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Some UAE and Gulf travellers are drawing up plans for short visits to Greece this summer, to pick up choice real estate assets on the cheap. Valuations on Greek realty are down to “10 cents to the dollar” from their 2007 peaks. Gulf investors can tick any number of reasons for picking up a Greek real estate deal now, and they need not be high risk-addicts to head that way. There are some choice valuations being offered up for prime assets as cash-strapped Greek developers/investors seek exits. Hospitality related properties figure prominently, as uncertainty shrouds its tourism industry. Barring a few exceptions, asset prices inevitably recover, although the time taken to recover may vary widely.

Effective regulation and supervision of Islamic banks achieved through a dedicated unit of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) is positive for the sector as it should strengthen early detection of risks and support growth, Fitch Ratings said. The central bank inaugurated its specialist department for overseeing Islamic banking last week. The department will build up resources and expertise and centralise all aspects of Islamic banking regulation and issuance. Although the industry represents just over five per cent of total banking assets in Oman, it could grow rapidly, as it has in neighbouring countries where market shares range between 20 to 30 per cent, the ratings agency said. The global ratings agency added that a limited number of Omani corporates have issued sukuk and the country's banks may follow.

Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also Chairman of Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment, has issued directives to privatise some government and semi-government-funded investment companies. A council meeting, chaired by the Emir, examined results of a study on investment firms partially funded by government and semi-government bodies. Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani, also Vice-Chairman of the council, attended the meeting along with Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, who is Executive Member of the council, and other members.

IFAAS (Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services) has launched 'Oxygen', its CSR programme that aims at improving the environment through Islamic finance. The programme, complementing IFAAS's general CSR policies, features 2 major components: planting new trees on annual basis, dedicated individually to IFAAS clients; and creating new woodland for each project that IFAAS completes. The programme is aimed at replacing the wood consumed by IFAAS in form of paper and locking up some of the carbon created while serving its clients worldwide. To this end, IFAAS is supporting the Woodland Trust who will be planting the trees at various native woodland sites across the UK. The Woodland Trust will provide IFAAS with a certificate each year to confirm the amount of woodland created, and how much CO2 has been locked up.

Egyptian Takaful Insurance Company (Non-life) aims to achieve premiums worth EGP 10 million (US$ 1.3million) in FY 2015-16, Managing Director Ahmed Arfeen revealed. The company expects to attain premiums volume of EGP 350 million at the end of June 2015, Arfeeen said. The initial indicators showed that the company has achieved 95% of its plan for current FY 2014-15. On other side, Egyptian Takaful Company is negotiating with a number of banks to sign bankassurance agreement in 2016, Arfeen said, noting that banks had not signed any agreements with non-life insurance companies till now. It is worth mentioning that 66% of the shareholding structure of Egyptian Takaful Company (Non-life) is divided equally among seven financial institutions.

In compliance with Central Bank of Bahrain's requirements, Ithmaar Bank publishes its financial results in line with international accountings standards issued by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). In May, Ithmaar Bank received notification from the Kuwait Stock Exchange requiring the Bank to publish its financial results in line with the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). Ithmaar Bank responded with a letter explaining that publishing two sets of financial results using different international accounting standards will create confusion among investors. Ithmaar Bank wrote to the Kuwait Stock Exchange requesting a meeting to review possible alternatives but has not yet received a response.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.95463 points, down from 118.42537 at the end of last month but up from 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.76818 against 117.32893 at end-May and 113.69014 at end-2014. The sukuk in the pipeline include: Malaysian mobile phone operator Maxis Bhd will raise up to 5 billion ringgit ($1.33 billion) through sukuk to refinance debt and fund capital requirements. Brunei's central bank is preparing to issue long-term sukuk. The Malaysia unit of Toyota Motor Corp plans to set up a 2.5 billion ringgit programme to raise funds via both conventional and Islamic bonds. Malaysian SapuraKencana Petroleum plans to raise up to 7 billion ringgit with a multi-currency sukuk programme.

The chief executive of Kuwait's The Securities House, Ayman Boodai, said he was stepping down from his position at the sharia-compliant investment firm and would be replaced by Fahed Boodai, the current chairman of U.K.-based Islamic lender Gatehouse Bank. Legal steps to allow the change have begun, with a new board of directors needed to be elected before a new chief executive can be nominated. The Securities House is one of two big shareholders in Gatehouse Bank, with the other being Kuwait Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund. Separately, Ayman Boodai said Gatehouse Bank plans to open a number of branches or representative offices in Gulf countries without offering details.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) secured a 13-month US$300 million Islamic Murabaha financing facility (the "Facility") from Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC , First Gulf Bank PJSC , Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and Mizuho Bank Nederland N.V. in early June 2015. Dubai Islamic Bank acted as the sole Coordinator of the Facility, in addition to being the Mandated Lead Arranger along with First Gulf Bank, Mizuho Bank Malaysia and Mizuho Bank Nederland. The Facility, the largest to-date for ICD, is part of ICD 's US$1.2 billion global resource mobilization program for 1436H (2015). The proceeds of the Facility was deployed for use of ICD 's ordinary operations.

The response to the new Wills and Probate Registry at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) was very positive, according to Mark Beer, the CEO and Registrar at the DIFC Courts. He said appointments to register wills are now fully booked until mid July. Non-Muslims with properties and investments in Dubai, regardless of whether they have a residency permit or not, began registering their wills at the DIFC on May 4, when the DIFC launched its new Wills and Probate Registry. The registry allow them for the first time in the region to register a will in English under internationally recognised law, which allows them to transfer their assets as they wish upon their death. The new rule also allows parents to appoint a guardian for their children in case of their death.

