IslamicFinance.de

In an opening ceremony Finance Minister Ishaq Dar expressed his pleasure to the State Bank of Pakistan which has been supportive to such initiatives like the Centre of Excellence in Islamic Finance Education (CEIFE) which strengthens the efforts to increase Islamic banking and finance.
The Islamic finance industry had reached US$ 1.8 trillion in the last 40 years according to SBP Governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra. According to experts, the Shariah compliant assets globally are expected to grow up to 20% annually and financial assets will probably reach US$5 trillion by 2020. Pakistan, by the end of 2018, would have reached an overall share of Islamic Banking of 15%, currently 10%.

Jadwa Investment has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Saudi Mechanical Industries (SMI) by the Jadwa Mechanical Opportunities Fund along with Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp). The investment in SMI marks Jadwa’s eighth private equity deal. In 2014, Jadwa completed two major Tadawul listings with Abdulmohsen Al Hokair Group and Al Hammadi Company for Development and Investment, and a full exit via a trade sale with Gulf United Foods Company. Jadwa also announced in September 2014 the full acquisition of Global Environmental Management Services.

Saudi mining and metals company Ma'aden has partnered again with the GCC Board Directors Institute ("BDI") in committing to high corporate governance standards, with the official signature of a sponsorship agreement in Riyadh. The signature of this new agreement also embeds a training platform for Ma'aden employees to access in order to always be well-informed of the latest best practices, be local or international, as well as networking opportunities with other board members across the Gulf. This month, BDI also inaugurated new half-day Focused Sessions for its members.

According to EY's "World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2014-15: Participation Banking 2.0", Islamic banking assets with commercial banks in international markets were set to exceed $778 bilion in 2014. Global Islamic banking assets witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 17 per cent from 2009 to 2013. The report, prepared by EY's Global Islamic Banking Centre, said that approximately 95 per cent of international Islamic banking assets of commercial banks are based out of nine core markets, five of which are in the GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain).

London Central Portfolio (LCP) announces today that they will be closing their latest GBP 100 million quoted property fund on April 17th. London Central Apartments II (LCA II) is the only regulated vehicle exclusively targeting Prime Central London’s (PCL’s) Private Rented Sector. It will acquire one and two bedroom units as these are the most highly demanded and offer the highest returns. The properties will be renovated and interior designed to maximise capital uplift and rental returns. It is a five year fund, projecting an IRR of 12 per cent p.a. and shares are to be quoted on the Channel Islands Securities Exchange Authority.

The 10th International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance (ICIEF), themed "Institutional Aspects of Economic, Monetary and Financial Reforms," opened at Qatar National Convention Center on Monday. The agenda topics include, inter alia; Shariah solutions for liquidity problems in Islamic banks, especially after Basel III; the need for a central Shariah board in each central bank: the pros and the cons; evaluating the role of fiqh academies for the development of the Islamic financial industry, and whether the industry is influenced by their decisions and research; and 'taqlid' and 'ijtihad' - challenges facing fatwa issuance in Islamic finance.

In this 21st century the importance of corporate learning for continuous professional development requires little explanation. However, these corporate learning courses through the traditional brick and mortar model are no more realistic most of the time. Virtual learning can help address these time and cost challenges with more impactful learning in most of the arenas of corporate learning and development. Online delivery of knowledge and skill is going to be the next big disruption in education, training, learning and development of professional skills in the corporate sector. The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) phenomenon is having a significant impact on higher education - especially business education.

Prince Muhammad Al-Faisal, the pioneer of Islamic Banking, says that Islamic banking today is a baseless theory. Some think Islamic Banking represent Islamic Economy. But we must realize the difference between a) the financial services and b) the general economic theories controlling them, he adds. In our rush to provide Islamic financial tools, we concentrated on application without linking it to the main philosophy. We ended up with a system devoid of human values, he regrets. Today, the pioneer of Islamic banking, Prince Muhammad Al-Faisal, (79), stands alone in his search for an Islamic Economy theory. Muslim scholars and economists should join his pursuit. More than ever, the world needs a better economic system.

Global audit services firm KPMG has exclusively partnered with Hawkamah, the Institute for corporate governance, to establish the first Audit Committee Institute (ACI) in the UAE. The Audit Committee Institute (ACI) will provide information, resources and knowledge sharing opportunities, to help audit committee members, directors and senior management enhance the effectiveness, integrity and oversight of the financial reporting process in the UAE and the MENA region. The ACI will be open to audit committee members of private, public, and UAE government institutions.

