IslamicFinance.de

Dr Haron Sirima is likely to be appointed the new Central Bank of Kenya Governor following the expiry of Prof Njuguna Ndungu’s term on Tuesday. Sirima, whom analysts gave a nod ahead of fellow nominees, is currently the Deputy to Ndungu who has been at the helm for eight eventful years. Geoffrey Mwau, Economic Affairs Director at the National Treasury, Isaac Awuondo, Managing Director of Commercial Bank of Africa, and Rose Ngugi, an adviser at the International Monetary Fund make up the broader list of nominees. President Uhuru Kenyatta will announce the latter’s successor once approval has been sought by Parliament.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has signed an agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to cooperate in the development of the private sector in ICD member countries in Africa. ICD and Afreximbank will share information on projects and business opportunities in Africa and on participation in the arrangement of syndications or investment in funds. They will also cooperate in structuring sukuk/debt capital market transaction opportunities, co-invest in Islamic leasing companies and support local financial institutions in Africa through the raising of capital via lines of finances. In addition, they will exchange information aimed at upgrading knowledge and expertise about Islamic finance, among others.

Niger's government will establish an Islamic bond programme worth 150 billion CFA francs ($260 million), permitting its first issue of sukuk, with assistance from the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank. Niger's sukuk would be issued over the next five years in two separate transactions worth 75 billion CFA francs each, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) said. The government already has a number of projects that could be financed through sukuk, Amadou Boubacar Cisse, Niger's planning minister, was quoted. Niger would follow Senegal and South Africa, which issued sovereign sukuk for the first time last year; Ivory Coast has been considering a 200 billion CFA franc sukuk issue. Tunisia plans a debut sukuk issue in the third quarter of this year.

Afriland First Bank, the Cameroonian banking institution, has set high fundraising and loan approval targets for its Islamic finance clientele. Indeed, according to Youssoufa Bouba, the bank’s Director of Specialised Finance, Afriland First Bank is aiming to achieve 3 billion FCFA in Islamic checking accounts. Bouba goes on to state that the bank intends to grant 2 billion FCFA in loans at the same branch. These goals depend not only on the size of the Muslim population in Cameroon (the institution’s target market), which represents 20% of the population there, but also on the products the bank implements with private sector support provided by the Society for International Development (SID).

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has finalised plans to opt for a centralised approach to regulate Islamic Banking in Nigeria. The CBN will set up an advisory body,known as the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts, that will oversee the industry in Nigeria. The council will be tasked with ensuring all banking products that are designated as Islamic conform to sharia principles. The advisory body will comprise a minimum of five members who will serve renewable two-year terms, and are restricted from working for any other financial institution supervised by the central bank. Moreover, the Council will be guided by the principles of sharia governance issued by the Malaysia-based Islamic Financial Services Board.

L'Etat du Sénégal a été retenu par un jury composé de banquiers, de journalistes, de professeurs d’universités, de spécialistes de la Finance islamique, à l'issue d'une table ronde, mi-janvier 2015 à Kuala Lumpur, en Malaisie. La réunion de janvier dernier en Malaisie vient de décerner un satisfecit à l'Etat du Sénégal. Après son émission obligataire islamique sur le marché international d'un montant de 100 milliards de f CFA (premier du genre au sud du Sahara), menée par la BIS (Banque islamique du Sénégal) et arrangée par Citibank Dubaï et ICD, la signature du portefeuille de l'Etat prend ainsi de la voilure auprès des investisseurs et prêteurs "halal".

Cameroon's Afriland First Bank has launched the Central African state's first Islamic window. Afriland, which has offered an Islamic deposit account since 2000 to help Muslims perform their pilgrimage to Mecca, will offer a range of common types of Islamic financing contracts. These include murabaha, musharaka, mudaraba and ijara. The lender developed the Islamic window with assistance from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). Afriland, founded in 1987, now operates subsidiaries in Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Zambia, South Sudan, and Guinea.

The thematic workshop on Development of Islamic Banking in Africa held in Ilorin, Nigeria recently became apt in appraising the current challenges inhibiting the development of Islamic banking in Nigeria particularly and Africa in general. The workshop was organised by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) in collaboration with the University of Ilorin and Al-Hikmah University. The workshop brought together experts in Islamic Banking, Regulations and Financial Economics in order to take stock of current academic research, policies, practice and developments on Islamic Banking in Africa. The major challenge to the development of Islamic banking is considered to be the absence of regulations.

Premier Bank in Somalia has successfully gone live with Path Solutions’ iMAL Islamic Banking & Investment System on the 29th of December 2014. The implementation of the new R14 Branch Automation in the latest Java version serves the bank’s purposes of focusing on its business growth, managing risks and controlling costs. Phase I implementation covers System Admin, Accounting, Customer Service Management (CSM), Report Designer, SWIFT, Alerts (SMS Banking), and Processing modules in iMAL. Phase II implementation is already in progress and includes Facility Management System, Islamic Investment System, Provisioning, Profit Calculation System and Integration Manager modules along with Internet Banking, ATM, and Mobile Banking.

