IslamicFinance.de

An Islamic financial institution is looking for an Investment Manager to join their team in Bahrain. The ideal candidate will be familiar with entire investment cycle and will be responsible for sourcing, evaluating and screening potential investment opportunities in the GCC, Middle East and other regions.

According to a study by the National Bonds GCC Savings Index, about 90% of the people in a number of GCC countries feel they are not saving enough for their future. The percentage of people, who do not put away any money for future saving, is 71% of residents in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, 74% in Saudi Arabia and 65% in the UAE. The study further shows that in Saudi Arabia 92% felt they were not saving enough. The percentages in the other countries involved in the study are 91% in Kuwait, 88% in Bahrain, 87% in the UAE, 85% in Oman, and 84% in Qatar.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) is progressing on a variety of Sharia products issued. This was made known at their 27th board meeting which was hosted by Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain in Manama. The mentioned products include Interbank Unrestricted Wakalah standards, Islamic Currency Hedging product standards and Collateralised (Rahn) Product Standard. Moreover, the board reached an agreement on the initiation of several new standards among which Ijarah sukuk standardisation as well as consultation on credit support arrangement concerning Islamic hedging.

The project Sarajevo City Center in Bosnia worth €130,000,000 has recently reached 60% completion. The project is conducted in partnership between International Investment Bank (IIB) and Al Shiddi Group. It is a hybrid complex which includes a number of main interconnecting features. A shopping mall is the central building of the complex together with an entertainment complex on 5 levels that cover an area of 49,500 square meters.

SJ Seymour Group is the leading independent Fixed Income specialist in Asia.

We are seeking to employ highly experienced, professional sales individuals with a proven record of success and established clientele in the Middle East. In addition to a wide general knowledge of capital markets, successful candidates should be able to demonstrate specialist skills in one or more of the following areas: emerging market debts, structured debt products or Islamic capital market products.

Responsibilities:
· Provide the overall direction of the Bank keeping in mind the best interests of shareholders, customers & employees.
· Develop, manage and execute the operational plans based on strategic plans set and agreed with the Board.
· Maximize growth and profitability in a manner consistent with Sharia principles and standards.
· Balance Sheet Management, Capital Adequacy (ALCO) and Risk Management.

Global Islamic banking assets are expected to reach over $1.8 trillion in the coming year. This forecast by Ernst & Young is significantly higher than some industry estimates published earlier. The Islamic banking industry continuously grows worldwide and manages to sustain its quick pace. The top 20 Islamic banks demonstrate growth rates of 16% during the last three years. Saudi Arabia appears to be the largest market for Islamic assets.

Civil interest in Bahrain causes transactional business to be slow while litigation is flourishing. Therefore, the country's lawyers are determined to take up a key role in Bahrain's development. Different opinions have been expressed on who or what exactly is to blame for the currently slow business for lawyers.

Our client, a leading investment bank is looking for a Senior Islamic Banker to join their dynamic team in Bahrain. The successful candidate, who reports to the Global CEO of Islamic Banking, will be responsible for inception, planning, development and delivery of new Islamic products and product releases to the market in order to meet the overall goals of the bank.

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is eyeing revision of existing standards and the introduction of new ones. Thus, they hope to stay abreast of the challenging requirements of industry in financial reporting. This year they already issued a new standard for investment in real estate. It will take effect on January 1 and will ensure more detailed guidelines on the matter of accounting real estate investments.

GFH Capital is a private equity firm based in Dubai, UAE. According to its website, the company has been highly successful investments and fund management over the past ten years. It also points out that it has handled investments worth more than eight billion US dollars in 25 different countries. Its funds to some extent come from the Dubai Islamic Bank, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. The Gulf Finance House is an investment bank Bahrain. It completely owns GFH Capital Limited. Just as GFH Capital, the Gulf Finance House has made numerous successful investments worth billions of American dollars. GFH Capital has made its bid for Leeds United on its own and will handle the deal independently of Gulf Finance House.

