IslamicFinance.de

IFSO – Islamic Finance Students Organization, association des étudiants et diplômés en Finance Islamique de l’Université de Strasbourg, organise dans le cadre de ses Universités Européennes de la Finance Islamique, une conférence sur le thème “Crowdfunding et Finance Islamique, convergences et perspectives”, le Samedi 10 octobre 2015 de 15h00 à 17h30 à Paris. Avec la participation de M. Tariq BENGARAI Abou Nour, enseignant chercheur en finance islamique, porte parole du CIFIE (Comité indépendant de la finance islamique en Europe). M. Amine NAIT DAOUD, co-fondateur 570 Asset Management et autres.

Kiron University, a social enterprise company headquartered in Berlin, will offer refugees a two-year online programme in partnership with providers of Moocs (massive open online courses), followed by one or two years at a partner institution. Students will be awarded a double degree, from both institutions. Several universities in Germany have signed up to the initiative. The organisation is in the process of seeking more partners in the UK, before rolling it out to other countries in Europe. It is targeting about 400,000 refugees in Europe, and so far 15,000 have signed up to start the programme in October.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.83027 points, up from 117.69120 at the end of last month and 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.41248 against 116.46023 at end-August and 113.69014 at end-2014. Sukuk in the pipeline include: SapuraKencana Petroleum, a Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said in early September it would launch a $200 million sukuk, to be issued on Sept. 8. Aluminium Bahrain is seeking a credit rating ahead of talks with banks about fund-raising for its $3.5 billion Line 6 expansion. A banking source said a bond or sukuk could be issued before end-2015 or early in 2016.

Nasarawa State governor,Tanko Al-Makura has appealed to the chairman, JAIZ Bank for the establishment of the bank in the state. The governor made the appeal in Lafia when he received a delegation of the bank led by its chairman, Dr. Umar Abdumutallab at the Government House. Al-Makura explained that the benefits of establishing JAIZ Bank in the state are enormous and capable of turning around the economic fortunes of the citizenry. Earlier, the chairman of the bank, Dr. Abdumutallab assured the governor that the bank would establish branches in Nasarawa State.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 117.83027 points, up from 117.69120 at the end of last month and 115.79726 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 116.41248 against 116.46023 at end-August and 113.69014 at end-2014. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline are: SapuraKencana Petroleum, a Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said in early September it would launch a $200 million sukuk, to be issued on Sept. 8. State-owned public transport operator Prasarana Malaysia said in early September it would fund Malaysia's light rail transit three project via sukuk, with the coupon to be decided later. Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasih has applied to raise up to 1.5 billion lira ($513 million) via sukuk.

Saudi Fransi Capital announces the successful closing of the SAR 1.0 billion five year Sukuk offering on behalf of Abdullah Al Othaim Real Estate Investment and Development Company "OREIDCO". The Sukuk (senior secured) has been issued through OREIDCO Sukuk Limited, by way of a private placement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. OREIDCO Sukuk has attracted strong interest from the investors community in the Kingdom, with demand originating from government-owned funds, banks, asset managers, corporates and insurance companies. It was priced at 6-month SAIBOR + 1.7%. OREIDCO plans to use the Sukuk proceeds for meeting its requirements for capital investment and for general corporate purposes.

Islamic finance is increasingly important in the global economy and needs to be better integrated into the international financial system, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told at the G20’s Investment and Infrastructure Working Group. The World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and countries including Saudi Arabia and South Africa had shared their practical experiences with asset-backed financing and Islamic finance in particular over the past year, he said. The asset-backed nature of Islamic finance should in theory make it ideal to build highway networks, ports and other big projects. An estimated $800 billion worth of infrastructure financing will be needed each year in Asia alone over the next decade, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Thanks to a regulatory action last year, the landscape of the country’s Islamic insurance industry is set to change forever with the entry of conventional insurance giants in the Takaful market. Jubilee Life Insurance and EFU Life Assurance, which control over Rs115 billion in total assets between them, have just launched Takaful products. The first set of rules governing the Islamic insurance industry did not allow conventional insurance companies to enter the Takaful market unless they set up stand-alone subsidiaries with separate paid-up share capital. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) replaced Takaful Rules 2005 with Takaful Rules 2012 three years ago, which allowed conventional insurance companies to set up Islamic ‘windows’.

Bahrain-based International Investment Bank (IIB) has appointed Subhi F. Benkhadra as its new CEO. Benkhadra, previously the CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Baniyas Investment & Development Company, replaces acting CEO Fareed Bader, who continues in the role of executive committee member at the bank. Benkhadra is described as an experienced financial leader with a wealth of experience in traditional and Islamic investment banking in the UK and the Middle East. Benkhadra graduated from the University of Bath in 1987 with a BSc in environmental engineering and holds a MBA in finance from City University Business School.

