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The Tunisian Islamic insurance company "El Amana Takaful," set up as part of a Tunisian-Saudi partnership project, came into service on Wednesday. This Islamic insurance company operates with paid-up capital of TND 10 million ($6.3 million). Saudi businessman Mr. Hassan Salem Al-Amari was appointed as the chairman, and Hussein Al-Daghri was named the deputy chairman. The company was licensed in April. Most of its shareholders are conventional insurers, including Comar, Astree, and Carte – each with 18% share – and Tunis Re, with a 6% stake.

Cairo-based Ridge Islamic Capital plans to launch the first dedicated Islamic fund of funds in the Middle East by the end of this year, with an initial capital base of $150 million. The Bahrain-domiciled fund will invest across a pool of sharia-compliant funds around the world. Ridge Islamic will contribute $15 million to the fund's capital. The Ridge Islamic fund will be U.S. dollar-denominated and use controls designed to limit risk, including exposure caps by country, sector and asset class. The rules will allow up to 20 percent of the fund's net asset value to be allocated directly into sharia-compliant financial instruments; up to 40 percent of net asset value could go into cash and Islamic money market instruments. The fund has a three-member sharia board with scholars from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Yemen's government may issue a local-currency Islamic bond this year to finance its imports of petroleum products, its central bank governor Mohammed Awad bin Hamam said. The sukuk could be worth about 50 billion Yemeni rials ($233 million) and use a salam structure. The interest rate is expected to be around 10 percent, with a maturity of three or five years. Yemen's recovery plans are heavily dependent on foreign aid, but the recovery is fragile. The International Monetary Fund expected Yemen's gross domestic product to grow around 6 percent this year.

The Islamic Development (IDB) has approved financing of projects worth $747 million in various countries. The projects include $200 million aid for Rades Electric and Gas station project in Tunis for the development of energy sector in Tunisia , projects worth $190 million in six Iranian cities and $110 million irrigation projects in Egypt aimed to increase agricultural production in rural communities. The IDB is also providing $100 million to build an airport in Burkina Faso. The educational aid granted by the bank includes $72.5 million for development of the Lebanese University in Beirut, and $10 million for Arabic and French bilingual education project in Chad. Moreover, the bank approved several other projects in member and non-member countries. IDB's executive directors also reviewed the arrangements for the celebration of the 40th founding anniversary of the bank next year.

As the White House considers taking military action against Syria for its use of chemical weapons against civilians, the president should also consider using an additional tool to force the Syrian regime to change course: stepping up economic warfare against Syrian banks and institutions that do business with them. This type of effort can have measurable impact for a simple reason: the Assad government needs money. Without hard currency and access to the international market, the regime will find it far more difficult to fund its military and its ability to purchase Russian weapons will be limited. Syria is vulnerable to economic warfare, which would hurt the regime where it is weakest: its pocketbook.

Nominations are now open for Campden’s second annual Middle East Philanthropy Awards, which celebrate exceptional philanthropic contributions by individuals and organisations in the Arabic region of the Middle East and North Africa. The finalists and winners of the awards will be recognised in an award ceremony in Abu Dhabi to be held on December 10. To nominate an individual, foundation or initiative that is worthy of such recognition, please submit details through the online forms on the website. Nominations will close on November 10.

Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt has announced its net profit for the quarter ending June 30, 2013, jumped around 68% to EGP413.2m. The Shari'ah-compliant lender reported net profits of EGP281m for the corresponding period a year earlier.

Al Baraka Bank Egypt, a subsidiary banking unit of Al Baraka Banking Group, announced the winning of the 'The Majestic Five Continents Award for Quality and Excellence' granted by the European Foundation 'Other Ways Management Association Club'. The Award will be delivered in a grand ceremony to be held in Geneva on 18 November 2013, and will be attended by official delegations and businessmen from 40 countries around the world. Al Baraka Bank Egypt won the prize as a result of aspects like high quality of customer service, creativity, teamwork, diversity of products of development and corporate finance, lease and assets finance, retail and treasury products, and foreign operations. Mr. Ashraf El Ghamrawy, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Al Baraka Bank Egypt, emphasized the bank's pioneering role in development finance and social responsibility through the Bank's Zakat fund, and the consolidation of partnership relations with all government and private agencies, among others.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) plans to expand in North Africa as the lender seeks to access more-populous markets. The bank applied for licenses in Algeria and Libya and is considering Tunisia and Morocco, Chief Executive Officer Tirad Mahmoud said. Interest in Shariah-compliant banking has increased since 2011, when revolts in North Africa catapulted Islamists to power. Moreover, the bank wants to be better placed to serve companies, such as Dubai-based mall operator Majid Al Futtaim, which operate across the Middle East and North Africa and rely on global lenders such as HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and Citigroup Inc. Mahmoud said MENA expansion is essential to capture market share from foreign lenders.

Just above 95 per cent of employees in the Middle East Africa region believe corporate social responsibility (CSR) is very important and are keen to engage in more community service work, according to Bayt.com survey. Almost 90 per cent of the respondents in the survey consider CSR to be a moral responsibility for corporations. The survey found that respondents across the Mena region are eager to dedicate themselves to CSR work, with 73 per cent preferring to give time and effort towards charitable causes rather than merely donating money. According to the survey, respondents would like their company to be involved in helping the poor or those with special needs (51.2 per cent), providing free education and scholarships (20.4 per cent) and saving or protecting the environment (11.2 per cent).