Investcorp together with GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI) will be the hosts of a two and a half day workshop on Corporate Governance. The workshop will be held at the Kempinski Grand & Ixir Hotel Bahrain City starting on December 10 and continuing until December 12, 2012. At the workshop, faculty members of leading advisory institutions will acquaint participants with building board members' capabilities. An extensive peer discussion is included in the programme. Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Minister Of Culture of the Kingdom Of Bahrain, will discuss the topics of Culture and Bahrain at the BDI alumni dinner on the second night of the workshop. A keynote speech at the welcome dinner will be held by CEO of Gulf Air Samer Majali. Its topic will be "Establishing a Strong Corporate Governance Framework at Gulf Air".

A strategic agreement aiming to provide financial means for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was signed by Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) and Tamkeen. The agreement says that companies in Bahrain will have access to low-cost Islamic financing solutions which will be provided by KFH-Bahrain. Tamkeen will be providing 50% subsidy in order to help these companies to obtain the necessary funds for their development. According to Mr. Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji, Chief Executive of Tamkeen, the Enterprise Financing Programme is crucial institutionalising the concept of SME lending in the country and it is also contributing to the expansion of the customer base of Tamkeen's partner banks in this programme.

According to expectations, the measures introduced to bring the rules on takaful insurance up to date and expand them will be of help to the efforts of the segment to make inroads into the market share. The first Islamic policy writer opened in 1989, which, compared to other countries in the Gulf region and Asia, is very early. However, although Bahrain was working on becoming an insurance and takaful centre in the region, it is still necessary to strengthen its position. This could be accomplished by developing the Kingdom's human resources pool through advanced training programmes.

Arcapita Bank received the approval of the court for a $125 million bankruptcy loan. The loan will be provided by Fortress Investment Group (FIG.N) and is said to be the first such loan in consistency with the sharia principles. It will enable the funding of the company in its efforts to restructure debt after filing for bankruptcy in March. Though the loan was initially set at $100 million, the committee succeeded in pushing to raise it. The approval was given by Judge Sean Lane in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York.

The jump of Bahrain's sukuk in October resulted in the yield reaching a record and standing out from the neighbour countries. In October, the sukuk fell 65 basis points, or 0.65 percentage point. This is the biggest drop since the start of the trade in March 2010. According to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai GCC US Dollar Sukuk Index, this drop got ahead of a 21 basis-point decline to 2.96% in the average yield on sukuk in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

According to a recent announcement by Ithmaar Bank, it will convert the banking licence of its wholly-owned subsidiary in Switzerland, Faisal Private Bank, to a family office. The decision to make such a conversion includes focusing on the further development of Ithmaar Bank's core business of retail and commercial banking. The conversion will be compatible with the interests of the clients and stakeholders. The format of Ithmaar Bank's presence in Switzerland is to be approved in due course by the Swiss financial services regulator.

Read more on: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=340872

After GFH Capital have shown enough proof of funds to complete the takeover of Leeds United, the acquisition is ready to be fulfilled. Thus, the long months of discussion starting May this year are over. According to current Leeds owner Ken Bates, both parties are ready to close the deal in the very near future. He also pointed out the negative effect of inaccurate reporting by some journalists due to lack of knowledge, which, however were not able to disturb the acquisition procedures as much.

Read more on: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2223470/Leeds-takeover...

Medgulf Allianz Takaful a cheque and several gifts to the children of Alia School for Early Intervention. The initiative is part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. More than 100 students with special needs are given education at the school. The donation comes from an internal sales campaign during Ramadan.

Read more on: http://www.ameinfo.com/medgulf-allianz-takaful-donates-alia-school-315607

Without causing much noise, liquidity-rich Arab banks have been taking part in commodity trade finance - an area which, until recently, was dominated by a small number of French banks. While the market share of eurozone banks has decreased from 80% two years ago to 50% today, banks from the Gulf region become more and more present. The lending limitations of the eurozone banks is caused by constrained US dollar liquidity.

Read more on: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d775f476-144a-11e2-8cf2-00144feabdc0.html...