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Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed its Shari'a Quality Rating of AA (SQR) assigned to Jordan Islamic Bank ( JIB ). This rating indicates JIB 's conformance to very high standards of Shari'a compliance in all aspects of Shari'a quality analysis. The bank is supervised by an eminent Shari'a Supervisory Board, which comprises both Jordanian residents for ease of access, and those present on the group's Unified SSB, for international reach. The SSB regularly reviews activities of the bank to ensure Shari'a compliance. Transparency of financial reporting vis-à-vis investment accounts and corporate governance disclosures are mainly in line with the recommended best practices by IFSB.

In Egypt, 20% of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have indicated a preference for Sharia-compliant products, according to an IMF working paper issued this month. The paper said there is a substantial demand for Islamic banking among the MENA region’s SMEs, with approximately 35% expressing their interest in financing by Islamic banks. Islamic banks need to make adjustments in the structure of their work to improve their ability to reach consumers. They also need to sell their products to the global Muslim population segment that does not currently have a bank account, according to the paper. Moreover, banks need to focus on SMEs and pursue private equity and venture capital initiatives.

Islamic International Rating Agency ( IIRA ) has reaffirmed the ratings of Jordan Islamic Bank ( JIB ) on the national scale at A+/A1 (jo) (Single A plus/A One). Ratings of JIB on the international scale have also been reaffirmed with the foreign currency rating at 'BB+/A3' (Double B Plus/A Three) and the local currency rating at 'BBB-/A3' (Triple B Minus /A Three). Outlook on the ratings is 'Stable'. Ratings are supported by JIB 's strong franchise and retail presence. Stability at Board and management level has reinforced the organizational culture and has allowed uninterrupted implementation of the bank's business strategy. Regional instability may however continue to be a significant challenge.

Morocco is to create a sharia board of Islamic scholars to oversee the country's fledgling Islamic finance industry. Called the Sharia Committee for Participative Finances, the board will be composed of 10 Islamic scholars plus at least five financial experts. The members of the committee will be named by the president of the country’s Islamic Scholars Council, the bulletin said. The board will approve the conformity of the Islamic products proposed by the participative banks, as they will be known under the legislation, and insurance (takaful) to sharia law. It will also oversee the central bank decisions regarding the participative finances sector.

Morocco has issued a royal decree to create a sharia board of Islamic scholars to oversee the country's fledgling Islamic finance industry. Called the Sharia Committee for Participative Finances, it will be composed of 10 Islamic scholars and financial experts, the country's official bulletin said. The members of the committee will be named by the president of the country's Islamic scholars council. The board will approve the conformity of the Islamic products proposed by the participative banks, as they will be known under the legislation, and insurance (takaful) to sharia law. It will also oversee the central bank decisions regarding the participative finances sector.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group is planning on issuing its first sukuk for its Jordanian unit later this year, chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said. Jordan Islamic Bank is planning a 10-year local currency sukuk by year-end, said Yousif, without giving a size for the transaction. This would mirror deals by Al Baraka units in Pakistan and Turkey which have allowed them to boost regulatory capital as Basel III global banking standards are being phased in around the globe. In December, Jordan Islamic amended its articles of association to allow it to both issue and buy sukuk, as well as to establish special purpose vehicles for such transactions. Al Baraka is also planning a sukuk for its South African unit this year, said Yousif.

Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, has reportedly received several requests for approval from Islamic banks from the Gulf countries. Al Baraka Bank (Bahrain), the Kuwait Investment Bank and the National Bank of Qatar are among those banks that wish to settle in Morocco. Some of these institutions have already established agreements with local credit institutions like Bahraini bank Al Baraka Bank. Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) has, meanwhile, last year signed a strategic partnership in the field of Islamic finance with Guidance Financial Group (GFG), a subsidiary of Barwa Qatari sovereign wealth fund. The Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa Bank, however, has announced in late January that it has intended to develop its subsidiary dedicated to Islamic finance Dar Assafaa without an alliance with a foreign partner.

The Venture Capital industry in the Middle East and North Africa region is set to grow five-fold in the next three years, according to Dany Farha, CEO of BECO Capital, a regional Venture Capital firm focused on technology investments in the MENA region. Farha said this boom will be propelled by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Tech VC activity in the region is still on the rise across all functions, from fund raising and deal flow, to closing transactions. Almost 60 percent of the companies that BECO saw were revenue-generating and more 20 percent were close to break-even. BECO Capital is targeting investments in the whole of the GCC region, with a special focus on start-ups in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

The Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa Bank plans to transform its subsidiary Dar Assafaa into an Islamic financial institution according to the group’s CEO Kettani. In this context, the banking group belonging to the Royal Holding SNI plans to increase the capital of Dar Assafaa to $ 18.40 million, and will inject more investments according to the development of this new market in Morocco. Attijariwafa Bank will develop its own participatory bank without foreign partnership, unlike Banque Centrale Populaire and BMCE Bank which have opted for the creation of joint ventures with foreign Islamic banks. Moreover, the institution will expand its range of products.

Islamic banks can play an important role in the economies of Maghreb countries – particularly those struggling with socioeconomic development. According to the 6th African Islamic Finance Forum (FAFI) in Casablanca, Islamic products should not be simply limited by halal and haram, but should be designed as a source of wealth and job creation. Africa offered real opportunities to develop Islamic finance, financial analyst Najib Foukari said. However, the shortage of suitable human resources is still a major challenge, he added. In 2015, a number of Islamic financial institutions are being set up in Tunisia, Mauritania, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad. Morocco has also just adopted a legal and regulatory framework for the establishment of Islamic financial institutions.