Globally, the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region has the largest share of private wealth booked offshore, thanks to the political and economic tensions in the region, according to the Global Wealth Report 2015 by BCG. The report showed that while the MEA region held 31 per cent wealth offshore, Latin America and Eastern Europe have 28 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. While economic and political instability is a key factor in driving assets offshore, shortage of onshore asset classes and management skills are driving demand for offshore domiciles. In 2014, Caribbean and Panama remained the preferred destinations for wealth originating from North America. For Middle East and Africa region, Switzerland was the top destination attracting 37 per cent of offshore assets booked from the region followed by UK 22 per cent and Dubai 12 per cent.

Demand for Islamic Finance in Canada at the retail level s increasing. Awareness is strongly rising and demand is following suite. So far, Islamic finance clients and interested potential clients are Muslims. As per Statistics Canada, the Muslim community is rapidly growing in Canada, the majority of Canadian Muslims being in the province of Ontario. So naturally, that's where the institutions are concentrating their marketing efforts with a few expanding to reach all the way to the province of British Columbia. The most popular product is hands-down real estate, be it residential or commercial.The technical knowledge of Islamic finance is, for the most part, basic. Islamic finance in Canada is in the calm before the storm.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group plans to launch an Islamic bank in Morocco early next year after receiving approval from the country's central bank, and is looking to expand into East Africa, chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said. The new bank will be equally owned by Al Baraka and Banque marocaine du commerce extérieur (BMCE), and will start operations in the first quarter of 2016. He said the new bank would open 20 branches in its first five years of business. The chief executive also said the group is considering expanding into East Africa because the banking system there is similar to that of the Gulf region, and was currently exploring opportunities in Kenya. Besides, the bank also plans to grow its operations in Egypt.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.76047 points, down from 118.42537 at the end of last month but up from 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.64082 against 117.32893 at end-May and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: Saudi Arabia's Al Othaim Real Estate and Investment Co has revived plans to issue a debut local currency Islamic bond, probably after the summer. Dubai's Drake & Scull International set initial price guidance for its senior perpetual U.S. dollar sukuk at around 9 percent. The Islamic Development Bank increased the ceiling of its Islamic bond programme to $25 billion from $10 billion. Malaysian mortgage lender Cagamas still hopes to issue sukuk this year off a $2.5 billion multi-currency programme set up last November.

Dar Al Takaful has been recently granted the approval by Dubai Health Authority to provide medical insurance coverage to the category with salaries below AED.4000, the service is offered to the SMEs and sponsors. Saleh Al Hashmi, the Managing Director of Dar Al Takaful expressed his pleasure with the selection of Dar Al Takaful by Dubai Health Authority to provide this service and said that this confirmed the strong partnership between the government and the private sector and assure. This cooperation comes in line with Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 aims at securing the wellbeing of Dubai citizens and residents. He added that the new service is part of the firm's strategy that aims to provide the best medical care with competitive rates and without imposing extra fees on the insurance policy.

Bahrain-based Ibdar Bank has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the year ended March 31, 2015 marked by strong performance and profitability. For the quarter, the Bank reported a net profit of USD3 million compared with USD1 million in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 200%. Total income for the period also rose significantly by 65.8% to USD6.3 million versus USD3.8 million in the prior-year period. Strong profits can be attributed to an increase of 1778% in the Bank's income generated from investment banking services over the prior year as well as from income generated by gains made in the trading of investments and securities and profitable exits from existing investments.

Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has assigned an international scale rating of 'B-/B' (Single B Minus / Single B) and national scale rating of 'A-(eg)/A2(eg)' (Single A Minus / A Two) to AlBaraka Bank Egypt. Outlook on the assigned ratings is 'Stable'. The fiduciary score has been assessed in the range of '66-70', reflecting adequate fiduciary standards wherein rights of various stakeholders are adequately protected. Ratings assigned to ABBE derive strength from the franchise of Albaraka Banking Group (ABG) as the bank's principal owner. The bank's sound liquidity and profitability indicators in addition to favorable and improving asset quality lend support to the ratings assigned.

In line with the government's initiatives to boost the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector in the Sultanate, Sohar Islamic, Bank Sohar's dedicated Islamic Banking Window, continues to support the sector with its SME line of services. The bank provides financing up to 90 per cent at competitive profit rates for a maximum tenure reaching up to 5 years allowing SMEs to invest in construction equipment, machinery and commercial vehicles. The product is underpinned by simple application and approval process, thus ensuring quick turnaround time (TAT), tie ups with major dealers of equipment and commercial vehicles, collateral-free financing (financed asset constitutes the primary security), and less documentation. In addition to the SME finance, Sohar Islamic has banking solutions that cover retail and corporate financing needs.

There is an ample scope of Islamic banking and finance in western Africa and Senegal can play a vital role in elevating it through the countries. This was said by Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) while attending an international seminar on Takaful. Delegates from Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Guinea and other countries of western Africa participated in the stated seminar. Mr. Mughal added that AlHuda CIBE has chalked down a robust strategy to promote Islamic banking and finance in West African countries. He announced that AlHuda CIBE with its strategic partner AAMAS Africa will organize an international conference on Islamic banking and finance in Dakar in December 2015.

The Middle East private equity industry, which went through a period of shake out post-financial crisis is back on its feet and the market has matured in the last five years in terms of deal structures, volumes and values, according to industry practitioners. Family-owned businesses, in particular, are looking for ways to grow and expand regionally or internationally and they too are becoming more sophisticated in how they structure and govern their businesses in order to attract private equity investors, said Alexander Gross, Director at Merrill DataSite. Overall, the panellists agreed that there is more maturity on the sellers’ side and they recognise the value of private equity, more than they did five years ago.