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Barwa Bank, Qatar’s newest Islamic bank in which government is a majority owner, has found its niche in the country’s growing Islamic banking sector, benefiting from Qatar’s strong economy and favourable operating environment, according to Moody’s. Continued high public spending will continue to create further business opportunities for local banks, particularly those with well-established government links like Barwa, the rating agency said. Furthermore, Barwa will benefit from regulators’ policies, which prohibit conventional financial institutions operating Shariah-compliant banking windows and reduce the competition for a fast-growing customer segment. Nevertheless, the bank’s asset quality will likely remain stable over the next 12 to 18 months.

As the Iranian economy opens up for business, regional Islamic banks are likely to benefit most as the country’s banking system is governed by Sharia, according to Moody’s. According to the Central Bank of Iran, the country’s banks and other financial institutions held 15,901 trillion Iranian Real ($558 billion) in total assets as of May 2015. Given the sheer size of the banking system and the country’s financing needs, Moody's expects a major boost to sukuk volumes, said Khalid Howladar, senior credit officer at Moody’s. However, Sharia harmonisation across jurisdictions would likely remain difficult, he added. Iran's banking sector is the largest contributor to the global total of Islamic banking assets estimated to account for 45 per cent of $1.2 trillion market.

Saudi Arabian investment management and advisory firm Jadwa Investment has completed a distribution agreement with European platform Allfunds Bank (AFB) to offer shariah-compliant mutual funds to international investors across AFB’s global platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Jadwa’s portfolio of public equity and fixed income funds will be accessible across AFB’s worldwide network of 33 countries, including commercial banks, private banking institutions, fund managers, insurance and takaful companies and fund supermarkets. Jadwa Investment will be the only investment firm to provide actively managed and passively managed (indexed) shariah-compliant funds.

Islamic banking and financing as it is introduced in the Philippines opened a lot of inquiries and challenges. In the previously held Forum on Islamic Banking and Financing by the Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology, in partnership with Anak Mindanao and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos last September 2 at MSU IIT Campus, Iligan City, participants from different sectors especially the future accountants of the university, both Muslims and non-Muslims, were given the basics of such concepts by the resource persons. This is a system that can be adopted by all.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced on September 10 that it issued a US$100 million trust certificates through a special purpose vehicle, IFC Sukuk Company, in an effort to spur growth in developing economies. The five-year Sukuk will support IFC’s developmental financing activities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and other parts of the world. It will initially be listed on NASDAQ Dubai. An application has also been made to list the Sukuk on the London Stock Exchange. The sukuk were based on the al Wakala structure. Joint Lead Managers of the deal were Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered Bank (B&D).

Dagong Global Credit Rating Company Limited (Dagong) and Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) have jointly reaffirmed the international scale credit rating of Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) at 'BBB+/A3' (Triple B Plus / A Three). In addition, IIRA has reaffirmed ABG 's national scale rating at 'A+(bh)/A2(bh)' (Single A Plus / A Two). Outlook on the assigned ratings is 'Stable'. IIRA has also reassessed the group's overall fiduciary score in the range of '76-80', which indicates strong fiduciary standards and a well developed governance structure. Ratings assigned to ABG derive strength from the group's relatively strong wealth creation ability given increasing demand for Islamic banking services and ABG 's prominent position in the global Islamic banking segment.

Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group Adnan Ahmed Yousif has revealed that the bank has completed the procedures for obtaining the necessary licenses to operate in the Moroccan market. It already has operations in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. He added that the bank has also obtained the necessary approvals for the opening of 20 new branches, and plans to open 25 branches by 2020. Al Baraka is also planning to establish a software company in partnership with European investors and Indians with capital of $15 million under the name Al Baraka Banking Software. The Islamic bank also plans to expand into India and Indonesia. It already has a representative office in Indonesia but sold out of an investment company in India.

Yale University President Peter Salovey and Yale Law School Dean Robert C. Post have announced a $10 million gift to create the Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization at Yale Law School. This gift is from Abdallah S. Kamel, chief executive of the Dallah Albaraka Group, LLC, a banking and real estate enterprise based in Saudi Arabia. The center will bring prominent scholars of Islam to the Yale campus for public lectures, seminar discussions, visiting fellowships, and visiting professorships, attracting students from the Law School and other schools at the university to its lectures and other opportunities for collaboration.

Middle East Payment Services (MEPS) - a consortium of local and regional banks that serves as a payment services provider in the Middle East - has signed a partnership agreement with Cihan Bank for Islamic Investment and Finance. This step corresponds with the Bank’s goals to expand the range of banking products and services it offers in Iraq by adding new services in the electronic payment field. By virtue of the agreement, MEPS will provide various services comprising call centers and operating MasterCard point-of-sale (POS) devices. In addition, MEPS will issue the Bank’s payment cards at all its branches across Iraq, as Cihan Bank strives to provide all types of MasterCard including debit, credit and prepaid cards.

"Global Finance" has named Kuwait finance House ( KFH ) the safest Islamic Financial institution in Kuwait, and the third in the GCC for the year 2015. The bank is ranked as one of the top two among all Kuwaiti banks, be it Islamic or conventional. Also, Global Finance announced the 50 safest banks in emerging markets 2015 where KFH was ranked in 28th place. Banks were selected through an evaluation of long-term foreign currency ratings, credit ratings, businesses, financial indicators and total assets. Global Finance study encompassed more than 500 largest banks in Asia, the GCC and MENA. KFH Chief Executive Officer Mazin Al-Nahedh said the ranking confirms KFH 's robust financial position, sound pursued procedures in addition to the professional and legislative commitment.

