IslamicFinance.de

Dubai-based developer Nakheel confirmed that it made a profit payment of Dhs 220m on its trade creditor sukuk. The company said that it has instructed Deutsche Bank, the registrar and paying agent, to make the profit payment to all sukuk holders on the due date of December 15, 2015 against the sukuk issued amount of Dhs 4.4bn to date. Nakheel’s last profit payment on its Dhs 4.4bn sukuk was issued in June this year. The company posted a net profit of Dhs 3.61bn in the first nine months of 2015, up 39 per cent compared to Dhs 2.6bn in the same period last year. The developer has paid off debts worth Dhs 7.9bn and is continuing to make payments on its Dhs 4.4bn sukuk, which is due to mature in August 2016.

Suriname's Trust Bank will convert its operations to become a full-fledged Islamic bank, after it signed an agreement with the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank to advise on the transition. Trust Bank would become the first full-fledged Islamic bank in South America. The lender, which decided on the transition in June, is implementing a strategy focused on small- and medium-sized businesses and adopting Islamic finance principles would support this aim, Chief Executive Maureen Badjoeri said. Suriname is the only country from the Western hemisphere to be a member of the IDB group. It has received financing from the IDB worth a combined $149 million for 18 projects.

Chairman, JAIZ Bank, Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab has denied that the institution is distressed and called for more players in the Islamic banking system in a bid to compete favourably in Nigeria’s financial sector. He made the call in Kaduna while donating cash and non-food items to two foundations by the JAIZ Foundation, saying the bank’s deposit base was increasing astronomically. Engr. Garba Muhammad, Mutallab disclaimed text messages in circulation that the bank was in trouble and assured that it was growing day by day. The bank has recently got approval in principle for a national licence to operate in all regions of Nigeria, he added.

Oman’s Islamic banks and window operations recorded a major growth of 65.9 per cent at OMR1.5 billion for the first nine-month period ending September 2015, compared with the same period of the previous year. Two Islamic banks and window operations of conventional banks have offered new products to lure in Omani customers, besides opening several branches in different parts of the country. The total value of customer deposits with Islamic institutions shot up by 210 per cent to OMR1.3 billion by the of September, from only OMR429.7 million for the same period of last year, according to fresh data by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO). There has been a significant increase in number of branches and assets held by these institutions since almost two year.

Speaking at a conference about UK’s general insurance in London, Max Taylor, chairman of the Islamic Insurance Association of London, said that the success of the takaful model relied on the participation of policy holders as the actions of one have an affect on all policy holders. There have been many attempts to establish takaful insurance operations in the UK in the past, but he said projects failed because of issues with capitalisation, underwriting approaches, and investment strategies under Shariah principles. He added that, internationally, takaful models had been successful in personal lines, but the vast majority of operators of such models were “small” and “risk averse”.

The Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals in Kuala Lumpur is going global as it seeks to fill a void of experts with specialties such as insurance and law. The institute aims to increase membership of qualified practitioners to 3,000 in three years, from 400 now, its president Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said. The CIIF, which changed its name and geographical focus in 2015, is in talks with associations and regulators stretching from the Middle East to Indonesia as part of that campaign, he said. CIIF plans to start offering specialized courses next year to address the shortage of professinals, which is hindering development. The Kuala Lumpur-based Finance Accreditation Agency estimates 56,000 more qualified experts will be needed to fill positions in the next five years as growth accelerates.

The Bank of England has joined the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the second Western regulator to do so after Luxembourg. The BoE joins as an associate member, the 65th regulatory body to join the Kuala Lumpur-based body, bringing total membership to 189, the IFSB said in a statement. The move comes at a key time for Britain’s domestic Islamic banks, as the BoE works to grow the number of sharia-compliant assets they can use in their liquidity buffers, with progress expected by the turn of the year. The IFSB has also admitted the central bank of Kyrgyzstan and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan as observer members.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) introduced the FIS E-Learning Portal. The portal provides both IFSB members and non-member organisations a learning and knowledge management suite with a number of interactive features that will assist in developing and enhancing knowledge as well as understanding of IFSB standards. The E-modules will cover seven standards which have been transformed into a total of 14 E-Learning modules with a collective seat time of 15 hours. The modules are available by subscription. As an extension of the IFSB membership benefits, a certain number of complimentary subscriptions are made available to organisations from the various categories of IFSB membership.

The success of the microcredit years showed us that it is not poverty that generates financial exclusion but rather the opposite: financial exclusion generates poverty. Unfortunately, microcredit alone was not enough to solve the problem. Although it was demonstrated that access to, and the use of, savings accounts, credit, insurance, etc. had a positive impact on opportunities for the poorest, no single financial service was sufficient to trigger major progress. In the current conversation around financial inclusion, emphasis is now placed on the fact that it is not enough to offer one or another service; we need them all, and all at the same time.

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has announced formation of its new technical boards and the names of appointed members of these boards for a 4-year period- up till end of 2019, or until the succeeding boards are appointed. Currently, the standards development, revision, and related technical work programs in AAOIFI are overseen by two technical boards, namely Shari’ah Board and Accounting and Auditing Standards Board. In order to better serve the international Islamic finance industry, AAOIFI has restructured its technical standards boards and enhanced their major responsibilities.

