IslamicFinance.de

The Bahrain Chamber of Dispute Resolution (BCDR) ordered Bank Alkhair's former Chief Executive Officer, Majed Al-Refai, in a verdict to repay a $2 million loan he had taken during his tenure as CEO, and to compensate the bank for all legal fees and costs. The latest ruling against Al Refai follows several other criminal cases involving Al Refai and associates which have all been ruled in favor of the bank. On 29 September 2013, the Supreme Criminal Court of Appeal sentenced Al Refai and his Canadian associate Robert Little each to one year in prison for forging the bank’s Articles of Association. The bank has confirmed numerous legal proceedings, which are ongoing since September 2010, all within the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and do not affect the ongoing operations of the bank.

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain (ASBB) shareholders approved by majority the Board of Directors’ recommendation to merge the bank with BMI Bahrain through exchange of ASBB shares. The Chairperson H.H. Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa pointed out that ASBB’s strategy is to grow organically and through mergers and acquisitions, and consistent with this strategy the Board of Directors had been continuously on the lookout for suitable commercial banking targets to acquire and integrate. H.H Shaikha Hessa mentioned that upon merger the Group will have total assets of circa BHD 1.8 billion, financing facility of circa BHD 1.2 billion, equity of over BHD 285 million and total customer deposits in excess of BHD 1.2 billion.

In the executive summary of its report on GCC Islamic Finance, Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” notes that at the end of 2012, assets under management (AUMs) in Islamic finance reached $1.76 trillion. The Islamic finance industry reached about $434 billion in size, in the GCC, for the year ending 2011. The report points out that global Takaful market is estimated to touch about $25 billion by end of 2015. A variety of factors contribute to the remarkable rise in the Islamic finance assets, said Markaz, including growing GDP, rising middle class society, and most importantly increased awareness of the concept of Islamic finance. However, Markaz also notes there are challenges, relating to evolving standards, shortage of expertise in the industry. Furthermore, the capital markets in the GCC region are relatively underdeveloped which hinders the growth of Islamic finance in the region.

Al Hilal Bank (AHB), rated A1by Moody's and A+ by Fitch, priced its highly successful debut $500 million Sukuk issued at par with 3.267 per cent semi-annual profit rate with a spread of 170 bps over the US Dollar at five-year mid swaps (MS). AHB, Citigroup, HSBC, NBAD and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint-Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners, with BIBD, Maybank IB, SIB and UNB acting as co-Managers. The geographical distribution of the issue was as follows: 37 per cent to the UAE, 21 per cent to the rest of the Middle East, 22 per cent to Asia, 17 per cent to Europe, and 3 per cent to US offshore investors. The Trust Certificates will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange under AHB’s $2.5 billion Trust Certificate Programme.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) has appointed Dr. Ahmed Al-Mutawa as Chairman following the resignation of former Chairman Essam Yousif Janahi last week. GFH’s Board have also elected Mosabah Al-Mutairy as Vice Chairman. Al-Mutawa is a UAE National with 34 years’ experience of financial and economic experience. He was previously Managing Director of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and the Secretary General of Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting. Al-Mutairy is an Omani National whose 20-year career spans investment, finance and accounting.

International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) is the first European bank to present the Qibla card, which corresponds to the rules of Islamic banking. IBA Islamic Banking Department head Behnam Gurbanzade said the card will be released into circulation in the near future. The cost of the card is 40 manats. The debit card was issued in conjunction with MasterCard Platinum. It is equipped with an electronic compass indicating the direction of Mecca. With the help of this card, the card holder will be able to cash funds in the account, as well as pay for the purchase of various goods and services. Qibla card will be issued as a debit card, but can also be used with a limit of debt, issued by the bank.

Moody's Investors Service has today taken actions on National Bank of Bahrain, BBK, BMI Bank and Bahrain Islamic Bank. The ratings agency has confirmed that National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and BBK received Baa2/Prime-2 deposit and senior debt ratings, with a negative outlook. Regarding BMI Bank, Moody's has extended the review for downgrade on the bank's Ba1 deposit rating, and affirmed the bank's standalone E+ bank financial strength rating (BFSR) with a stable outlook, equivalent to a baseline credit assessment of b1. In addition to these actions, Moody's has also extended the review for downgrade on all the ratings of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIsB) to reflect its extensive capital needs and ongoing uncertainties around the recapitalisation of the bank.