Al Rayan Bank has boosted its staff in order to expand its mortgage business through mortgage advisers. It comes as the bank appointed Saalik Haleem as intermediary specialist. Mr Haleem, who is based at the bank’s operational headquarters, has been tasked with boosting the 13 per cent intermediary share of the bank’s mortgage business and creating new relationships with mortgage advisers across the UK. He has worked in Islamic finance for several years, specialising in the areas of advisory and Islamic investments, specifically Sharia-complaint Oeic/unit trusts.

Chairman of Borsa Istanbul Talat Ulussever called on Tuesday for the development of trading in stock markets to be compliant with the Islamic Sharia. Transactions at the stock markets should be Islamic Sharia-compliant not only restricted on issuance of bonds, said Ulussever at the opening of the 1st conference on Islamic Finance. He said policies failed to revive the global economy since 2008, but rather increased burden of debts by more than USD 50 trillion. Ulussever said economic and financial crises were linked to huge debts. He said the Islamic financing should be fully based on Islamic foundations.

Another upcoming placement of a Shariah-compliant Real Estate Investment Trust, or Islamic REIT, in Southeast Asia amid a shaky financial market environment shows that the demand for this kind of investment vehicle remains high and the formation of similar REITs in and outside their main playing ground Malaysia will likely pick up momentum. Johor Corp Bhd, the investment arm of Johor state, will list its second REIT, named Al-Salam REIT, on the stock exchange in Kuala Lumpur on September 29. The initial public offering is expected to bring in close to $60mn, with 98% of the units to be sold to institutional investors.

The public and private banks in Syria have worked on developing their products despite of the current crisis as they have continued to fund the imports and the economic processes according to the needs of the national economy during the current stage. Some 20 banks are operating in Syria, six of which are private and 14 are public, while three of those banks are Islamic. Contrary to most of the economic sectors in Syria, the profits of the private banks have witnessed a significant development reaching SYP 45 billion by the end of the first half of the current year with an increase of 80.3 percent in comparison with 2014 while between the years 2013 and 2014 they were increased by 65.5 percent.

State-owned Investment Corp. of Dubai is reportedly raising a $500 million loan. The facility will be provided by Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank. The money will fund the expansion of its Atlantis, The Palm resort in Dubai. ICD and Kerzner International Holdings, a developer and operator of destination resorts and luxury hotels, plan to spend $1.4 billion to build The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences. The development on Dubai’s man-made island will add nearly 800 guest rooms and 250 luxury residences. ICD acquired Atlantis, The Palm from Dubai World in December 2013.

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the World Bank Group have issued a consultative report on Payment aspects of financial inclusion. The report examines demand and supply-side factors affecting financial inclusion in the context of payment systems and services, and suggests measures to address these issues. Financial inclusion efforts - from a payment perspective - should aim at achieving a number of objectives. Ideally, all individuals and businesses should have access to and be able to use at least one transaction account operated by a regulated payment service provider, to: (i) perform most, if not all, of their payment needs; (ii) safely store some value; and (iii) serve as a gateway to other financial services.

Banks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council can thank turbulence in the world’s bond markets for spurring Islamic lending to the highest in three years. Loans that comply with Islam’s ban on interest in the GCC have risen 22% this year to $11.9bn, the most since 2012. At the same time sales of Islamic bonds dropped 41% to $6.9bn. The increase in lending will be welcome for banks in the region, where oil’s more than 50% decline in the past 12 months threatens to curtail government spending and clip economic growth. Investors are demanding higher yields amid market swings, prompting companies including Dubai-based construction contractor Drake & Scull International to delay sales.

The London Stock Exchange already boasts 53 Sukuk issues, raising more than $38bn. It has a mounting presence in Sharia-compliant Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) too, with seven available based on Islamic indices. In addition, Takaful has reached a new high in the UK, with premiums estimated to have reached $30bn in 2012. However, since the launch of the Sovereign Sukuk, there has been a general hush around the subject, with the Government not considering another one in the near future. While investors will find a number of other commercial funds to take its place, curiously, there remain few opportunities to invest in Sharia-compliant residential funds. That gap in the market has been seized by the residential funds and asset manager, London Central Portfolio (LCP).

Egypt is planning to introduce sukuk and revisit the international capital market to help finance its $36bn financing gap during fiscal year (FY) 2015/2016, Minister of Finance Hany Kadry Dimian said. In June, the Egyptian government sold 10-year international bonds worth $1.5bn, with revenue of 6%. Dimian added that the best bet to bridge the financing gap is to continue reforming the economy. The Suez Canal Zone that was entirely a military zone now is opening to everyone, Dimian added. The oil sector is also opening up to new private investors, Dimian noted. Moreover, having a fully fledged VAT system will increase competitiveness, he added, highlighting that competitiveness will help stabilise the pound.

Oil and gas player SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd has made its first issuance of US$200mil (RM845.8mil) sukuk under the multi-currency sukuk programme. The company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that its unit SapuraKencana TMC Sdn Bhd (SKTMC) will use the proceeds to refinance some existing debt. The sukuk offering is the first to be launched under the new Securities Commission Guidelines on Unlisted Capital Market Products under the Lodge and Launch Framework effective June 15, 2015. The company announced last week that SKTMC had signed the transaction documents for the inaugural multi-currency Islamic medium-term note.