IslamicFinance.de

UAE's Mashreq Al Islami has successfully closed a 5 year USD 500 million senior secured syndicated facility for Ezdan Holding Group Company Q.S.C., the largest private sector real estate developer in Qatar. Mashreq Al Islami UAE acted as Mandated Lead Arranger, Sole Book Runner and Facility Agent for the facility. Other banks that participated in the financing included Abu Dhabi Islamic bank, Ahli United Bank, Emirates NBD, Gulf International Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East as Mandated Lead Arrangers, Sharjah Islamic bank, Warba Bank as Lead Arrangers and QIIB as asset custodian. The Facility proceeds will be utilized to support the Company's expansion and developmental plans in its core market.

Saudi Arabia-based Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP) has tightened price guidance for its debut benchmark U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk issue, which could be priced as early as Monday. Guidance was revised to a range of 105 basis points plus/minus 5 bps over midswaps. Pricing was initially set in the area of 110 bps over midswaps earlier in the day. The sukuk will have a five-year tenor and be classified as a quasi-sovereign issue. The order book for the issue currently stands at $650 million. The wakala-structured sukuk is being arranged by Emirates NBD, First Gulf Bank, Goldman Sachs, NCB Capital, Noor Bank and Standard Chartered.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd plans to divest its entire 30% stake in Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd in the proposed merger between the lender and Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB), sources say. That it plans to sell the entire 30% stake isn’t exactly surprising considering that Khazanah has long made it known that it considers the stake a “non-core holding”, which meant that it was open to letting it go at the right price. Another reason for the planned divestment is that Bank Negara Malaysia is not keen on the government investment arm owning major stakes in more than one bank. It already owns 29.34% in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

Huge outflow of foreign currency during Hajj and Eid-ul-Azha has created a crisis of cash US dollar in Bangladesh, according to market players and the regulator. The crisis has now forced the central bank to request the National Board of Revenue to withdraw tax on import of US dollar notes by local banks. Hajj and the increase in the quota for cash when travelling outside the country have drained out the cash dollar reserves this year, said Nazneen Sultana, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank. Generally, the demand for cash dollar rises ahead of Hajj every year. Spending for Puja and rising medical tourism have created further strain on the cash dollar reserves.

An Islamic Investment Fund has been launched in Kumasi with the objective of reviving economic activities within Muslim communities. The Shari’a complaint financial system is to mobilize funds from the Muslim Ummah for development, whilst creating jobs for the teeming youth in need of jobs. The Fund is initiated by the Ahlussunna WalJama’a Ashanti Regional Imam (ASWAJ) to offer “ethical investment” tools to investors seeking to invest in profitable “halal” business ventures which have minimal risk but good potential for growth. A Gh100,000 is to be raised in the initial public offering of 200 shares at a share value of Gh500 per share.

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions and the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME) and the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona are co-organising the 3rd Mediterranean Islamic Finance Forum, themed “Building Bridges” on the 27th of November 2015, at Casa Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, Spain. This 3rd Edition will play a key role in building bridges for capital flows between Europe, the Middle East and beyond. It will bring together business leaders, policy makers and regulators to discuss challenges and opportunities for the Mediterranean region to tap into Islamic finance as a key source for Infrastructure projects and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) financing.

Turkish Islamic bank Albaraka Turk has reportedly picked seven arrangers for a potential dollar-denominated sukuk to bolster its supplementary or Tier 2 capital. The lender is expected to raise around $250 million, and the sukuk issue is planned before the end of the year. Albaraka Turk has chosen Barwa Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Nomura, Noor Bank, Standard Chartered and QInvest to arrange the sukuk issue. The bank, a unit of Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group , didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Philippines first sukuk issuance may have to wait a while despite recent pronouncements from both the private and the public sectors of plans to tap Muslim investors. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said rules did not exist yet to allow firms or government agencies to issue debt instruments that comply with Islamic shariah laws. Last month, state-run National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) said it planned to issue P2 billion in Islamic bonds in behalf of a Mindanao-based firm. NHMFC would tap government banks Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines as underwriters for the debt issuance.

Despite a growing Muslim population across the world, the Halal tourism sector is still “completely under-serviced” with growing urgency for quicker investments. According to Andy Buchanan, event manager of the World Halal Travel Summit, there are many untapped markets where supply is low including India, China, and Europe. Halal tourism packages must adhere to Islamic beliefs and practices, which include offering Halal food and non-alcoholic drinks, and having separate swimming pools and spa facilities for men and women. Today, the sector is worth $140 billion a year, with the figure expected to reach $250 billion by 2020, marking a 6.5 per cent annual growth rate.

