IslamicFinance.de

La chaire éthique et normes et de la finance (CENF) de l'Université Paris 1 en partenariat avec le laboratoire d'excellence sur la régulation financière (LabEx RéFi) organisent une table ronde sur "La religion dans la finance : risques, marketing et réalités" le 10 février 2016 à 18h. Cet évènement aura lieu dans la salle 1 du Centre Panthéon (12 place du Panthéon) et accueillera Frédéric Baule (consultant indépendant), Nicolas Hardy (Analyste financier, Standard & Poor´s Ratings Services) ainsi que Edouard Fernandez-Bollo (autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution) et sera modérée par Pierre-Charles Pradier (Paris 1).

Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) has scrapped plans to issue a $130 million five-year dual-currency sukuk, the former monopoly said. Last month, the state-run company priced the sukuk at a profit rate of 5.3 percent, having received commitments worth $82.16 million in the dollar tranche and 18.4 million rials ($47.86 million) in the rial tranche. But Omantel has shelved plans to issue the sukuk at the present time, it said in a statement to Muscat's bourse. The company said it took this decision following discussions with its advisers, but did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia's Bank Albilad plans to issue 1 to 2 billion riyals ($267-533 million) of sukuk by the end of the second quarter of 2016 to finance expansion, chief executive Khaled al-Jasser said. The bank plans to open 25 new branches and hire more employees, which Jasser said would likely increase costs this year by 15 to 17 percent. The bank will also move toward a strategy of owning rather than renting its branches, he said. Given weak market conditions, Jasser said the bank would prefer not to distribute dividends at the moment.

The Royal Jordanian Airlines announced the successful closure of its US$ 275,000,000 dual conventional and Islamic secured syndicated facility. The syndicate comprised of seven banks based in Jordan, UAE and Qatar; they are Mashreq, Arab Bank plc, Al Khalij Commercial Bank (Al Khaliji) Q.S.C, Dubai Islamic Bank, and The Commercial Bank/Qatar acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers, Arab Jordan Investment Bank as Lead Arranger and Bank al-Etihad as Arranger. Mashreq Bank acted as the sole book-runner for the loan. The facility carries a tenor of 5 years and the proceeds of the facility will be primarily utilized to consolidate and refinance RJ's existing debt and further support the company's on-going strategic growth and turnaround plans on the short- and medium-run.

Kuwait Finance House Turkey (KFH-Turkey) issued Tier 2 capital-boosting sukuk worth $350 million to support its capital situation. The bank has set the yield at 7.9 percent for 10-year tenure. The sukuk will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange for trading. The credit rating agency "Fitch" assigned an expected rating of BBB- to this tier 2 Basel III-complaint issue. The bank targets boosting its capital adequacy ratio so it can grow and enhance its presence in the international markets, said CEO- KFH -Capital Abdulaziz Nasser Al-Marzouq. KFH -Turkey mandated international banks and financial institutions led by KFH -Capital as a global coordinator, manager and syndicator, in addition to other lead managers and syndicators which are HSBC, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Nour Bank, QInvest Investment Bank, Emirates NBD, and KAMCO Investment Company.

Alkhabeer Capital, an asset management and investment firm in Saudi Arabia, has announced the launch of Alkhabeer IPO Fund. The Alkhabeer IPO Fund is a Sharia Compliant, Open-Ended Investment Fund targeting IPOs and newly listed companies in Saudi Arabia during their first three years on the market. The fund may also invests part of its assets in the same at other GCC capital markets. Ahmed Saud Ghouth, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Alkhabeer Capital, commented that year-on-year the firm has reported increases in assets under management and has assessed the IPO performance of securities in the GCC, which have seen improvements in the money raised over 2015.

The Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem confirmed that the World Bank aims to give $20 billion to the Middle East to help ease the Syrian crisis within the next five years. The figure is three times what the World Bank has spent up until now, and Ghanem added that his institution has given $4.9 billion to the Middle East and North Africa since July last year and most of this went to Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and, to a lesser extent, Lebanon. The increase had already started before the Syria crisis, when $1.6 billion was given to the region every 12 months. With regards to the monitoring of loans, Ghanem said that the World Bank helps the government design a project and provides technical assistance. Then a team of experts supervises it every six months.

Warba Bank said Tuesday it registered a million Kuwaiti Dinars (KD) (USD 3.3 million), or one fils per share, in profits for the Fiscal Year (FY) ending last December. The bank's 2014 profits were KD 115,000 (USD 383,526). Warba Bank said in a statement on Kuwait Stock Exchange's (KSE) website that its board members did not recommend distribution of profits for shareholders for FY 2015. Total shareholders' equity for last year was around KD 92.2 million against KD 91.8 million the year before. Warba Bank was established in 2010 with a KD 100 million capital, and was listed in KSE in 2013.

Despite the emphasis on ethics, and the growth of the industry at a time when women are increasingly making their mark on the corporate world, the Islamic finance sector is incredibly male-dominated. In the Gulf region, where much of the sector is concentrated, there are no female Islamic scholars acting as advisors to financial institutions, a key position in the sector. While there are a few prominent women sitting on company boards and working as CEOs in Bahrain and Kuwait, they are notable exceptions. Clearly, this is in large part a result of cultural factors. But even in the UK, progress has been slow. However, there is one country where women are seizing plenty of top leadership roles: Malaysia.

