IslamicFinance.de

Islamic lender Kuveyt Turk has launched a $250 million dual-currency murabaha loan into general syndication. The sharia-compliant loan, which can be denominated in dollars or euros, is split into a one-year tranche and a two- tranche paying an interest margin of 80 basis points (bps) and 100 bps, respectively over three month Libor/Euribor. Arab Banking Corporation, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Barwa Bank, Emirates NBD, Noor Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank are mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners on the deal. The loan will be used for general corporate purposes and is due to close by the end of the year.

The Adam Smith Business School will host an international conference, themed “The Role and Contribution of Islamic Accounting, Finance, Economics, and Management in Contemporary society” at the University of Glasgow, UK, on 7-9 April 2015. This two-day conference will provide opportunities for participants to present their current research on the Islamic perspective of accounting, finance, economics & management as well as to build their collaboration network with other delegates. The deadline for abstract submission is 31st December 2014. For more information about the conference, please check the website: http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/business/newsandevents/headline_351155_en.html

European Islamic Investment Bank PLC Friday said it has cancelled its tender offer for up to GBP20 million as it is still in talks with regulators and is yet to receive their full approval, though it intends to launch a new tender offer with the same terms as soon as permission is received. As a result, acceptances of the tender offer are no longer valid and do not bind shareholders; shareholders who have already accepted the tender offer are now free to trade their shares if they so wish. European Islamic Investment Bank said it is confident of being in a position to complete a new tender offer before its next annual general meeting, when the authority it has to undertake the tender offer expires.

Bank Asya’s problems – withdrawal of deposits by individual and corporate investors, the wiping out of profits, the dramatic fall in share price – have apparently nothing to do with the way the bank is run. They have everything to do with a politically-motivated vendetta against the bank by Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A year on, Bank Asya continues to operate under the leadership of a former senior member of Turkey’s respected banking supervisor, the BDDK, which has tried to remain impartial to Erdogan’s machinations. But the battle for Bank Asya remains a cloud over the Turkish banking sector. Banks that do business in Turkey should tread with caution.

Turkey is going to establish an organized industrial zone in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank, according to a memorandum of understanding co-signed on Wednesday. The memorandum was signed by Turkey's Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Isik, and Palestine's Deputy Prime Minister and National Economy Minister, Mohammed Mostafa. Investors will not pay any taxes. The goods produced in the zone will be able to be exported to world markets including Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and the US without any duties or quotas. Moreover, the businesses will be insured by the World Bank. The goal is to bring the legal framework and corporate capacity in Palestine to international standards.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFI), for which the World Bank acts as treasury manager, plans to sell a dollar-denominated Islamic bond on November 27. IFFI will look to sell a three-year sukuk of benchmark size and pay an interest rate between 15 basis points and 17 basis points over Libor. Qatar's Barwa Bank, Malaysia's CIMB , National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the investment banking arm of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank and Standard Chartered are arranging the transaction. IFFI is rated AA by Standard and Poor's and AA+ by Fitch.

Turkey's Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSiAD) is organizing the 15th MÜS?AD International Fair "High Tech Port by MÜSIAD" themed "The World is Changeable: Change the Business, Change the World," and the 18th International Business Forum (IBF) Congress which will be held from November 26-30 at Istanbul's CNR Expo Center. IDB's President Dr. Ahmed Mohammad Ali will deliver a speech in the opening session of the IBF and the keynote speech will be delivered by Mushtak Parker, editor of the Islamic Banker Magazine . This year, the events will be enriched with the remarks of ministers and the input of academics, public authorities and experts.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged the country's investors to invest in the economy of Iraq. Davutoglu made this statement at a session of the ruling Justice and Development Party. He said that Turkey must have firms and companies that operate in Iraq. Turkish investments in the territory of Kurdish autonomy of Iraq are estimated at $ 700 million. At present, around 1,500 Turkish companies, as well as the branches of such banks as Ziraat Bankasi, Vakifbank, Is Bankasi, Bank Asya and Albaraka operate in the territory of Kurdish autonomy of Iraq.

The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) has given initial price thoughts of mid-to-high teens of basis points over three month Libor as it looks to price a debut dollar sukuk. The Reg S deal will be a three year benchmark-sized floating rate note. Standard Chartered is acting as global co-ordinator, with Barwa Bank CIMB, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and NCB Capital the other joint bookrunners. Books are open.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans has received regulatory approval to raise 71 million lira ($31.5 million) via sukuk. The Islamic bonds will be issued through TF Varlik Kiralama, a wholly-owned unit of Turkiye Finans, which last year set up a 100 million lira sukuk issuance programme. No time frame was given for the deal. The bank also plans to issue by year end $50 million worth of ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia, a market which it first tapped in July. Separately, three Turkish state-run banks plan to launch their own Islamic units, moves which are expected to increase competition in the sector and raise operating costs for incumbents.

