IslamicFinance.de

Iran, frozen out by sanctions, has not been a fixture in the international debt markets since 2002. But when it eventually returns, which it surely will in the next year or so, its first step back may turn out to have been a little-noticed domestic issue that took place on September 30. The issue of Islamic government treasury bills, it could even be said, was the country’s first true domestic bond. There has been a sort of debt market in Iran for years, but it does not resemble anything like local currency markets elsewhere in the world. The predominant vehicle is the Agh Mosharekat (participation paper) an instrument which carries a fixed coupon, is not tradable, and can be returned to the bank at any time during its (typically three-year) duration and redeemed.

A report from the Islamic Development Bank suggests that an Islamic social finance product "Zakah" has great potential in curbing poverty for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. CNBC Africa spoke to Mohammed Obaidullah, Senior Economist at the Islamic Development Bank and Lead Author of the Islamic Social Finance Report, to get more insight on this.

The Chairman of the Islamic Insurance Association of London (IIAL) has told delegates at its inaugural conference that cooperation will be vital if growth in the Islamic insurance sector is to be achieved.
Max Taylor said the London market was ready willing and able to work with local markets to drive the expertise and growth in Islamic commercial insurance products to meet the growing demand from the business community.
“We have long believed that to enhance the market and deliver change in the Islamic insurance sector there is a real need for greater expertise and knowledge and this is where the London market can play a leading role,” Taylor said.
“The UK government has been quite clear that it wants to create a global centre of excellence for Islamic financial services in London.”
However, while both the London market and the Islamic underwriting community had the same aims of driving growth and professionalism in the sector it could not be achieved in isolation.

QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment group and one of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions globally, yesterday announced that its net profit for the third quarter grew 69 % to $33.8m while revenues jumped 37 % to $78.7m.

“We are very encouraged by our performance during the third quarter of 2015. With our commitment to drive growth and innovation across the business, we have continued to source new opportunities, strengthen our brand and deliver positive returns. Whilst we expect on-going market volatility and economic challenges to remain present, we are confident on the outlook for the business. We have an exciting active pipeline of deal flow and a unique market position to leverage investment opportunities across the GCC region and selected markets in Europe, Asia and the US” said Tamim Hamad Al Kawari, CEO of QInvest.

The idea of having a common currency and a global Islamic mega bank among the Muslim countries is quite remote at the moment and the focus should be on increasing intra-trade, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak.
Najib said while talks of having a mega global Islamic bank have been on the table for some time, the idea has not materialised.
“There have been some attempts to establish a global Islamic mega bank, but it has not materialised yet. I think there are some challenges to be put together, in a serious fashion, for a mega Islamic bank. Effort should continue,” he said at a press conference at the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Najib cited the example of the European Union’s (EU) challenges in adopting a common currency as a reason why the idea of a common currency among Muslim countries is remote.
“I think it is quite remote to have a common currency among the Muslim world. I don’t think we should imply to go down the path as EU was also at the point of breaking up at one time. It is not a feasible option but what we can do is increase the intra-trade among Muslim countries.

The history of family-owned businesses in the Gulf countries spans more than 100 years during which time the required entrepreneurial and managerial experiences have been passed on from one generation to another. These families contributed to the development of sectors such as trade, banking and construction, and resulting in the collection of taxes that helped stabilise financial conditions and support state budgets in the pre-oil era.
When oil revenues started flowing in, the Gulf nations encouraged family businesses to expand into many areas. They even contributed to the emergence of new business groups through the awarding of contracts to implement projects, especially infrastructure-related ones vital for development needs.
This approach contributed to a qualitative development of these companies, some of whom went on to enter partnerships with global players and gained in administrative and technical expertise to implement large projects and enter overseas markets.

More than one-third of small and medium enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa are out of the purview of banking sector and there exists a funding gap of up to $13bn for SME Islamic financing in the region.
Moreover sukuk, or Islamic bonds, have gained real momentum with many non-Muslim countries raising funds through these instruments, said Malaysian Premier Dato Sri Mohamad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak at the 11th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), which got underway here yesterday and attended by more than 3,000 delegates from 98 countries.
“35% of SMEs in the Mena are excluded from the formal banking sector. Indeed, there is a financing gap of up to $13bn for SME Islamic financing in this region,” Razak said, quoting a study by International Finance Corp (IFC).