Jordan Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour reportedly said that the Government is discussing plans to establish a state-owned bank that would offer low cost credit facilities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The proposed bank would not accept deposits but would operate on similar lines to the former Industrial Development Bank (IDB) with the aim of boosting SMEs and the broader industrial sector. The IDB was sold and now operates as the Shari’ah-compliant Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank. The Jordan Government aims to be the largest shareholder in the proposed bank but has indicated that international and regional financial institutions would be interested to become partners.

The stock of outstanding GCC fixed income instruments rose to $239.8 billion in the first six months of this year. The largest debtors are the Qatari public sector (23 per cent), the UAE financial sector (16 per cent) and the UAE public sector (15 per cent). Among non-financial private issuers, the Saudi sector is the most active with 10 per cent of all outstanding GCC debt followed closely by the UAE. Issuance was up 13.2 per cent compared to a year ago, with $30.1 billion worth of debt securities issued over the last six months. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar accounted for 82 per cent of the issuance in 2013. The private sector has been increasingly outperforming the public sector over the last twelve months. The average maturity of outstanding GCC debt securities remained steady at 5.8 years at the end of the first half of 2013.

While Islamic banking assets have grown rapidly around the world to stand at more than USD1.3 trillion at the end of 2012, the industry has remained in its infancy in Africa. However that could be about to change. By the end of this decade it’s quite possible that banking complying with Shariah law could grow to account for up to 10 per cent of banking assets in five or six sub-Saharan African countries, including Kenya and Nigeria. Behind the buzz is real demand from African domestic consumers for the choice to bank in accordance with their faith. Governments and regulators in Africa no longer view Islamic banking as a niche industry, but actively seek to encourage its development. There’s also growing awareness of the significant liquidity pool now available in Islamic finance, particularly across the Middle East, as a source of funding for crucial infrastructure investment. Sub-Saharan Africa has a great opportunity to develop a healthy Islamic banking eco-system much faster than other regions of the world.

Standardisation of the regulations governing Islamic finance is a must to ensure the globalisation of Islamic finance, according to Hussain AlQemzi, GCEO of Noor Investment Group and CEO of Noor Islamic Bank. Although regional standardisation bodies exist, adherence to their standards varies from country to country and region to region. AlQemzi called for practical measures to be implemented that progressively address impediments to the growth of Islamic finance. He further said that an enabling environment for cross border connectivity through Islamic finance needs to be created. This will require measures to develop domestic capital markets and national market reforms. Domestic markets should also be strengthened by widening the issuer and investor bases, with more issuances in currencies other than the domestic currency, to attract investors from across the globe. And there should be greater collaboration and cooperation among, and between, national economies in which Islamic finance participates, AlQemzi added.

The Deloitte Islamic Finance Knowledge Center (IFKC) in the Middle East has signed an MOU of a collaborative training initiative with the Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI). This collaboration aims to develop industry-based training programs for the industry of Islamic Finance and Takaful in order to streamline professional education and capacity building. Four key objectives are identified to provide 'Continued Professional Development' and Executive Education programs for the Islamic Finance and Takaful industry stakeholders. First, the collaborative approach amongst industry stakeholders will be strengthened. Moreover, high quality practitioner training and support to industry stakeholders will be provided. Another goal is to assist clients, developing talent management strategies and competency-based training approach in Islamic finance practice. The forth aim is to set the standards of professional excellence and good practices of leadership development in Islamic finance.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has announced the launch of the Al Islami FlexiBeta Dirham Certificate, a two-year Islamic certificate, providing investors with exposure to either emerging market equities or gold, depending on market conditions. The Certificate is issued by Oasis Certificate Programme Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle that has been set up and sponsored by Citigroup to provide investors with a wide range of customised Shari'ah-compliant investment solutions. The certificate uses a framework comprising of observation of recent price trends and a forward looking risk indicator to adjust allocation between two asset classes, equities and gold. Investors will enjoy a capital protection without tying all their capital for the whole investment period. They will receive 90% of their total investment within two weeks of the issue date, with returns based on the full investment amount. The certificate is denominated in UAE dirhams with a minimum investment of AED 100,000.

