IslamicFinance.de

A company statement on Wednesday said Qatar Islamic Bank is planning a sukuk issuance programme of up to $1.5 billion. The bank will seek the approval of shareholders of the plan in a meeting on September 16.

Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company’s financial strength rating and credit rating were reaffirmed by A.M. Best’s rating agency and Standard & Poor’s rating agency as A and A-, respectively. Thus, ADNIC is placed among an elite group of financial services institutions to have their financial rating maintained in the A category across the Middle East and North Africa region.

In a recent announcement, Fajr Capital Limited has informed about its acquisition of Dubai International Capital’s stake in the Mena Infrastructure Fund. Fajr Capital will join the other two major partners of the fund, HSBC Bank Middle East and Abu Dhabi-based Waha Capital, being a limited partner with other regional and international investors. Fajr Capital’s transaction is expected to result in strengthening the company's position in the MENA region, building exposure in the key markets of Egypt, the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as increasing the company's assets.

Islamic microfinance (IM) continues its development into a very popular mechanism for alleviating poverty, especially in developing countries. The expected growth of the Islamic microfinance industry is over $2.0 billion in 2012. Its ethical principles and prohibition of riba cause a continuous growth in this sector. According to the principles of Islam, which lay the basis for IM, investors in IM projects only take part in halal projects, thus benefiting the community to a large extent. An example of such a project is the charity based zakat.

Jomana Al-Kandari, nutritionist at Amiri Hospital, was sponsored by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) to attend the first international conference for the nutrition of kidney patients in the USA. This sponsorship is part of KFH's initiative in support of healthcare and education. The knowledge and experience Jomana Al-Kandari gained during the conference shall contribute to the development of the medical services to a world-class level.

According to Bank Negara Malaysia’s Shariah Advisory Council, there is a skill shortage in the Islamic finance Industry. In order to prevent it from hindering the growth of the Islamic Finance, Southeast Asian universities are adding Islamic finance courses. The new programmes will start at universitas Muhammadiyah in Malang, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur-based International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF). The new courses shall bridge the gap between what was formerly taught and what is requred by employers.

Saudi Arabia has recently introduced several reforms which shall lead to greater certainty and predictability on the market. Due to them, several new committees shall be created with aim to restructure the Saudi Arabian judiciary system and make the decision-making system more clear. The duration of banking disputes has been limited to five years after the date of knowing the incident that gave rise to the dispute.

Emirates Money intends to launch Banca Takaful in conjunction with Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company and Global Takaful Solutions (FWU). A key feature of the new Shari'ah-compliant financial plan is to protect invested capital in a bear market situation that we are experiencing nowadays. Banca Takaful shall offer two different investment strategies - equity and cash - allowing customers to choose their investment strategy.

Capital Intelligence has reaffirmed the rating of NIG Mudaraba Sukuk at 'BBB-', even though the company's performance in past two years continues to be weak. The company is struggling due to pressure by high financing costs of its large debt and a persistently weak stock market.

The UAE central bank wants lenders to extend maturities on certain personal loans held by UAE citizens by more than five years. In the latest circular sent to banks, the regulator wishes to reschedule citizen's loans by more than 48 months if the repayment exceeds 50% of gross salary and other income. This is to help UAE's citizens to carry high debt burden, since they took out massive personal loans during the boom years between 2003 to 2008 but found themselves unable to pay them back as the cause of global financial crisis.

Al Izz Islamic Bank has announced the lunch of its IPO by next month. The bank has already received approval from the regulatory authority. According to bank officials, the shares should probalbly be listed on the stock market as soon as in September.

Saudi Binladin issued a SAR 1 billion Islamic bond, as a part of its expansion strategy. During the first 6 months of the year, total amount of issued sukuk bonds reached 13% of global Islamic bonds, due to continuous expansion of Saudi Arabian companies into funds market.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said it will start to provide a new business line focused on UAE community that is in accordance with banking requirements for non-profit organizations. A new service, called ADIB Community Banking, shall provide help to Charities, Philanthropy Associations, Special Needs Foundations and Islamic affairs authorities in order to fulfill their special needs.

Emirates Islamic Bank said it will sponsor the sixth Takatof Ramadan Project that was recently set up by the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development. The scope of the project is to create an interactive social network among all community and to help disadvantaged families.

ONIC Holding negotiates with Royal and Sun Alliance to mutually promote takaful insurance company in Oman. ONIC Holding has already obtained an approval from the Oman's Capital Market Authority, after the government decision to allow Islamic banks. However, ONIC has to wait for announcing of a separate set of rules for Sharia-compliant insurance firms, as these are still waiting to be defined by the Capital Market Authority.

The GCC countries expect a record year for sukuk issuances in 2012. Already the first half of the year was marked by explosively growing sukuk issuances that reached to US $12.8 billion compared to US$1.9 billion issuead in the same period last year. The sukuk market shall continue growing at the current pace, due to a strong appetite of investors that are demanding Shariah-compliant products.

Two Islamic Finance institutions, QIB and QIIB, have agreed to financing package for the Qatar Gas Transport Company. The joint arrangement is a big step in enhancing co-operation between both financial institutions and shall cover the increasingly growing market demand for Sharia'-compliant financial solutions.

According to a Saudi study, nearly 98 per cent of the companies operating in Gulf oil producers are held by families. This means that they could collapse unless they are turned into joint stock companies. The study, authored by Saleh al Sarei, a member of the trade panel at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that although some of the GCC companies were successful, they were suffering from a high degree of courtesy, which was affecting their performance.

Islamic International Rating Agency has assigned a national scale long-term rating of A+ to ABC Islamic Bank (E.C). The short-term rating is A-1 and the international ratings - A-/A-2. There is a "Stable" outlook on the ratings. The fiduciary score has been assessed to be in the range of (75-80), and points to strong fiduciary capacity and a well developed governance structure, in which the rights of the stakeholders are well defined and protected.

The chief operating officer of Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House - Haider Al Majali - has resigned. At the time of going to press, no name of a new COO has been mentioned. Meanwhile, the country's position as an Islamic finance capital of the GCC is strongly questioned. Ethnic conflicts and misuse of tear gas by the police against vocal opponents to the ruling regime are the main threat. The financial position of Bahrain depends on the development of its domestic situation.