IslamicFinance.de

New Islamic units of three state banks will accelerate Turkey’s plans to expand the share of Shari'ah-compliant assets, said Osman Akyuz, head of the country’s Islamic banking association. Akyuz foresees the country’s interest-free assets increasing by 30 per cent to $60 billion in 2015, up from 1.2 per cent growth in the 12 months through November. The association, which represents Turkey’s four Islamic banks, is also working to introduce new debt instruments, Akyuz said. Besides, the three state banks -- Ziraat Bank, Vakif Bank and Halkbank -- have pledged to quickly set up units for Shari'ah-compliant banking.

Gatehouse Bank has appointed David Swan in a newly-created role as head of real estate investment. Swan will lead the firm’s real estate investment department in the origination, management and realisation of real estate equity investments. Gatehouse currently advises funds with approximately £1bn assets in the UK and US. The business is focused on diversifying its investment capabilities and expanding the geographical footprint of its portfolio. Swan has more than two decades of experience in the real estate investment sector. Prior to Gatehouse, he founded Bridgeport Real Estate in 2012, a real estate company advising investors on a range of large scale off-market transactions.

Tawreeq, an independent Dubai/Luxembourg based group, has launched a supply chain finance platform targeting SME’s. The company led a development process to devise a Shari'ah-compliant workflow for supply chain finance. At its core is an IT platform that connects all elements under a single, cloud-based system that allows global reach and service. Tawreeq tackles challenges faced by SMEs through cash-flow tools known as factoring and reverse factoring. Tawreeq has worked closely with Amanie Advisors to ensure Shari'ah compliance and certification of its products and processes.

CEO of the Franco-American Alliance for Islamic Finance (FAAIF) Camille Paldi explains that there is a huge potential for Islamic finance in France. This is due to the fact that France is the fourth-ranked financial market worldwide and number one in the Eurozone and desires to attract liquidity from cash rich Gulf investors and Asia. This factor coupled with a large Muslim population and an open-minded and financially savvy general populace equates to a large success factor for Islamic finance in France. French officials forecast that France may attract US$120 Billion in Islamic assets through lending and investments in French businesses, property, and financial markets by 2020.

Gatehouse Bank is marketing a new CMBS-style transaction backed by the rental cashflow from a Paris office property. The deal is backed by an acquisition facility of more than EUR100m, where the rental payments will be securitised through two classes of fixed-rate certificates. This new structure, labelled a commercial rental-backed security (CRBS) by Gatehouse, removes the uncertainty because the certificates are backed by the direct legal ownership of the building. The bank will look to attract typical CMBS buyers, which are increasingly seeking to access this asset class.

While all of Bank Asya's partnership negotiations with foreign and local banks have failed within the past year, it has sold four of its subsidiaries and decided to increase its paid capital by 25 percent. Bank Asya first sold its 21.8 percent stake in Yeni Ma?azac?l?k A.?. (A101) worth TL 350 million ($152.2 million) on April 25, 2014, and then it sold its shares of Tuna GYO (Asya Termal) and Nil Yönetim Hizmetleri A.?. in July. Six months after these sales, Bank Asya is now selling its 40 percent share of Tamweel Africa Holding S.A. to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). Therefore, the combined revenue earned is now TL 568 million when the last sale is included.

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.

TL 92 million ($396.46 million) has been collected from the financiers of the Gülen Movement for Bank Asya this week in order to fulfil the capital increase of Bank Asya. While some of the businessmen have previously refused any connection with the Gülen Movement, it became clear who their supporters were when the amount required for the capital increase of Bank Asya was collected without waiting for the approval of the Capital Market Board. Authorities from the Capital Market Board revealed that the bank's application for capital increase has not been confirmed yet. The board said the financial conditions of companies that will participate in the capital increase will also be investigated.

Turkey's Bank Asya has signed a deal to sell its 40 percent stake in Tamweel Africa Holding to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) for 31.8 million euro ($37.7 million). Bank Asya suffered a run on deposits last year as it became embroiled in a power struggle between now President Tayyip Erdogan and his former ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic cleric whose sympathisers founded the bank.