In NCB Capital's (NCBC) view, the 14.7% YoY growth in Albilad’s net income is the result of an increase in NSCI income and fee and other Income. Although the bank’s total operating income came broadly in-line with NCBC's estimate, lower than expected operating expenses including provisions resulted in net income that was 9.4% better than the estimate. Albilad’s NSCI grew 10.7% YoY to SR228mn, in-line with the estimates, led by a 25.3% YoY growth in net loans. Albilad’s investment base also expanded about 8 times which enabled the strong NSCI growth. However, despite the shift from cash towards higher yielding assets, NCBC's calculation suggest that NIMs declined 4bps YoY and 9bps QoQ. This implies that the front loan rates have been declining by a significant level. Albilad’s total operating expenses including provisions grew 5.0% YoY, but came-in 2.7% below the estimates, enabling the 14.7% YoY growth in profits.

The global remittance and foreign exchange brand UAE Exchange today announced a new partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. To mark the beginning of this collaboration that coincides with the upcoming start of Ramadan, UAE Exchange held a launch ceremony and announced a donation in support of WFP’s school feeding program in Africa, which will help fund 100,000 school meals to poor students. The event was attended by senior officials from UAE Exchange and WFP along with special invitees and the media.

The two entities signed an MoU on the potential merger and a steering committee of senior representatives from both parties has been formed. Subsequently, a service provider was appointed to undertake valuation of both entities. KHCB has also appointed an advisor to assist it. Valuations and preliminary due diligence is expected to be completed within two months.

Some firms are starting to combine sukuk, using portfolios of long-term issues to back short-term certificates. This lets them create liquidity programmes that address the persistent shortage of money market instruments needed by Islamic banks to manage their short-term funds. Such is the approach used by Bahrain-based Liquidity Management Centre (LMC). The programme is uses an SPV (special purpose vehicle) where all the sukuk are booked. The SPV is fully backed by sukuk of different tenors and rates. A similar format is to be used by the Malaysia-based International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM), where all of the assets will be either sovereign, sovereign-linked or supranational assets. If these programmes gain traction they could open the door to additional layers of securitisation.

The Seminar on Strategies for the Development of Islamic Capital Markets was held on June 27 in Hong Kong to promote discussions, understanding and experience-sharing in the area of Islamic capital markets. The event was organised by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). In the one-day seminar, speakers with experience and expertise in the Islamic finance field discussed the latest developments of the global Islamic capital markets and examined the prospects and opportunities, with particular focus on Sukuk and Islamic collective investment schemes. The seminar was attended by more than 80 delegates including representatives from regulatory authorities, policy-makers, financial institutions, market professionals and legal practitioners from Hong Kong and different parts of the world including the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Sabana Real Estate Investment Management, as the manager of Sabana Shari'ah-compliant Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana REIT) has announced that SGD 1.5 million in aggregate principal amount of the SGD 80.0 million 4.50 per cent Convertible Sukuk due 2017, issued by Sabana Treasury, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sabana REIT and convertible into units of Sabana REIT have been converted and cancelled pursuant to the exercise of conversion rights by the holders thereof. Following the above conversion, an aggregate of 1,257,018 new Units have been issued at the conversion price of SGD 1.1933 per Unit, and the total Units in issue is 648,711,000. As at 21 June 2013, the aggregate principal amount of Convertible Sukuk remaining outstanding following such conversion and cancellation is SGD 72.5 million.

The Islamic Development Bank has proposed to buy Marocco's sukuk rather than offering the country another loan, according to General Affairs minister Mohamed Najib Boulif. However, the amount has not been set yet. Earlier this year, the Morocco agreed a $2.4 billion package with the IDB, under which it will receive $600 million each year from 2013 to 2016. It also raised $750 million last month in a two-part reopening of its $1.5 billion bond. The North African country is considering other financial reforms, such as that of the pension and tax systems. It will also deregulate prices for some basic goods in the next two weeks, its first step towards reducing subsidies. However, the timing has not been decided.