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Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed the Takaful Financial Strength (TFS) rating of The Islamic Insurance Company (TIIC) in Jordan at 'A' (Single A). Outlook on the assigned rating is 'Stable'. The fiduciary score has been reassessed in the range of '71-75', which indicates that protection factors are adequate. The assigned rating derives strength from TIIC 's franchise as a Shari'a compliant operator that builds on the reputation of its parent, Jordan Islamic Bank, and which forms part of the Al Baraka Banking Group. Established in 1996, the company has grown at a steady rate and presently commands a market share of about 4% in Jordan's overall insurance sector.

Alkhabeer Capital has signed a strategic agreement with Alareen Holding Company, Saudi Arabia-based real estate development company, to get exposure to the Saudi residential development market. Saudi Arabia will need significant supply of new housing projects in order to keep pace with the growing population. Due to the growing young population, the rapidly declining household sizes and evolving Saudi lifestyle, demand for residential units is expected to remain healthy across the Kingdom, according to Ahmad S. Ghouth, Deputy CEO at Alkhabeer Capital. The cooperation with Alareen enables Alkhabeer to access the growth potential,

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will hold the 14th edition of its Annual Shari'a Conference on 22 and 23 March 2015 in Manama, Bahrain. The conference will be held under the auspices of the Central Bank of Bahrain. Discussions will include on topics relating to application of Shari'a to international Islamic finance products, services and practices as well as continuing innovation of Islamic finance to support further growth and expansion of the industry. Following the conference, AAOIFI will hold training sessions for its Certified Shari'a Adviser and Auditor (CSAA) and Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA) qualification programs from 24 to 27 March 2015.

Qatar Islamic Bank ( QIB ) plans to raise up to 2 billion riyals ($549.4 million) through a capital-boosting sukuk. Qatar's largest sharia-compliant institution by assets announced the sukuk after reporting fourth-quarter net profit that was up an estimate-beating 30.4 percent year on year. On Sunday QIB said that its board had proposed a Basel III-compliant Tier 1 sukuk worth up to 2 billion riyals, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. QIB's total capital adequacy ratio, a combination of Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital, stood at 14 percent at the end of 2014, against a 12.5 percent minimum prescribed by Qatar's central bank.

The latest quarterly report issued by the real estate consultancy arm of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) - MPM Properties - highlights value growth across all sectors of Abu Dhabi's real estate market during 2014. Government initiatives to stimulate job growth and enhance market sentiment, fuelled in part by a knock on effect from the Expo 2020 win, provided healthy demand across all asset classes. Residential apartment values within the designated Investment Areas demonstrated strong capital appreciation during 2014. MPM Properties research shows capital value growth ranging from 11% to 35% with an overall average increase of 21.6%.

Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed ratings of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIsB) at BBB/A2 on the national scale and BBB-/A3 on the international scale. Outlook on the ratings is 'Stable'. IIRA has also reassessed BIsB's fiduciary score at '65-70'. There has been gradual improvement in the bank's funding access, as well as an improved earning capacity. Meanwhile, the bank has maintained strong control on operating expenses, which is beginning to reflect in overall profitability. However, prior year losses have depleted equity levels and recapitalization is required not only to financially reinforce the bank, but also to benefit from a growing market and expand business operations.

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 116.23797 points, up from 115.79726 at the end of last month. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 114.27454 points against 113.69014 at end-December. Some of the sukuk in the pipeline include: Dubai Islamic Bank announced plans for a benchmark-size U.S. dollar sukuk issue to boost its Tier 1 capital. Indonesia plans to issue 7.14 trillion rupiah (US$572 million) of project-based sukuk in 2015 to finance the development of three infrastructure programmes. Turkiye Finans received regulatory approval for a 71 million lira sukuk issue by trailer manufacturer Tirsan Treyler Sanayi ve Ticaret.

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.

Dubai World can repay its 2015 maturity in full, while 2016 looks to be more challenging with approximately $6bn in restructured debt coming due, according to Jean-Michel Saliba, Mena Economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. In the near-term, Dubai should be able to tackle refinancing challenges, but the possible increase in government external borrowing needs is set to take place against a more challenging backdrop, Saliba said. Direct impact of low oil prices will be more muted in UAE than in other GCC countries - thanks to Dubai's diversified economy, he added.

In line with its commitment to foster the cargo insurance facilities, Dubai Trade has signed an agreement with Dar Al Takaful to provide the marine and cargo insurance services through Dubai Trade's online platform "Tradeshield" which has been launched earlier this year. The agreement was signed by the CEO of Dubai Trade, Eng. Mahmood Al Bastaki, and Mr. Saleh Al Hashmi, the Managing Director of Dar Al Takaful . Dubai Trade allows clients to easily complete the end-to-end process of purchasing cargo insurance online through its website.