Bank Asya is planning on closing its debts by the revenues it will gain from the scheduled paid capital increase. The bank plans to increase its capital by 25 percent, from TL 900 million to TL 1.1 billion through rights issues. Out of the TL 225 million to be gained from the paid capital increases, TL 200 million will be used for the repayment of its loans to foreign financial institutions. The remaining TL 25 million will be used to cover the demands for the funding of its corporate, commercial, SME and personal customers.

In most of Europe, rental-apartment ownership is fragmented. That is beginning to change. In the U.K., France and Spain, institutions are accumulating multifamily properties. The fledgling industry in Europe is being powered by demographic changes, strong real-estate sales, opportunities created by the financial downturn and government actions designed to encourage development. One sign of growth: foreign investment. Legal changes also are paving the way. Meanwhile, the political winds are also changing when it comes to the multifamily sector.

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/

The board of directors of Turkey’s VakifBank’s has authorized a major loan procurement to set up an Islamic banking operation and confirmed that the bank’s general directorate office now has the authority to push ahead with the $300 million financing. The Turkish government wants to see the establishment of three Islamic banks as subsidiaries of the current state-run conventional banks by the end of 2015.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi has applied to issue 143 million lira ($60.5 million) via sukuk. The sukuk will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans, which has a focus on loans to corporate clients. No tenor or details of underlying assets were given for the deal. Separately, the bank has also received regulatory approval for a 71 million lira sukuk for trailer manufacturer Tirsan Treyler Sanayi ve Ticaret.

Shareholders of the Birmingham-based Islamic Bank of Britain have given their approval to change its name to Al Rayan Bank. As a result of the rebranding, the bank has introduced a new Al Rayan Bank logo and brand identity, which are being implemented across its website, literature and branches. Al Rayan Bank’s activities will continue to be monitored by an independent Sharia supervisory committee and a dedicated compliance officer. It will continue to operate as a UK regulated bank and customers’ deposits will remain protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

A combined team of partners and associates from the corporate and finance groups of Ogier's Cayman office recently advised Gatehouse Bank plc on its joint venture with Sigma Capital, for the construction of an initial 927 new rental homes, with a total development cost of approximately £110 million.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has signed a joint venture with France's Alliance International Holding which is likely to kick-start the Tunis Bay project. Tunis Bay is part of the overall $3 billion Tunis Financial Harbour project. Alliance International Holding is a French consortium which specialises in the building of golf course projects and new community developments. It said it has signed a deal with the GFH-owned Tunis Bay Project Company which will see more than 800,000 sq m of land developed into a golf course with surrounding villas and apartments. Construction work by the joint venture will start next year as part of the first phase of the Tunis Bay development.

Takaful is set to grow in Turkey, with its predominantly Muslim population showing increasing interest in Islamic finance products and the government keen to support their growth. However, insurance of any kind can be a hard sell in Turkey, with the population generally averse to insurance cover and penetration levels as low as 1.4%. Consultancy firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) has identified Turkey as a new market for sharia-compliant insurance. E&Y suggests a number of hurdles have to be removed before such products could take off, with supply-side constraints and a limited legal infrastructure for Islamic finance currently hindering growth.

Takaful is set to grow in Turkey, with its predominantly Muslim population showing increasing interest in Islamic finance products and the government keen to support their growth. However, insurance of any kind can be a hard sell in Turkey, with the population generally averse to insurance cover and penetration levels as low as 1.4%. Takaful also has a minimal profile in the Turkish market at present. The two firms that offer Islamic insurance products, Neova Sigorta and Asya Emeklilik, account for less than 0.5% of the insurance sector’s assets. However, the increasing success of Islamic banks could point to a market opening for takaful underwriters.

The CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), Dr. Waleed al-Wohaib, stated that the ITFC - an autonomous entity of the IDB - is planning to increase its annual trade financing volume in Turkey by $700 million within the next three years. The ITFC has been working with numerous banks in Turkey since its official opening in 2008 with current ITFC products trading in favor of Turkish corporations and bank amounting to approximately $1.65 billion. Meanwhile, Dubai-based Noor Bank is also reportedly eyeing off the Turkish finance market in an effort to escape the competitive banking climate of the emirates, CEO Hussain al-Qemzi said last week.