IslamicFinance.de

Turkish oil refiner Tupras signed a one-year loan of $200 million with nine GCC banks. The deal was arranges by Qatar's QInvest. Further information on the purpose and pricing of the facility was not given. The loan was joined by Barwa Bank, Commercial Bank of Qatar, First Gulf Bank, Qatar Islamic Bank , Ahli United Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Doha Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank. Citigroup Inc and Deutsche Bank were mandated by Tupras to arrange a series of investor meetings concerning a potential bond issue.

Read more on: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/turkey-tupras-loan-idUKL5E8LL05...

According to an announcement by the Saudi Savola Group, its board is set to acquire the approval of shareholders on the matter of selling sukuk.

Read more on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/22/savola-brief-idUSWEA507120121022

The ratings of IBANK are a reflection of Fitch's view that support from the Thai government is very probable. The main reasons for that are the country's high effective ownership of 93.7% and close control, the bank's legal status as a specialised financial institution (SFI), strong linkages between the bank and the state, and historical financial support from the government. Also, the bank's role in terms of public policy is not to underestimate. The bank's rating is lower than the one of the other three Fitch-rated SFIs since its direct government ownership is lower and the government commitment for support stated in its establishment act is less explicit.

Read more on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/idUSWLA491720121018

New client escaping from the debt crisis in Spain and the crisis in the Middle East turn to assets under the management of banks in Geneva. The outlook of difficulty for Swiss banks does not scare them. Thus, the amount of funds under management has grown due to inflow of foreign money, in particular from Spain and the Middle East. Geneva's banks are seen as shelter.

Read more on: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/geneva-banks-idUKL5E8LHGCI20121017

A consultation paper released this week announces a proposal by Qatar's regulator for extending its ban on onshore banks operating Islamic windows in order to make financial institutions part of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). Islamic windows enable conventional banks to offer Islamic financial services. The only prerequisite is that clients' money is segregated from the rest of the bank. An extension of the ban is expected to prevent conventional banks from taking advantage of the QFC.

Read more on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/11/islamic-finance-qatar-idUSL6E8...

After a long time of secular rule, the Tunisian government intends to develop Islamic banking. However, there are discussions on whether the leading motive is economic or rather political. Some people see that the initiative as an effort to win the support of voters. On one hand, change of policy is possible to bring economic benefits because the country would have more access to a huge pool of Islamic investment funds from the Gulf. On the other hand, there are some political complications in Tunisia.

Two major Islamic banks, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Abu Dhabi's First Gulf Bank (FGB), have provide the market with two new deals this week. Both issues met with a high demand from investors and they also were supported in the secondary market. Considering the latest development of global economy, investors start viewing the GCC as a safe oasis for investments now more than ever. This can help to grow demand for Islamic bonds and secure lower yields.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/04/gulf-banks-idUSL6E8L2GCS20121004

Qatari-based Barwa Bank considers an initial public offering on the Doha stock exchange. The IPO adviser is QInvest, a local investment bank controlled by Qatar Islamic Bank.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/us-idUSBRE8900A420121001

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) which is the largest sharia-compliant lender in the country, is arranging an issue of a five-year benchmark-sized Islamic bond. The expecting value of the sukuk shall be at least $500 million.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/qatar-qib-sukuk-idUSL6E8L2BVU2...

Turkey announced it had raised its sovereign sukuk to 1.62 billion lira as response to a high demand for the two-year lease certificate that attracted an order book nearly five times the issue size of initial 1-5 billion lira.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/turkey-lira-sukuk-idUSL6E8L23A...

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to set up first Islamic company in Kazakhstan in 2013. The object of business shall be: renewable energy and agricultural projects. The reason for that is the lack of agricultural resources in Gulf countries. On the contrary, countries in Central Asia and Africa have the resources but not the capital, which is why IDB considers opportunities for Islamic banking in Kazakhstan, which has a resource-driven economy that is the largest in Central Asia.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/islamic-finance-kazakhstan-idU...

The central bank governor of Tunisian Central Bank has announced country's plan to issue Islamic bonds early 2013. Tunisian government is currently working on an Islamic finance law that should constitute Islamic banking in Tunisia, where at the moment only two Islamic banks exist. The law is going to be prepared within two weeks, after which the Government of Tunisia will decide whether to legislate it or not.

See more under: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/54296/Business/Economy/Tuni...

Sudan and South Sudan have agreed, as a part of peace discussions, to cooperate on banking and monetary policy, which could help boost trade between both countries after decades of civil war. According to the official statements, any commercial bank will have access to other country's banking market through foreign bank license, and also both central banks will cooperate more tightly in order to stabilize monetary policy and keep inflation under control.

See more under: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/54350/Business/Economy/Suda...

DRB-Hicom wants to sell 30% of its 70% stake at the Bank Muamalat Malaysia that is partly owend by the Malaysian state. Malaysia's central bank has allowed AFFIN Holdings to enter talks with DRB-Hicom in order to reduce its stake to a maximum of 40%. Should the deal be successful, AFFIN would become the forth-largest Islamic bank measured by assets.

See more under: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/20/malaysia-drbhicom-bank-idINL4E8...

Since Ridge Islamic Capital wants to be able to offer a full range of sharia-compliant financial services in Egypt, it is looking for a local brokerage to buy. Such an initiative would be a part of its expansion plan. The company's intentions are to start providing sharia-compliant brokerage services during the last three months of 2012. The brokerage they are looking for should have a solid reputation and a track record. Potential candidates and deal size have not been made known so far.

More on: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/26/egypt-islamic-brokerage-idINL5E...

Turkish Bank Asya considers a sukuk issuance worth up to 150 million lira ($83 million) by the end of the current year. The money gained from the sukuk is to be used for finance investments.

More on: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/25/bankasya-sukuk-idINL5E8KP5EE201...

Qatar Islamic Bank has made plans of issuing a sukuk in dollar denomination. The move will be part of the bank's sukuk issuance programme worth $1.5 billion. According to a document from the lead arrangers, the banks mandated for the sukuk are Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered and QInvest LLC. Further details on the size of the sukuk are not known yet. The plans include investor meetings in Asia, Middle East and Europe.

More on: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/26/qatar-sukuk-banks-idINL5E8KQ08R...

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) considers the launch of a sukuk next year. The initiative shall be part of DEWA's refinancing plans. Other products in combination with the sukuk, such as securitisation, will also be included. The issuance is expected to lead to benefits from lower borrowing costs. The money gained is intended to be used for repayment instead of investment.

More on: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/24/dewa-sukuk-idINL5E8KO12U20120924

The issuance of Turkey's first sovereign sukuk this week marks a shift in the government's policy. For ten long years Tayyip Erdogan's government backed away from Islamic finance in order to maintain state secularism. However, the sukuk will help the country to large amounts of money from Islamic investment funds and will become a benchmark for the pricing of future Islamic bond issues in the Turkish private sector. Further development in the offered Islamic financial products is expected.

More on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/turkey-islamic-finance-idUSL5E...

Even though Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, it is hardly present on the Islamic finance scene in contrast to its neighbour Malaysia. This is a problem that needs to be worked on becuase Islamic finance can be a perfect means of solving two significant financial challenges. The first one is funding infrastructure and the second - reducing its dependency on foreign borrowing. Indonesia should take advantage of Malaysia's experience in Islamic financing and develop its own Islamic capital markets. It would be even possible to exploit the deep liquidity pool created by Malaysia.

More on: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/indonesia-islamic-finance-idUS...