlier, while its balance sheet has shrunk.

A bond with an Issue Amount of $500 million priced on Wednesday. Borrower is Al Shindagha Sukuk Limited, Obligor Dubai Aviation Corporation. Its Maturity Date is 11/26/2019. Following are terms and conditions of the bond: Coupon 3.776 pct; Reoffer price Par; Spread 200 basis points; Underlying govt bond Over the midswaps, equivalent to 212.7 basis points over the 1.5 pct October 2019 UST; Payment Date November 26, 2014; Lead Manager(s) ENBD Capital , Credit Agricole & HSBC; Listing Nasdaq Dubai & Irish Stock Exchange.

Indonesia's regulator has issued revised Islamic banking rules covering asset quality and capital adequacy to help clarify market practices, while industry growth has now dropped to single-digits. Indonesia's financial services authority, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), announced the move on Wednesday as part of a package of 20 new rules, which range from corporate governance to microfinance. Authorities want Islamic banks to hold at least 15 percent of the market by 2023, but the sector's growth is stalling. As of September, there were 11 full-fledged Islamic banks and 23 Islamic business units in Indonesia with combined assets of 244 trillion rupiah ($20.1 billion), representing a 7.2 percent growth year-on-year.

The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will revise four of its standards in the first half of next year while expanding its guidance for Islamic bonds. AAOIFI's new secretary general, Hamed Hassan Merah, said the standard setting body is looking at the possiblity of developing clearer guidance on sukuk that will incorporate accounting, legal, technical and tax-related aspects. Besides, a revised investment accounts standard is to be released by the end of 2014. Consultations on takaful, ijara and murabaha will be conducted in the first half of 2015, AAOIFI said. On takaful, AAOIFI is considering how to extend its guidance to retakaful, and clarifying the definition of benevolent loans (qard hassan).