Proper corporate governance practices in financial institutions should provide added value by enhancing the protection of depositor and investor rights, facilitating access to finance, reducing the cost of capital, improving operational performance, and increasing institutions’ soundness against external shocks. Ensuring strong corporate governance standards is thus essential to the stability and health of all financial institutions, worldwide. Good governance is an important priority for Islamic finance. Thus, the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) and the World Bank’s Finance and Markets Global Practice recently organized the conference on “Corporate Governance for Islamic Financial Institutions: Lessons from Recent Global Developments” in Jordan.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 118.38699 points, up from 117.98384 at the end of last month and 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.98763 points against 116.82783 at end-September and 113.69014 at end-2014. Among the sukuk in the pipeline are the following: The Tunisian government expects next year to launch a delayed sukuk issue, its first, for 1 billion dinars ($513 million). South Africa would like to issue more sukuk so there is enough liquidity to build an investment curve. Qatar Islamic Bank was to hold investor meetings in Asia, the Middle East and Europe from Oct. 16 for a possible benchmark offer of U.S. dollar sukuk.

From Takaful Emarat’s perspective, a number of factors in the Mena region have contributed to a relatively weak culture of financial planning and saving among our citizens and expatriate populations. However, education programmes addressing the importance of financial planning in the region are required to highlight the need for both citizens and expatriates to plan and save in order to generate income post-retirement, provide for family education and ensure comprehensive life and health cover is in place, for example. This situation is changing with the growing popularity of takaful as a means to plan for unexpected financial or medical emergencies.

R&A Telecommunication Group Bhd's major subsidiary, R&A Telecommunication Sdn Bhd (RASB), has been served a writ and a statement of claim by Maybank Islamic Bhd for defaulting a loan payment of RM30.54 million. R&A said it plans to address the issue via a regularisation plan. The filing of the writ and statement of claim is a result of the outstanding amount for various Islamic financing facilities granted by the plaintiff including murabahah cashlines and Islamic tradeliness facilities, R&A said. The financial of operational impact of the writ and statement of claim on the group will be severe, it said, adding that it will severely impact the group's cash position.

Malaysia's RHB Islamic Bank Bhd is set to launch a window in Singapore by year-end, New Straits Times reported on Monday, citing managing director and chief executive officer Ibrahim Hassan. Right now the bank is keen on Singapore and Indonesia mostly, Ibrahim was quoted as saying. Singapore because it is one of the world's most vibrant financial hubs, thus allowing RHB to tap further into capital markets and eventually Indonesia, which has the biggest Muslim population.

OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd has opened its first Islamic Premier Banking Centre at the newly opened branch, the 11th, at Kota Kemuning in Shah Alam. The move will cater to high net worth individuals seeking sophisticated Islamic banking products and services. With the opening of the first Islamic Premier Banking centre here in Kota Kemuning, the bank hopes to raise the bar in Islamic banking products and services for the high net worth segment. The bank's inaugural Premier Banking Centre includes a private customer discussion area, parking, safe deposit boxes and full-time premier banking tellers. Previously, the only available premier banking centres for Islamic banking were those shared with conventional banking entities.

Maisarah Islamic Banking Services signed an agreement with Shaza Oman to fund the construction of its flagship five-star hotel in Muscat. The financing agreement was signed by BankDhofar's acting Chief Executive Officer Abdul Hakeem Al Ojaili; Al Madina Real Estate CEO Abdul Rahman Ba Omar; and GLOREI CEO Mohammad Al Ghassani. Under the agreement, Maisarah will finance the five-star hotel that is under construction by Shaza Oman Company SAOC. The project is in Al Khuwair, adjacent to Muscat Grand Mall, and is slated for a soft launch in December.

The opening of the Islamic financial services (IFS) sector in Ghana is expected to create new financing and lending opportunities in the coming years, with sharia-compliant banking offering particular potential in the retail and small and medium-sized enterprise segments. In Ghana there is currently just one sharia-compliant financial institution – Ghana Islamic Microfinance, which began as an NGO – though there is significant scope for growth. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) may be preparing to issue the country’s first licence for a sharia-compliant bank in late 2015 or early 2016, with an accompanying reform to the regulatory framework also expected to be implemented.

Despite the UN’s ambitious claims, all the indications are that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) do not have the potential to “free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want” or “heal and secure our planet”. On the contrary, the ‘new agenda for development’ fails to address the root causes of today’s interconnected global crises, perpetuates a false narrative about poverty reduction, and reinforces an unsustainable economic paradigm that is inherently incapable of reducing the true scale of human deprivation by 2030. There are many reasons to question the entire sustainable development initiative and the political-economic context within which it will be implemented.

In a statement to the Qatar Exchange, QNB revealed its involvement as a potential bidder for Finansbank, the National Bank of Greece’s Turkish banking subsidiary. Established in 1987, Finansbank operates 654 branches and has more than 12,000 employees. The bank’s total assets in H1 2015 reached TRY 82.45 billion. The bank was acquired by National Bank of Greece in 2006. QNB has also recently investigated the possibility of taking over KFH Malaysia. However, a bourse statement on 22 September said the bank had stopped preliminary talks to acquire Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) without reaching an agreement.

The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) has decided to liquidate the Islamic financing department, head of the liquidated department Behnam Gurbanzade said. The bank's portfolio in Islamic financing amounts to nearly $526 million. By the end of the year, the department was planning to introduce new products and services. It was also planned to allocate long-term loans designed for each industry and to pay particular attention to agriculture. In addition, it was planned to introduce certain forms of financing for the construction, light and food industries. However, the decision on liquidation of the department was made last week.