Jordan Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour reportedly said that the Government is discussing plans to establish a state-owned bank that would offer low cost credit facilities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The proposed bank would not accept deposits but would operate on similar lines to the former Industrial Development Bank (IDB) with the aim of boosting SMEs and the broader industrial sector. The IDB was sold and now operates as the Shari’ah-compliant Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank. The Jordan Government aims to be the largest shareholder in the proposed bank but has indicated that international and regional financial institutions would be interested to become partners.

Tunisia's El Wifack Leasing has applied to regulators to become the country's third fully-fledged Islamic bank. El Wifack, which has its debt rated BB+ by Fitch Ratings, also said it planned to raise its capital by five million dinars ($3.1m) to 25m dinars, regardless of whether it received approval to operate as an Islamic bank. Currently, Sharia-compliant business accounts for just 2.5 per cent of the Tunisian financial sector with only two fully operational Islamic banks, Zitouna Bank and the Tunisian arm of Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group. Last month, parliament approved a law that will allow the state to issue sukuk. The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank has offered Tunisia a financial guarantee to issue a sukuk worth $600m, though the issue could be delayed to 2014 because of political instability and approaching elections.

Jordan Islamic Bank began some time ago to develop a plan to provide alternative energy in its branches through the use of electric power generation using solar cells. The Bank seeks to disseminate to all branches and offices which achieves savings and a reduction in the electricity bill incurred by the bank, and contributes to the alleviation of high electrical loads in the Kingdom, thus contributing to the national economy and environmental protection. The Jordan Islamic Bank is one of the main Islamic banks in Jordan and the Arab states, where it has a proven track record of excellence successes. The Bank has a branch network of 80 branches and offices, employing about 2,000 employees, which embodies the vital role played by the Bank in the Jordanian economy.

Laws, legislative rules and regulations governing Islamic bonds will be implemented as planned, as part of government efforts to revive the economy, according to Egyptian Finance Minister Ahmed Galal. However, he refused to say who would assume the role of Chairman of the Islamic Bonds Division within the ministry, after the sacking of previous chairman Ahmed Al-Nagar. Ahmed Al-Gabali, Advisor to the Minister on Islamic Bonds, is reportedly interested in the position but will need to be made aware of the nature of the job before applying. Galal previously published a decision to dispose of a number of legal advisors and chairmen of financial units due to their affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, among them Ahmed Al-Nagar, previous Chairman of the Ministry of Finance’s Islamic Bonds División.

The board of directors of El Wifack Leasing company wants to transform itself into a Universal Islamic bank and has submitted an application to the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) in order to get the approval. The transformation of the company comes by virtue of the decision taken during its meeting last March 28.

Le conseil d’administration de la société « El Wifack Leasing » a déposé auprès de la Banque centrale de Tunisie (BCT) une demande d’agrément pour la transformation de la société en Banque islamique universelle. Dans un communiqué publié sur le site du Conseil du marché financier (CMF), la même source souligne que l’instruction du dossier d’agrément demeure encore au stade initial et que le conseil d’administration de la société El Wifack Leasing ne peut s’exprimer jusque là sur les issues potentielles que peut prendre cette demande. A défaut d’obtention de l’agrément, la société continuera à développer son activité et lancera sa deuxième tranche d’augmentation de capital, a avancé El Wifack Leasing.

Egypt’s banking sector witnessed a jump in profits during the first half of the current fiscal year in comparison to the same period last year, and even in comparison to the first quarter of this year. The Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt stated that its profits for the first half of the current fiscal year totalled EGP 370.8m (nearly $53m), a 30.7% increase compared to the same period last year. Bankers throughout the country expect that other institutions will also soon announce increases in their profit margins for the first half of this year, due to their subscription to government debt instruments, which have brought high returns over the last six months. The stabilisation of the country is expected to allow banks to begin lending once again at higher rates, to both individuals and companies, which would help stimulate the economy, support banks and help them achieve higher profit margins.

The NCA approved a bill that will legalize Islamic bonds or Sukuk on last Wednesday. The voting came out with a smashing majority of 102 votes against 3. The new law is likely to stimulate investments coming from the rich region of the Gulf and and close in the gap of the budget deficit. Tunisia's budget deficit is likely to raise to $3.2 billion for the incumbent financial year.

The MENA Private Equity Association has released its 2012 annual report highlighting the outlook of the private equity industry in the region. According to the report, the sector continued to show signs of recovery in 2012 with investments and exits both registering significant growth. The report also revealed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and high growth technology and media companies were one of the most active areas in the industry. On the other hand, private equity had suffered from persistent uncertainty in Europe and depressed fundraising environment in 2012. MENA managers focused in 2012 on enhancing value and exit opportunities for their current portfolios. The report concludes that while private equity activity in some countries remains depressed due to uncertainty, investment in these countries is expected to return to historical levels in the short to medium term.

Iraq is seeing a surge in investment activity. The nation begins to rebuild its domestic infrastructure and boost crude oil production. By the end of 2013, Iraq should see 3.5 million barrels of crude per day. Over this year, Iraq’s government is set to increase spending by 18 percent, reaching $118 billion. And the IMF has already projected that Iraq should see a yearly economic growth rate of around 9 percent. Banking in Iraq has come a long way, too, although basic banking infrastructure—ATMs, bank branches—are still lacking across the nation. However, spates of violence and an endemic culture of corruption are likely to cause some problems along the way. The Iraqi dinar is expected to experience a major improvement in terms of value, but it is important to remember that the development will take a while.