Muhammad Nurul Islam, managing director/chief executive officer of Jaiz Bank, explained that wholesale transparency in the bank’s regular operations at all levels has enabled it to move away from huge losses to break-even point in record time. However, there are also challenges for the bank, such as the need for a liquidity management instrument that is non-interest banking compliant to manage our excess liquidity. Islam also said that by 2016 end, the bank will have improved capital to enable it go outside the shores of Nigeria. So in the next five years, Jaiz Bank will go International and expand its business base.

Turkey's Bank Asya said it was selling its 40 percent stake in Senegal-based Tamweel Africa Holding for 31.8 million euros ($37.7 million). Asya is selling the stake in Tamweel, which promotes Islamic finance in sub-Saharan Africa, to the Saudi-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The bank obtains 41.3 million lira profit through this sale and expects an positive impact on first quarter profitability, Cengiz Onder, Bank Asya's head of investor relations said. Besides, Bank Asya has laid off 1,708 staff and closed 80 branches, out of the 5,074 staff and 281 branches it had at the end of 2013.

The Representative of the Jaiz Bank in Nigeria, Dr. Mizanur Rahman, has disclosed the plan of the bank to extend its services to Kwara and Lagos states. He lamented that due to limited scope within the country, the bank lost about N1 billion but reiterated its hope that it would do well in 2015. Rahman made the statement at the jointly organised thematic workshop on Development of Islamic Banking in Africa at the Alhikmah University in Ilorin. The workshop was jointly organised by the Research and Training Institute (IRTI) in Saudi Arabia, the University of Ilorin and Al-Hikmah University.

The Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank Group and the African Development Bank are to jointly organize a workshop on the development of Islamic Banking in Africa to be held in Nigeria on January 6 - 8 2015. It is organized with the Al-Hikmah University as well as the Department of Islamic Law, University of Ilorin. The workshop will expect Experts in Islamic banking, regulation, and financial economics and take stock of current academic research, policies, practice and development of Islamic banking in Africa as well as current issues in Islamic banking and financial products, academics, regulators and practitioners of Islamic banking and finance from different African countries and from those who show considerable familiarity with the development of Islamic banking in Africa.

The Weekly Number's analysis of a new Pew Research Center report - a study based on methodology developed by Brian J. Grim - finds that the 12 countries identified in the study as having very high religious diversity each outpaced the world's economic growth between 2008 and 2012.

Full Report: http://www.pewforum.org/2014/04/04/global-religious-diversity/

Islamic finance products are more and more being seen as a mainstream source of financing for governments and not as a niche product for Muslim communities. In December, Kenya banned fifteen NGOs accused of funding terrorism, as the country struggles to defend itself from attacks by the al-Shabaab terror militia based in neighboring Somalia. In 2013 a similar crackdown in the UK had 250 money transfer companies put on notice by Barclays Bank as part of a move to meet stricter money laundering rules. Somalia to date as no formal banking system and therefore relies on companies from abroad to send remittances.

Nigeria’s insurance industry showed significant signs of positive gains in 2014. The sector’s contribution to the GDP was still at 0.4 percent even though it could achieve no less than 10 percent annually if well developed. The low level has been largely due to low awareness, poor purchasing power of Nigerians, poor market drive and unexciting products from insurers as well as lack of government patronage of insurance. At the National Insurance Summit held in Abuja, in December 2014 the government announced that it has set a target of N1 trillion in the next three years, and N5 trillion gross written premiums for the insurance sector within the next 10 years.

Djibouti has hosted the last three summits of the African Conference of Islamic finance, mainly in order to attract foreign direct investment, including Muslim countries. The country’s economic expansion depends entirely on the service sector. Islamic banks have helped strengthen Djibouti’s financial ambitions. The four Islamic banks that have settled down the last eight years in the country are now holding 15 to 20% market share. Thesê banks could make Djibouti a sub-regional financial center.

In Mogadishu the country’s first Islamic insurance company was launched after decades of instability and civil war. The opening Ceremony of the Takaful and Re-Takful Islamic Insurance Company was had representative guests from major Somali financial institutes as well as business people and federal government officials. In Somalia the insurance banking system sector collapsed in 1991.

Africa is not only ready for Islamic finance but also is aiming to take its stand in the global Islamic finance arena, according to Abdelilah Belatik, secretary-general of Bahrain-based General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI). Human capital development remains one of the main pillars in establishing sound Islamic financial services practices in Africa, especially with the recent regulatory development, he said. CIBAFI has completed a 'Certified Islamic Banker' training for 48 top level executives from 10 banks in Mauritania. The professional development training programme was co-organised by CIBAFI and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has confirmed that it would provide financing worth $1 billion on the basis of an agreement to carry out various development projects in Cote d'Ivoire during the next two years. Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said that his country is looking forward to greater cooperation and partnership with IDB in various fields including capability building for sukuk in order to mobilize resources for development. The president also sought IDB loans to finance the country's infrastructure projects. The meeting saw the signing of a loan agreement worth $15 million to establish a vocational training center in the country.