Swiss voters will decide Nov. 30 on an initiative that would force the country’s central bank to more than double its gold holdings. The “Save Our Swiss Gold” initiative would require the Swiss National Bank to hold a fifth of its assets in gold within five years. It would also prohibit the bank from selling any of its gold in the future and require that Swiss gold held overseas be repatriated. Organizers of the vote, members of the conservative Swiss People’s Party, say the new rules are needed because a three-year effort to cap the strength of the Swiss franc has left the SNB holding piles of euros, a currency that has been devalued in the wake of the financial crisis. The initiative has drawn opposition from the government, lawmakers and business groups.

Bank Asya closed 80 branches and cut its headcount by 1,708 people in a bid to boost profitability next year. Bank Asya has seen its profits and capital base collapse since it found itself at the centre of a power struggle between now President Tayyip Erdogan and his former ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic cleric whose sympathisers founded the bank. The bank made a 301 million lira ($133 million) net loss in the first nine months of this year after a 60 million lira profit a year earlier, while its balance sheet has shrunk.

CastleHill Capital, a fund with bases in the UK and Middle East, aims to launch its first shariah-compliant UK student accommodation fund in early 2015. The fund is part of the CastleHill Group, which runs student recruitment services in partnership agreements with over 50 universities. CastleHill Capital said it would leverage these strong relationships to offer high quality student accommodation in the UK. Clyde & Co, an international law firm, has been appointed on the role of advisory on the creation of the fund.

From 2008 to 2013, Bank Asya's assets and net revenue grew annually at 28 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Its reputation and business were soaring when, in December 2013 and without prior warning, President Erdo?an launched a powerful and concentrated attack on the bank, alleging that it was weak and insolvent. Despite losing almost half its market value during one excruciating week in September 2014 and reporting its first ever quarterly loss in 18 years of TL 301 million, Bank Asya has responded by highlighting its capital adequacy ratio of 18.3 percent. Ultimately, the solution to Bank Asya's current predicament ideally lies with President Erdo?an withdrawing his unfounded allegations.

This week, 40 young leaders from the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers community will travel to the Vatican to hold a private audience with Pope Francis. They are there to respond to a question posed by the pontiff: how do we create a new global mindset that can overcome social and economic exclusion? The challenge of overcoming socio-economic exclusion is too large for governments, charities, non-profits and agencies to tackle alone. The private sector has played a crucial role in catalysing important advances in health, engineering, communications and technology.

Gatehouse Bank has announced the closure of its first offshore real estate financing in St Helier, Jersey. The Bank provided £10 million of senior financing to Apache Capital Partners, for the acquisition of Mourant Ozannes’ HQ offices, a offshore law firm. Apache Capital Partners, a niche Real Estate and Private Equity Investment Management Firm, specialises in investing capital from the Middle East into the UK. Given this client base, the company has offices in both London and Bahrain and currently has an approximate total of £340 million assets under management.

Countries gain or lose economic competitiveness not by one or two major decisions, but by the steady drip feed of political decisions that either enhance or weaken their competitiveness. While Islamic finance is only a small part of the financial scene in the UK, the way that the UK government has facilitated its grown illustrates the above point very well. Competitiveness is rarely lost by a single dramatic mistake. Similarly, success in increasing competitiveness is often achieved by having a large number of “micro-policies” affecting particular parts of the economy. Promoting Islamic finance as the government has done is clearly in the best interests of the economy and therefore of all British citizens and taxpayers.

Bank Asya's net loss in the third quarter was due to higher loan provisions as it sought to increase its asset quality, and the Islamic lender's operations are continuing "healthily," the Turkish bank said in a statement on Tuesday. Bank Asya fell to a 301 million lira ($133 million) net loss in the third quarter from a 60 million lira profit a year earlier as its assets declined sharply, it said earlier in a stock exchange filing. The bank said its capital adequacy ratio stood at 18.32 percent.

Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) and Paris Dauphine University (UPD) have entered into a landmark agreement to extend cooperation in Islamic Finance education and training. Both parties will work closely to design programs and initiatives in Islamic Finance tailored for the GCC and MENA regions. They will also jointly develop curricula that will give full credit for courses taken in either of the institutions.

Turkey's Bank Asya on Tuesday posted a third-quarter net loss on loan provisions and a shrinking balance sheet but said its operations were healthy despite political turmoil that has surrounded it for much of the year. The Islamic lender fell to a 301 million lira ($133 million) net loss from a 60 million lira profit a year earlier. Assets of 16.5 billion lira at the end of the third quarter were down 40 percent from the end of 2013, while deposits almost halved to 10.07 billion over the same period. The bank continued its operations with a capital adequacy ratio of 18.32 percent, despite a 9-month loss due to higher loan provisions as part of efforts to increase asset quality, Chief Executive Ahmet Beyaz said.