IslamicFinance.de

Bill Gross, well known fixed income fund manager twittered (https://twitter.com/januscapital/status/590519759797530624) and moved markets with his idea to sell German sovereign bonds short (selling without having them) to buy them back later cheaper. He called it "The Short of a lifetime"; the only issue would be the "timing"...

Interest rates will be once raising again but will short seller stay solvent long enough to benefit? The German economy is doing fine, but other EURO zone countries do not perform as well and need low interest rates for a prolonged period of time. Japan has so far not convincingly ended their easy money policy.

It seems to be getting harder and harder to find a news story about the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that doesn’t fall within the narrow narrative of disorder and political violence. From state collapse in Libya and the tragic conflict in Syria to the geopolitical flashpoint in Yemen, the headlines from the broader region make for bleak reading indeed. These challenges are real and they are significant, but there is another story about the region that remains under-reported. It is a story of dynamism and entrepreneurship, and it’s one of how private capital is playing a critical role in creating new realities for the region and its people.

La loi n° 103.12 relative aux établissements de crédit et organismes assimilés introduit les banques participatives dans le code bancaire à travers la mise en place de nouveaux fondements reposant sur les principes de partage des gains et des pertes, en faisant appel exclusivement au Conseil Supérieur des Oulémas pour donner ses avis de conformité. Le texte pose le cadre réglementaire pour la création, le fonctionnement et les activités de banques participatives et définit les points concernant le domaine d’application, les dépôts et les produits commercialisés par les banques participatives. La loi n° 103.12 s’applique aux établissements de crédit et organismes assimilés.

Egypt's sukuk law is likely to be ready by the start of the new fiscal year in July, according to Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian, who told reporters in March the government will sell dollar-denominated Shariah-compliant notes once the rules are in place. Egypt also said in early March it’s preparing to issue its first conventional international bond since 2010. Egypt has hired banks including Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas and Natixis for a $1.5 billion non-Shariah compliant bond sale, Dimian said in March. The cash raised will be partly used to pay dues to foreign oil companies. The sukuk sale will probably also be used to finance mega-projects that have been approved by the government during the investment conference.

At least 21 million children in the Middle East and North Africa are either not attending school or are at risk of dropping out, according to a report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The organisation said there had been “impressive” progress in raising school enrolment in the region during the past decade, with a 40 percent reduction in the number of out-of-school children. However, a combination of poverty, discrimination, poor quality learning and conflict had caused progress to slow in recent years. There were now one-in-four children and young adolescents out of school or at risk of dropping out.

Capital Intelligence (CI) has downgraded the ratings of Tadhamon International Islamic Bank's (TIIB), based in Sana'a, Yemen. TIIB's Financial Strength Rating (FSR) is downgraded to 'B' from 'B', and the Outlook for the FSR is downgraded to 'Negative'. The Outlook for TIIB's Foreign Currency Ratings, which are affirmed at 'C' Long-Term and 'C' Short-Term, are downgraded to 'Negative' as is the case with all CI-rated Yemeni banks, reflecting the current turmoil and severe economic weakness. The Support Rating is maintained at '4', reflecting the limited capacity of support. Non-performing loans (NPLs) and assets are expected to rise, which will require additional provisioning, thereby hitting profitability.

Jordan chose the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, to support the country's debut sovereign issue of sukuk. The ICD will provide "transaction technical support" for the domestic issue of Jordanian dinar-denominated sukuk, which is expected this year. The sukuk will be used to absorb excess liquidity held by Jordan's Islamic banks, which is estimated to total 1.4 billion dinars ($2 billion). Khaled Al-Aboodi, chief executive of the ICD, said the issue would help to develop Jordan's capital market and provide an alternative to its Treasury bills for investment by Islamic banks.

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) is willing to invest in the Moroccan Islamic banking sector in the two upcoming years. EIB’s CEO, Jamal Bin Ghalaita, said the bank is planning to explore the potentials of the Moroccan Islamic finance through a policy of acquisitions and obtaining operating licenses from regulating authorities. He added that the Moroccan Islamic banking market is among the markets with the greatest potentials for Islamic banking outside the GCC. Ghalaita also said the bank has the same planned investments in other countries with strong economic ties with the United Arab Emirates and GCC countries. He said the bank is also assessing opportunities for expansion in the coming period in Egypt and Turkey.

While awareness of CSR has improved in Lebanon, it has not at all become a trend, it’s still in its infancy. Most companies think they are doing CSR but they are doing philanthropy. Corporate social responsibility involves a business going beyond its fundamental profit-making motive to comprehensively and sustainably address social, ethical and environmental considerations in its workplace and the communities it affects. While CSR Lebanon has established itself as a leading authority on the topic and is the only consultancy of its kind in Lebanon, its clients remain located in the Gulf. Moreover, businesses in Lebanon tend to think short-term rather than investing in a multiyear strategy.

The World Social Forum continues to be the pivotal global venue for left and progressive forces to advance struggles and create internationalist alliances to make another world possible. Tunisia, which provided the spark for the Arab Spring, hosted its second WSF from 24-28 March in its capital Tunis. Tunisia has unfortunately seen an increment in terrorist attacks and, according to estimates, is the largest source of recruits to the Islamic State (IS). Tunisia’s rate of unemployment is at its highest since the 2011 revolution with a huge percentage being educated youth.