Corresponding with the launch of its Social Responsibility Report for 2013 and 2014, Al Baraka Banking Group (B.S.C.) has also announced its 2016--2020 Social Responsibility Priorities.
With this announcement Al Baraka has become one of the first global financial institutions to pledge its targets for supporting the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which were adopted by the United Nation's General Assembly on September 25, 2015.
At this occasion, Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group noted that "we are very proud to continuously demonstrate our keen commitment to contributing to the communities that we serve and operate in. Being one of the pioneers of Islamic banking, we believe that we have a greater responsibility to keep our core business model socially responsible and relevant to the growth and development of our customers and their communities".
1. Adding 50,000 jobs across the countries we operate in as a result of financing new and existing customers operations. We will prefer working with customers that are adding and retaining jobs and offer equal opportunities for men and women.

Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s sole Islamic bank has announced the appointment of Mahe Abubakar as the acting Managing Director/CEO of Jaiz Bank Plc.
Until his appointment, Abubakar was an Executive Director in charge of Business Development.
A statement from the Head, Corporate Communications Department of the Bank, Idris Salihu said Abubakar is taking over from Muhammad Nurul Islam, whose two-year contract ends on the 17th of November, 2015.
Salihu said the Board expressed gratitude to Islam for his innumerable contributions towards the growth and success of Jaiz Bank Plc in the last two years.
Nurul Islam joined Jaiz Bank in November 2013 and turned it around from a negative balance-sheet to a positive result in 2014. “He came in on a Technical Agreement Jaiz Bank has with the Islamic Bank of Bangladesh to train and put the staff of Jaiz Bank through Islamic Banking because of their long experience in the subsector” the statement said.
Jaiz Bank is now operating in 21 locations from the 10 locations he met. Under Islam’s leadership, Jaiz also obtained Approval-in-Principle for a license from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate nationwide.

The long-term issuer default ratings of Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and Arab National Bank were revised to negative from stable
Ratings agency Fitch has downgraded the outlooks on 3 Saudi Arabian banks as low Crude Oil prices continue to plague the Kingdom’s economy.
The long-term issuer default ratings of Saudi British Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi and Arab National Bank were revised to negative from stable, Fitch said in a statement.
The revision was based on the tougher operating environment facing the Saudi Arabian banking sector, mainly due to the effect of lower Crude Oil prices on government spending and the filter down effect this has on the rest of the economy.

Finance from Islamic nations wants to play an important role in China's Belt and Road initiative, Turki bin Faisal Al Saud said at the International Finance Forum in Beijing on November 7.
Also known as Turki Al Faisal, Prince Turki is a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family, one of the founders of the King Faisal Foundation and chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
"I'm glad to see that the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) is considering taping Islamic funds," he said. "Islamic finance is very suitable for infrastructure financing, and we want to contribute to the One Belt One Road."
The initiative is composed of infrastructure development across Asia and Europe. It's estimated that China will invest a total of $900 billion and spur a regional input of $300 billion.
Chinese banks having been raising clout in the Gulf such as issuing bonds. The country is also strengthening its trade relations with Islamic countries.
However, the plan comes with risks, as Chinese companies have to first become familiar with Islamic finance, which has complex rules.

A team lead by Ashurst finance partner Jamie Ng has completed the first Shari’ah compliant murabaha in Australia.

The structured financing arrangement funded by ANZ enabled a commodity transaction to finance an interest in a Melbourne property at 747 Collins St, by one of Malaysia’s largest pension funds, Tabung Haji. Ashurst acted for investment manager CIMB-TrustCapital, as well as Tabung Haji on the deal.

“Shari'ah compliant financings can be complex and involve parallel consideration of various Shari'ah structuring, legal and taxation issues to produce an outcome that is not only viable, but which is commercially and legally robust,” Ng told Australasian Lawyer.

The demand for Shari’ah compliant financing, particularly in the real estate sector, is a growing trend driven by both Australian and off shore investors, according to Ng.

“We are seeing a considerable degree of interest in Shari'ah compliant on-shore financing products, and we have fielded an influx of enquiries from offshore investment vehicles out of the Middle East and Asia wanting to know more about the structures available in Australia,” he said.

Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry will continue to grow strongly despite the withdrawal of some Islamic finance-related incentives in Budget 2016.
Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals (CIIF) president Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said the country’s Islamic financing market has grown positively over the years, attributed to the tax incentives provided for Islamic financing in previous budgets.
“(But now) the Islamic finance no longer requires that assistance to penetrate the market. (Previously) the incentives were there to create the momentum to build nderstanding and acceptance of Islamic finance,” he told a press conference after the launch of CIIF last Friday.
Badlisyah said the CIIF, a professional body for qualified practitioners in the Islamic finance industry, was established following the increasing need for a global reference point for professional talent in the industry, as it expands internationally.