Matthew Glover, head of IT and change delivery at Al Rayan Bank, says its use of cloud amounts to a competitive advantage against big banks, and its customer base of 60,000 gives it an edge against challenger banks which are similarly unburdened by legacy. Being an Islamic bank makes Al Rayan’s business different, too. Glover is not himself Muslim, and neither are many of its customers, he says. He heads a team of 14 IT and business professionals. The IT estate is a mix of on-premise and cloud. Apart from the core banking system, which is a Misys platform running on an IBM AS/400, Salesforce is the most important part of the bank’s technology landscape.

SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd's share price rose this morning following its plan to launch a US$200 million (RM848.18 million) sukuk next week. The company's share gained two sen to RM1.79, as at 10.27 am, with 3.27 million shares changing hands. The first tranche of the sukuk, structured based on the Shariah principle of Commodity Murabahah, is scheduled to be launched on September 8, 2015. This is the first sukuk under the new Securities Commission's guidelines on Unlisted Capital Market Products under the lodge and launch framework effective from June 15, 2015.

Ratings assigned to Jordan Islamic Bank derive strength from the institution’s strong franchise as the largest retail Islamic bank operating in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The bank’s financial risk profile is also healthy, with strong and improving asset quality indicators, sufficient profitability position, and sizable liquid reserves. Leverage indicators of the institution are at a comfortable level. Jordan’s macroeconomic environment, however, remains challenging against the backdrop of regional instability. The bank has been proactive in incorporating changes in the code of corporate governance for Islamic banks issued by the Central Bank of Jordan.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today approved a charge sheet against 14 people, including Bismillah Group’s Managing Director Khaza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, for embezzling Tk 110 crore from Shahjalal Islami Bank. Nine of them are employees of Bismillah Group, four of Shahjalal Islami Bank and one is Network Frame System Ltd’s Chairman Akhter Hossain. The accused include Soleman’s wife and group’s Chairman Nawrin Hasib, Solaiman’s mother Sarwar Jahan, former manager of Eskaton Branch of Shahjalal Islami Bank Aslamul Haq and former deputy manager ASM Hasanul Kabir. The controversial group swindled the money with the help of bank officials between June 2006 and October 2012.

The World Bank Group’s Global Islamic Finance Development Center (GIFDC) has announced the launch of its Annual Symposium on Islamic Economics and Finance. The symposium is organised by GIFDC in partnership with Borsa ?stanbul, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), and Guidance Financial Group. The inaugural symposium, “Islamic Finance: A Catalyst for Shared Prosperity,” will be held on September 8-9, 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey. The organisers hope that the symposium will contribute toward a better understanding of the role Islamic finance can play in promoting inclusive growth, reducing inequality, and accelerating poverty reduction.

Iranians are likely to become major buyers of Dubai property again if sanctions against the Islamic Republic are lifted, providing a much-needed fillip to the emirate's real estate sector. Dubai property prices have fallen slightly this year, ending a sustained rebound from 2008-9 crash after tougher regulations to deter speculators, a slump in oil prices and weakening confidence in the global economy dampened sentiment. In 2010, Iranians were the fourth largest foreign buyers of Dubai property, behind India, Britain and Pakistan, and accounted for 12 percent of real estate transactions.

Islamic art and fashion are quickly becoming burgeoning industries within the diverse landscape of the Islamic economy, and are dominating a key market share in the global lifestyle sector. In 2014, Islamic, or modest, fashion sector expenditure reached $230 billion, constituting 11 per cent of the global fashion market. It is projected to grow a further six per cent to reach $327 billion by 2020, according to the upcoming State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) report, to be published in conjunction with the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES). It will take place on 5 and 6 October 2015 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE.

Bahrain based International Investment Bank announces the appointment of Mr. Subhi F. Benkhadra as the new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Benkhadra, previously the Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi based Baniyas Investment & Development Company, replaces Mr. Fareed Bader, the acting Chief Executive Officer who continues in the role of Executive Committee Member at the bank. Mr. Benkhadra graduated from the University of Bath in 1987 with a BSc in Environmental Engineering and holds a MBA in Finance from City University Business School. He is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Bankers' Association in London.

Turkish participation bank Albaraka Türk will sign its murabaha loan next week and increase the deal from the $400m launch size, according to bankers on the deal. The deal is comprised of a 367 day tranche with a margin of 110bp and a two year and three day tranche paying 125bp, according to one banker on the deal.

Istanbul will discuss halal tourism on Dec. 1-3, where more than 1,000 attendees will come together in the city for the second annual International Halal Tourism Conference. Industry and sectoral professionals are expected to formulate new strategies concerning the $150 billion sector. The concept of halal tourism, which concerns nearly 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world, is the fastest growing trend of global tourism. The conference will be crucial for professionals who are actively engaged in the sector or seeking ways to operate in this market. While countries such as Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are prominent actors in this sector, many more countries are trying to attract Muslim tourists from all over the world.

The Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF) far exceeded global expectations after the first day of the 2-day gathering engaged the responsible investments industry from across Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Over 150 leaders from the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and faith-based investing sectors participated in historic discussions on various facets of ethical finance with the view of collectively forging the next chapter of the industry through collaboration and convergence. The final panel from the first day included a discussion among distinguished historians on the faith-based roots of ethical finance.