The Islamic debt market in Jordan is set to capitalise on growing worldwide interest in sukuk after long-awaited regulations allowing banks to issue and buy the financial instrument have been put in place. Only one corporate sharia-compliant bond has been issued so far in Jordan, a seven-year, JD85 million ($119.8 million) security launched by Al Rahji Cement in 2011, while the government has yet to tap the market with an Islamic sovereign bond. However, the passage of the sukuk law and the government's request in June last year for assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to launch an Islamic bond suggest Jordan is intent on entering the market in the near future.

The 13th World Social Forum (WSF) came to a close after discussing a range of political, social and cultural issues, notably the phenomenon of terrorism and its impacts on democracy. The attendees delivered a message of peace and solidarity from Tunisia's National Bardo Museum, the site of a recent deadly attack. The four-day gathering was held under the slogan of "Together to pursue the revolution of rights and dignity." It gathered representatives of over 5,000 national and multi-national NGOs, including worker, peasant and feminist movements, from 121 countries.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the government of Jordan will begin work in the coming weeks on a debut issuance of Islamic bonds. In October, JICA signed an agreement with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), to develop its Islamic finance capability. Jordan is JICA's first target. JICA and ICD will start their joint technical assistance to the country within a month, Tetsutaro Kon, director in charge of Middle East operations at JICA, said. The consultation would continue over the next six months and address details such as currency and tenor of the sukuk.

In a speech marking the end of a three-day economic conference, Egypt's president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi reiterated his commitment to peace and growth as he sought more investments from the international community, after receiving commitments worth billions of dollars. Egypt signed investment deals worth more than $138 billion on the first two days of the conference, while its Arab Gulf neighbors—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates—pledged another $12 billion to help stabilize its economy. But Mr. Sisi, in his concluding remarks, said his country would need a lot more, as much as $300 billion over the coming years, to make its economy strong enough to give its vast population a genuine chance to prosper.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said Sunday it has been shortlisted as a buyer for Citigroup 's Egypt retail business in what is set to be a heated battle to tap into one of the world's fastest growing economies. Mashreq and Emirates NBD are also reportedly bidding to buy Citi 's Egypt consumer banking network. Whoever wins this will have an advantage because Citibank has a good portfolio of clients, they have more than 100,000 credit cards, Tirad Al Mahmoud, ADIB's chief executive, said. Citi , which has also dropped its retail banking businesses in Turkey, Romania, Greece and Pakistan, has said it sees potential in other booming economies such as in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Arab Women's Enterprise Fund (AWEF) aims to empower poor women, increasing their income and well-being and ultimately improving their livelihoods and growth opportunities. The programme will do this by increasing their participation in markets through working with market actors to encourage the adoption of new practices and also by addressing constraints in the enabling environment. AWEF is an 10 million pouns market development programme that will work in Egypt, Jordan and the Overseas Palestinian Territories (OPTs). DFID will work in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) who will contribute an additional 10 million pounds in sharia-compliant concessionary finance through financial intermediaries.

Morocco is poised to have its first full-fledged Islamic bank as early as September. Dar Assafaa, an affiliate of the country’s largest lender AttijariWafa Bank, will probably become the nation’s first wholly Sharia-compliant financial institution when the central bank approves its switch. The country’s Islamic finance bill, which came into force on January 30, also allows for the formation of a centralised Sharia board to oversee Islamic banks. The Moroccan Association of Participative Financiers estimates total investment in Sharia-compliant products in the country will reach $7 billion by 2018.

According to a new report by McKinsey Global Institute, Morocco is the most indebted among Arab and African countries. The kingdom’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 136 % or an increase by 20 percentage points of GDP. The analysis focuses on the debt of the “real economy”: governments, nonfinancial corporations, and households. The report has revealed that debt-to- GDP ratios have increased in all 22 advanced economies reviewed by the study. Morocco comes ahead of both Egypt and Saudi Arabia which have actually succeeded in reducing their debts. The report has also found that global debt has grown by $57 trillion or 17 percentage points of GDP since 2007, to stand at $199 trillion, equivalent to 286% of GDP.

Regardless of its average GDP growth, the widening of the gap between the rich and poor is certain to affect the well-being of everyone, the rich included. Although some governments aim to achieve narrower gaps through reducing gaps in earnings, others realize that goal through taxation and redistribution of wealth. Many Egyptians abide by redistribution constituted both by the state, in the form of taxes, and religion. Among the five main pillars of Islam is Zakat, which calls on well off Muslims to annually pay 2.5% of their net monetary wealth. Putting the previous through a simple mathematical calculation while bearing in mind that Egypt’s population has grown to 95 million, it isn’t hard to imagine the amount of money being willingly circulated in Egypt out of faith and spirituality.

Tunisia's El Wifack Leasing plans to become the country's third full-fledged Islamic bank by August and will receive a capital injection from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The ICD will not only provide technical assistance, but also inject up to 30 percent of the bank's capital, helping it increase its authorized capital to at least 150 million dinars ($77 million), El Wifack's general manager Mohammed Mellousse said. It will start offering sharia-compliant deposits through eight branches and build a network of 60 branches within five years, aiming for a 1.5 percent share of Tunisia's total banking market, he added. Currently, there are two full-fledged Islamic banks in Tunisia, Zitouna Bank and the Tunisian arm of Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group.