Only a fraction of US$11.5 trillion worth of wealth owned by Muslim individuals, institutions and government is managed by Islamic banks and financial institutions. About US$9.5 trillion remain outside the global Islamic financial services industry that has US$2 trillion asset under management, said Professor Humayon Dar, Chairman of Edbiz Corporation at the 2nd Annual International Forum on Islamic Finance in Khartoum, Sudan. Professor Humayon Dar pointed out that the missing dollars are managed by Western financial institutions. Consequently Islamic banks and financial institutions are losing potential revenue of US$180 billion on an annual basis.

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) announces the upcoming Sustainable Business Leadership Forum. The Forum fosters sustainable development, innovation, and responsible business growth. The Forum offers a platform for sustainability practitioners from every sector to share their sustainability practices. The Forum will also provide opportunities to learn from regional sustainability leaders and be exposed to some of the latest sustainability approaches from global thought-leaders. The Abu Dhabi Sustainable Business Leadership Forum will take place from: 17-18 February 2016, in Abu Dhabi.

Contrary to popular opinion, Sharia law is not taking over Britain. It is seen as a rule of law that contributes to the way Muslims live. Most importantly, the principles of Islamic finance encourage fairness. The presence of the likes of Allen & Overy, Hogan Lovells and Norton Rose Fulbright shows how far Islamic finance has come. The unwavering investment that has occurred over the Middle East, with offices springing up in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait is a testament to firms taking the Islamic practice seriously. Trainees can develop leadership skills by undertaking research and ascertaining what works for clients.

The central London offices must be run in line with Islamic principles because of a deal with rich Middle Eastern investors. They demanded the buildings be audited by Muslim scholars and subject to special rules in exchange for lending the Government £200million. The deal currently only covers three buildings - Richmond House, Wellington House and a property on Whitehall - and is almost unheard of outside of the Middle East. But Treasury officials hope hundreds of Western companies will follow their lead and turn over buildings to Islamic financiers in similar deals. The exact restrictions under which the buildings must be run which were not spelled out in the text of the deal struck with overseas investors.

A fraud of around Rs 30 billion in Islamic investment system of Mudarba and Musharaka has been committed by the Elixir Group of Companies, reveals an investigation by National Accountability Bureau. The fraud, which has victimised over 35,000 people across the country, was committed by a group of so-called Islamic scholars through a large number of mosque imams, seminary managers, madrassa students, their families, relatives and acquaintances. The scam planners are all settled abroad and most of them have dual nationalities, according to a NAB officer who is close to the investigation process.

The prospects for Islamic finance remain strong despite the inevitable correlation between oil price and Islamic wealth. Bahrain Central Bank Governor Rasheed Al Maraj said while there were some headwinds recently, the long-term growth picture within its strongest markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia remained robust. There is a clear demand for Shariah-compliant financial products and services. As the industry matures, it is able to do more to meet that demand, he explained. Rasheed also highlighted that it was imperative for the industry to continue addressing challenges that could hamper longer-term growth such as investment in education and training.

Tahya Masr (Long Live Egypt) Fund, originally initiated by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to support national economy, is planning to launch a leasing firm, its executive chairman Mohamed Ashmawy said. The anticipated firm will be with a capital up to 100 million Egyptian pounds (US$13 million). The firm will help provide job opportunities for the youth. Since the fund was initiated in 2014, individuals and businessmen have contributed billions of Egyptian pounds to the fund. The fund's executive committee encompasses leading businessmen like Naguib Sawiris, former Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and a representative from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Un an après l'adoption de la loi autorisant l'implantation de banques islamiques au Maroc, un troisième acteur va faire son apparition sur la scène de la finance islamique au royaume, en l'occurrence de la Banque participative du Maroc. La nouvelle banque est née du partenariat entre la Banque populaire et le groupe américain Guidance financial Group pour créer une filiale (détenue à 80% par la BP) proposant des produits islamiques. Jusque-là, deux banques islamiques ont été créées au royaume. Il s'agit d'Al Baraka Bank, détenue à parts égales par BMCE Bank of Africa et le groupe bahreïni Baraka Banking Group, et Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB).

Freed of international sanctions, Iran has asked India to reactivate its accounts with Indian banks and allow Iranian banks to open offices here. Keen to quickly normalise banking and commercial relations with the world, Tehran also wants UCO BankBSE -3.50 % to open a representative office in Iran. Tehran has already opened an account with IDBI Bank. Central Bank of Iran's vice governor Gholamali Kamyab has conveyed to Indian authorities that Bank Pasargad and Parsian Bank were keen to open representative offices in India while Saman Bank was interested in opening a subsidiary, they said. State Bank of India (SBI) has accounts of 11 Iranian banks including Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) will set up a sharia-compliant asset management unit under its Turkish bank branch, the lender said on Monday. Kuwait Finance House Turk will establish five sharia-compliant investment funds and offer other investment services under KT Portfoy, the new unit, KFH said in a bourse statement. The establishment of the new firm is conditional on approval from Turkey's capital market authority. KFH's chief executive in January said it would issue Islamic bonds to boost capital reserves at its subsidiary bank in Turkey, even as it looks to restructure its global assets.

As Italy's demand for mini-bonds grows, Nctm Studio Legale (Nctm), a law firm, has hired Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB) to help it structure an Islamic Bond. Under the agreement, SRB will collaborate with Nctm to help structure and certify the mini-bonds in light of Sharia guidelines. Shariyah Review Bureau team has many years of experience in a range of industries, specializing in Investment Funds, banking, insurance, agriculture, and Asset Management. The demand for their services has quadrupled over the years with 2015 being the most eventful year. SRB expects this Islamic bond to open new venues of connecting capital with businesses in Italy and also help provide new opportunities to the SME sector.