The Council of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) has today resolved to approve the applications of five financial institutions as Observer Members of the IFSB. The newly admitted Observer Members are: Bank Muamalat Indonesia; Mellat Investment Bank (Iran); Qatar First Bank; Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi; Al Masraf - Arab Bank for Investment & Foreign Trade (United Arab Emirates). The 184 members of the IFSB comprise 59 supervisory and regulatory authorities from the banking, capital markets and Islamic insurance (Takaful) sectors in 44 jurisdictions, as well as eight international inter-governmental organisations, and 117 market players.

GCC Board Directors Institute ("BDI") released insights that Board composition and selection were identified as key priorities in the corporate governance choices faced by GCC businesses, as highlighted during the Institute's Foundations of Directorship Workshop held in partnership with Investcorp on 7-9 Dec 2014 in Bahrain. BDI's Foundations of Directorship workshop is hands-on and experiential where participants are presented with contemporary issues and challenges that boards in the GCC are faced with. The workshop held by BDI in Bahrain this week, was in partnership with Investcorp , a founding member of BDI.

In order to hedge this unfavorable scenario of capital injection, banks are considering the use of a hybrid security known as Contingent Convertible (CoCo) bonds. CoCos are designed to help a bank meet its capital adequacy and funding requirements, while at the same time achieving favorable tax deductibility treatment. These bonds are typically structured either as contingent notes or as contingent convertible notes. However, there is less public guidance from the regulators on write-ups and Standard & Poor's predicts that the CoCo market could grow to USD 1 trillion in the next five to 10 years.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has confirmed that it would provide financing worth $1 billion on the basis of an agreement to carry out various development projects in Cote d'Ivoire during the next two years. Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said that his country is looking forward to greater cooperation and partnership with IDB in various fields including capability building for sukuk in order to mobilize resources for development. The president also sought IDB loans to finance the country's infrastructure projects. The meeting saw the signing of a loan agreement worth $15 million to establish a vocational training center in the country.

Nakheel today confirmed a profit payment of AED220 million on its trade creditor Sukuk. Instructions have been sent to Deutsche Bank, the registrar and paying agent for the Sukuk, to make the profit payment to all Sukuk holders on the due date of 15 December 2014 against the Sukuk issued amount of AED4.4 billion to date. Nakheel 's current portfolio of developments in Dubai includes Palm Jumeirah, The World, Deira Islands, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Village, Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Heights, The Gardens, Discovery Gardens, Al Furjan, Warsan Village and International City. Together, these span nearly 14,000 hectares and provide homes for more than 200,000 people.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group plans to set up an Islamic bank in Morocco next year with a capital of USD 50 million, CEO Adnan Ahmed Yousif said. Last month, Morocco's parliament gave final approval to an Islamic finance bill that allows foreign banks and local lenders to set up Islamic banks in the North African country. Yousif declined to name the potential partners, but said the new bank would be established in 2015 with a plan to open 10 branches in the first year of operations. He said Al Baraka expected to record growth of 12% in assets, of 11% in deposits and of 10% in income during 2015.

The Islamic Social Finance Report 2014 is a thorough analysis of the current state of three institutions of Islamic philanthropy: zakah, sadaqah and awqaf, in seven countries of South and Southeast Asia - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore. The report is written by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank Group, with research led by prominent economist Dr Mohammed Obaidullah.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) released its IIFM Sukuk Report (4th Edition) at the IIFM Seminar held on the pre-conference day of the 21st World Islamic Banking Conference. The research report consists of a comprehensive study of the global Sukuk market and sheds light on the growth, trends and development of international and domestic Sukuk issuances for the period January 2001 - July 2014. The report contains selected Sukuk case studies in the international Sukuk market providing deeper understanding of the mechanism and uniqueness of some of the structures. It is freely downloadable from www.iifm.net

Minister of Economic and Finance Ali Tayebnia called for cooperation of the Islamic Solidarity Fund to remove poverty and unemployment in OIC member states. He made the remarks in the 30th session of the OIC Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation General Assembly held in Istanbul, Turkey on November 27. Tayebnia said that OIC member states are facing structural labor market challenges such as low rate of women economic participation, high rate of unemployment among young adults, low rate of efficiency and ability to compete and in this concern an initiative job creation could be as a solution.

Dubai Trade, the cross-border trade facilitator, has signed an agreement with Noor Takaful that will give Dubai Trade customers access to an Islamic insurer for the first time, and an even wider choice of marine and cargo insurance providers online through its Tradeshield platform. Tradeshield allows customers to complete the end-to-end process of purchasing cargo insurance online through the dedicated website www.tradeshield.ae. Noor Takaful will go live on the site for customers in the New Year.