A unit of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank has provided $80 million worth of sharia-compliant reinsurance to cover political risk for oil and gas projects in Egypt. The deal covers the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for its own insurance policy on the exploration projects of Houston-based Apache Corporation, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment & Export Credit (ICIEC) said in a statement. The announcement comes as Egypt is seeking new sources of energy to cope with its worst energy crisis in decades, caused by declining gas production and rising consumption. The policy would allow the country to retain foreign direct investment during a critical transtional period.

The UK and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to help boost business opportunities and create jobs for thousands of women across the Middle East and North Africa. The Arab Women's Enterprise Fund will see the IDB and the Department for International Development working together to improve the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in the Arab world. It will also address legal and cultural barriers that block women getting ahead in business. DFID will contribute £10 million to provide grants to help poor women access markets. IDB will match this with a further £10 million in Sharia-compliant Islamic finance.

Une dizaine de demandes d’agrément ont été soumises à Bank Al-Maghrib par des institutions jugées leaders dans l’industrie de la finance islamique. Ces institutions viennent essentiellement d’Asie, plus particulièrement du Moyen-Orient. Une bonne partie de ces institutions ont l’intention de créer des joint-ventures avec des banques marocaines. Certaines se sont déjà engagées avec des accords, d’autres sont toujours en négociation. Le PDG d’Al Baraka Banking Group Adnan Ahmed Yousif avait lui aussi confirmé un projet de banque islamique au Maroc avec un partenaire local. Concernant Attijariwafa bank, le groupe est toujours sollicité par les leaders mondiaux de la finance islamique.

For the second time after the 2013 edition, Tunisia has been chosen to host the World Social Forum. The forum will be held from March 24 to March 28 at the Farhat-Hached university campus in the capital Tunis. The organizational committee for the 2015 forum, under the head of Tunisia's social and economic rights forum, Abderrahmane Hedhili, said that civil society would be mobilized for the event as it was in 2013.

A nine member delegation comprising of leading Shari'a scholars from Morocco met with Mr. Rasheed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The visiting delegation wants to learn from the Bahrain experience in Islamic finance. Mr. Al Maraj welcomed the eminent scholars and assured them of CBB's full support in their Islamic finance journey. During their three day visit the delegation met with the CBB officials, leading Shari'a scholars in Bahrain and global Islamic finance bodies such as AAOIFI, IIFM and CIBAFI. Morocco has been gearing up to offer Islamic financial services in the wake of strong domestic demand.

Tunisia was once one of Africa's most sophisticated and prolific bond issuers, selling bonds denominated in euros, dollars and yen, and later this year it is expected to issue its first Islamic government bond. International investors keen to capitalise on the country's recent presidential elections put in orders of more than $4bn for the $1bn bond, allowing the country to borrow at a lower than expected rate of 5.875 per cent over 10 years.

For all the sectarian violence gripping Iraq, Shari’ah-compliant banks operating in the nation see opportunities for growth. Elaf Islamic Bank, the 14-year-old Baghdad-based lender, is targeting 28 per cent increase in profit this year, even as rival Cihan Bank said its income dropped last year as militants seized vast swathes of the country. However, Cihan Bank also said its outlook improved toward the end of last year as the US began airstrikes on Islamic State. Meanwhile, Iraq’s cabinet approved a draft law yesterday regulating the Shari’ah-compliant banking industry, which will now move to the country’s parliament for passage.

Banque Misr has registered total Shariah-compliant funding of two billion Egyptian pounds (US$135 million) by end of 2014. Banque Misr's Shariah-compliant deposits have totalled around 26 billion pounds. During fiscal year 2013/2014, Banque Misr had arranged a number of Islamic funding contracts including a US$110 million contract as pursuant to Mudaraba system. The bank had also implemented the first joint Islamic financing with Istisna'a followed by Ijarah system described in the disclosure to finance a project with a total value of about 1.07 billion pounds, Moreover, the bank had carried out the first Islamic finance in the Egyptian market with Musharakah Mutanaqisah system.

Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed the Takaful Financial Strength (TFS) rating of The Islamic Insurance Company (TIIC) in Jordan at 'A' (Single A). Outlook on the assigned rating is 'Stable'. The fiduciary score has been reassessed in the range of '71-75', which indicates that protection factors are adequate. The assigned rating derives strength from TIIC 's franchise as a Shari'a compliant operator that builds on the reputation of its parent, Jordan Islamic Bank, and which forms part of the Al Baraka Banking Group. Established in 1996, the company has grown at a steady rate and presently commands a market share of about 4% in Jordan's overall insurance sector.

The successful roll-out so far of a new “smart card” system to distribute subsidized bread has been a major achievement for Egypt’s government, saving money while earning praise from families who no longer have to wake early to fight for loaves. While the government still has a long way to go to roll out the new system countrywide, success so far marks an important civilian achievement for the president. The cards have so far been introduced in 17 of Egypt’s 29 provinces and consumption in those areas is already down between 15 to 35 percent. However, there are still worries whether the new smart card system is air-tight enough to squeeze out middlemen working the black market.