QInvest, Qatar’s leading investment group and one of the most prominent Islamic financial institutions globally, yesterday announced that its net profit for the third quarter grew 69 % to $33.8m while revenues jumped 37 % to $78.7m.

“We are very encouraged by our performance during the third quarter of 2015. With our commitment to drive growth and innovation across the business, we have continued to source new opportunities, strengthen our brand and deliver positive returns. Whilst we expect on-going market volatility and economic challenges to remain present, we are confident on the outlook for the business. We have an exciting active pipeline of deal flow and a unique market position to leverage investment opportunities across the GCC region and selected markets in Europe, Asia and the US” said Tamim Hamad Al Kawari, CEO of QInvest.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank repaid its maturing five-year, $750 million sukuk this week from its own sources without refinancing it, the bank said on Saturday.
Abu Dhabi's largest sharia-compliant bank made a net profit of 503.2 million dirhams ($137 million) in the quarter to Sept. 30, up from 476.8 million a year earlier, it reported previously.
Chief Executive Tirad al-Mahmoud told Reuters last month that the bank had no current plans to raise more capital after a recent rights issue, adding that it would eschew expansion to focus on existing markets.
Bank lending growth in the United Arab Emirates has been slowing as liquidity tightens because of low oil prices. Industry-wide lending growth slowed to an annual 7.0 % in September, the slowest pace since at least February 2014 when the current central bank data series began.

The ratings of rated Malaysian corporate sukuk, or Islamic bonds, reflect the credit quality of the underlying corporate backing the sukuk, despite the various assets in their sukuk structures, according to Moody's Investor Service.
In a statement today, the credit rating agency said that it had reiterated its conclusion in its analysis of three Malaysian corporate sukuk which it rated in 2015, namely Axiata Group Bhd (Baa2 stable), Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) (A3 positive), and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) (A1 stable).

The revival of investor sentiment and interest in initial public offerings (IPOs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries experienced in 2014, slowed down in the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, slightly picking up pace in Q2 and further slowing down in Q3 of the year, according to PwC’s Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services team.
Regional IPO activity in Q3 is usually slower due to summer holidays, the holy month of Ramadan and Eid. This seasonal trend was perhaps exaggerated in Q3 as markets absorbed the impact of continued lower oil prices, growing geopolitical concerns and wider economic uncertainty, thus potentially impacting new issuers coming to market.

The global Islamic finance assets are projected to grow to US$3.2 trillion (RM13.6 trillion) by 2020, says Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading provider of intelligent information for businesses and professionals.
Its Head of Islamic Finance, Mustafa Adil said Islamic finance was considered the most developed sector within the various pillars of the Islamic economy and its growth in the global industry was broadly measured by the value of Islamic finance assets.
As global acceptance of Islamic finance continues to grow, he said more corporates and non-Muslim sovereigns were announcing Islamic finance initiatives such as ethical finance or Shariah-compliant regulations, as well as sukuk issuances.

State Bank of Pakistan has reiterated its commitment for promotion and development of Islamic banking in Pakistan.
According to SBP’s press release, the share of Islamic banking in total deposits of the banking industry surged to 12.8% as of 30th June, 2015 due to is persistent efforts and is consistently growing with a cumulative average growth rate of over 50% during the past 12 years .
“To-date 5 full fledge Islamic banks, one Islamic Banking Subsidiary and 17 banks with dedicated Islamic Banking Branches are operating in the country with over 1700 branches spread all over the country”, the release read.
SBP has developed Shariah compliant open market operations for managing liquidity of Islamic banking sector, which is quite unique in the Islamic world. State Bank Shariah Board has also approved structure of Government of Pakistan Ijara Sukuk issued in the past and all such structures for future issues will be approved by SBP Shariah Board before their launch”.

Currently, there is $65.9b of outstanding in labelled green bonds, with transport and energy remaining the dominant themes. Countries such as the UAE and Malaysia have shown the willingness to issue green sukuks, and advisers such as Climate Bonds Initiative hope to have at least one [issued] in 2016, the chief executive officer of the advisory firm told Gulf News.
“Dewa (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) has said that they are considering issuing a green sukuk for clean energy,” said Sean Kidney, chief executive officer of Climate Bonds Initiative. The firm has a sukuk advisory group in the UAE, trying to promote issuance.