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is revamping key standards and boosting its engagement efforts with the industry, part of an ambitious reform agenda for the Bahrain-based body. A revised standard for sukuk and a new one covering the sale of debt are among major efforts planned for next year, secretary-general Hamed Hassan Merah told Reuters in an interview. Industry bodies like AAOIFI have been urged to adapt in a sector that has grown fast but remains fragmented across its core centres in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says a growing culture of philanthropy in Muslim countries may draw in more donations for his Lives and Livelihood fund aimed at reducing poverty in the Muslim world. Gates spoke on the sidelines of the Heroes of Polio Eradication Awards in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. He said low oil prices and tight budgets in the Gulf are making it harder to raise money for the fund, but that the Muslim world is home to some of the world's top donors. The Gates Foundation pledged $100 million to the fund, and the Islamic development bank put up another $100 million. This leaves the donor target of $300 million. Gates also said the world is "on track" to eradicate Polio by 2019.

Malaysian central bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz prepares to leave in April after three decades at the central bank. Whoever is chosen as her successor will have very big shoes to fill, said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at Oversea- Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. This is especially so since the global environment remains uncertain and Malaysia is deemed relatively vulnerable to swings in global investor sentiment -- in part due to domestic political rumblings. Zeti served as a deputy governor before she took the top job in 2000. The central bank declined to comment on whether any of the three current deputies are in the running this time.

Bahrain-based Tadhamon Capital announced the successful exit from its investment in Coxlease School in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, UK. The school is a specialist residential education facility for children with severe behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. It is let to Priory Group for a 30-year period with annual rent reviews linked to the retail price index. Acquired in November 2010, the school was Tadhamon’s seed investment in its Social Infrastructure Investment Platform in the UK. The platform currently holds assets valued at more than $523 million across segments. Over the five-year investment period, a minimum annual cash dividend of nine per cent was achieved.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently commissioned a study on the opportunities for Gulf investors in the African market. The research, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), revealed growing commercial interests between the regions. While trade between the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) and Africa remains modest, foreign direct investment (FDI) is growing. For example, a number of African multinationals have set up their headquarters in Dubai, such as Mara Group and Atlantic Holdings. On the other side, the EIU’s research shows that between 2005 and 2014 Gulf firms injected at least US$9.3bn in FDI into sub-Saharan Africa, with a further $2.7bn in the first half of 2015 alone.

Al Hilal Bank announced the appointment of Khaled Abdulla Neamat AlKhoori as its new Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his appointment at Al Hilal Bank, Khaled AlKhoori held a number of positions at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). At ADIA, Khaled was responsible for managing the firm’s global investment mandate, ensuring a balance between different investment styles, geographies and sectors. He also served as Director of the Private Equity Department for three years, focusing on mega funds and credit investments in the US and European markets. Khaled AlKhoori holds a Summa Cum Laude BSBA degree in Finance and Accounting from Boston University, US, and has completed a General Manager Program from the Harvard Business School in 2005.

The paper “Is Islamic Banking Good for Growth?”; by Patrick Imam and Kangni Kpodar analyzes the relationship between the development of Islamic banking and economic growth in low- and middle-income countries. The focus note “Costs and Sustainability of Sharia-Compliant Microfinance Products” by Mayada El-Zoghbi and Kaylene Alvarez assesses the operational costs, overall cost structures and business models of Sharia-compliant financial service providers (FSPs). The paper “Islamic Microfinance in Yemen: Challenges and Opportunities;” by Ali Saleh Alshebami and Dr DM Khandare reviews the Islamic banking sector in Yemen from 1997 to 2013, identifying challenges to the implementation of Islamic banking practices in the country.

As part of its review of the economic outlook for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the International Monetary Fund said financial intermediation in the country needs to become more efficient and broad-based. The IMF noted that the authorities expect that credit availability should increase from its low base, though they recognize that the low private credit reflects the scarcity of profitable and appropriately collateralized lending opportunities and structural challenges. The authorities wish to promote lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and agriculture while developing microfinance to support growth and job creation.

Abdul Halim al-Attar, 33, fled the war in Syria more than three years ago, moving first to Egypt and then to Lebanon. His wife returned to their home country just months after their departure, but Mr al-Attar resisted; he didn't want to go back to a place where he saw no future for their children, a nine-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. Day after day, Mr al-Attar relied on selling pens and other small items to support his family. At the time, Mr al-Attar was receiving the equivalent of $US36 ($50) a month from the UN Refugee Agency and supplementing that with painstaking sales - enough for a rundown apartment and the bare necessities, but not to send his son to school. An Indiegogo campaign raised $US188,685 for Mr al-Attar.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM). The purpose of the MoU is to establish and implement a framework for the cooperation between the two parties for contribution to economic development and financial inclusiveness in the Asian and African region, and in so doing to enhance the ability of both organisations to achieve their respective objectives and mandates. The MoU was signed by Mr. Khaled Mohammed Al-Aboodi, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the ICD, and Professor Datuk Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, Chief Executive Officer of the IILM.