Across the Gulf, companies that have traditionally used conventional finance are considering whether to "go Islamic", by conforming to sharia principles such as bans on interest payments and monetary speculation. The number of major firms taking the plunge is still small - a handful in the past six months - but they underline the growing depth and cost-effectiveness of Islamic finance after several years of rapid growth in the industry. Companies can face a range of incentives and pressures to adopt Islamic finance. Those include government efforts, social pressures or attractiveness to potential investors.

As reported in the lower chamber of parliament, the draft law that removes barriers for implementing Islamic banking in Russia is submitted in the State Duma. If the document is accepted, the appropriate amendments will be made in the federal law on «Banks and banking activity». The explanatory note to the draft law mentions that attracting Islamic investments is an extremely effective tool in conditions of difficult economic situation. It is stated that within economic development strategy of Russia giving a chance to Islamic finance means to attract a large number of additional investment, in conditions of crisis economy to help Russia develop a new economy based not on raw materials’ money.

In a bid to accelerate the country’s economy, Bangladesh has launched a new interest-free financial instrument, highlighting the need for a strong Islamic Shari`ah board or council to operate and supervise the new instrument. Professor Mujahidul Islam, senior teacher and former chairman of the banking department of Dhaka University, said however, that this kind of bond was not popular with Islamic banks, financial institutions and people. He opined that this bond fund should be invested in power sector, water treatment plants and any other profitable and economically viable projects which contribute to the welfare of the country and accelerate the economy.

The Kuwait Finance House (KFH) through its subsidiary 'KFH Investment' has successfully managed to lead a USD 500 million issuance for Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) to finance expansion and growth plans. The Sukuk issue is 5 years Wakala/Mudharabah Sukuk deal which has received an over subscription almost 7 times the targeted size. The issue has attracted a USD 3.6 billion order books by 120 various accounts or investors. Geographical distribution shows that 63 percent of orders came from the GCC and the Middle East, 23 percent from Asia and 14 percent from Europe.KFH has acted as a Joint Lead Manager and Bookrunner.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is expected to see an increase in its wealth management portfolio, with more high net worth individuals set to start banking at ADIB, according to Daffer Luqman, the bank’s global head of liabilities and wealth management. Luqman said he did not see an impact of falling oil prices on their portfolio of high- and ultra-high net worth individuals. He added that the global financial crisis in 2008 has resulted in more people, including those with high net worth, to look into long-term savings as their financial situation is prone to change.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received an elite group of professors and scholars in the presence of Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai. The scholars are attending the Islamic Economic FIQH Forum, which kicked off earlier today at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The event will conclude on Tuesday. Sheikh Mohammed and the scholars exchanged views on the importance of Islamic economy in banking, trade and financial transactions.The forum will focus on instilling Islamic jurisprudence in these transactions. It will issue resolutions on the Islamic economy.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is stepping up efforts to assist member countries to use Islamic finance in areas such as infrastructure financing, ranging from technical assistance to providing credit guarantees. The Manila-based development lender sees Islamic finance as complementing its objectives to boost financial inclusion and promote financial stability. ADB had considered making a sukuk issuance of its own, but the focus is now on supporting member states’ use of sukuk for their public debt financing. AAA-rated ADB is also considering partial guarantees to boost the credit rating of sukuk from sovereign issuers.

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) will hold, under the auspices of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the 14th edition of its Annual Shari’a Conference on March 22-23 in Bahrain. The conference will be held in 7 sessions to discuss 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. 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.

Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP) has signed a two-part sharia-compliant facility worth $950 million that it will use to finance investments in regional energy projects, it said in a statement on Sunday. The bulk of the financing consisted of a SAR3 billion ($800 million) Islamic loan of five years duration that was provided by five Saudi banks: Banque Saudi Fransi, National Commercial Bank, Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Saudi British Bank. The remainder was provided on a three year basis by First Gulf Bank, HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi , the statement added.

Nigeria and Ivory Coast have begun negotiations with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) for sukuk issuance. According to the ICD head Khaled Al-Aboodi, the two countries are looking to emulate Senegal’s successful move into the market for Islamic bonds. Al-Aboodi added that they were exploring with Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The issuance by Senegal has opened up the whole region, he said. The ICD hopes to support at least two countries in 2015 to issue a sukuk. Meanwhile, Niger has signed up for a sukuk programme worth 150 billion CFA francs ($260 million), although the timing has yet to be determined.

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya swung to a net loss of 877 million liras ($336 million) in 2014 on shrinking loans and deposits. The bank, in which Turkish banking regulators seized a small stake last week over an alleged illegal share sale, had reported a net profit of 180.6 million liras in 2013. Loan loss provisions amounted to 1.45 billion liras in 2014, almost half of which came in the final quarter, the bank said. Bank Asya wrote off 943 million worth of loans in 2014. Loans and deposits contracted 24 percent and 12 percent respectively in the fourth quarter.