IslamicFinance.de

After months of delays, the Moroccan parliament finally approved the Islamic financial bill that will regulate Islamic banks and sukuk issues in the kingdom. This new bill will pave the way to financial institute to establish full-fledged Islamic banks in Morocco. It will be effective once it is published in Morocco’s official bulletin in coming days. Last month, Brahim Benjelloun Touimi, the CEO of “Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur” (BMCE), said that the bank was preparing to launch an alternative subsidiary as a joint venture with a major Islamic financial institution from the Middle East, without revealing the identity of that financial institution.

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.

The UAE was ranked first in Islamic trading among members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 2012, with trade valued at $91.3 billion. The UAE accounted for 13.40 per cent of the volume of trade between member countries, said Ambassador Hameed Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of OIC, in a statement on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting for the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC).

The Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index is at 115.78256 points, up from 115.41158 at the end of last month and 109.78969 at the end of last year. The Thomson Reuters Investment Grade Sukuk Index is at 113.90126 points, against 113.67021 at end-October and 107.28036 at the end of 2013. Several sukuk issues are in the pipeline, including: The Tunisian government picked banks for a debut U.S. dollar sukuk issue, expected to be completed this year. The Islamic unit of Oman's Bank Muscat plans to tap the sukuk market in the first quarter of next year. Turkish Islamic bank Kuveyt Turk mandated CIMB Investment Bank, Kuwait Finance House and Maybank Investment Bank to issue up to 2 billion ringgit of sukuk in Malaysia.

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.

The State Bank of India (SBI) will launch a Shariah-compliant mutual fund next month, the first time a state-owned bank will roll out an Islamic financial instrument for the country’s estimated 170-million Muslim population. An SBI official said the country’s biggest lender had received all clearances to launch its Shariah Equity Fund, including from the Reserve Bank of India and the government. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the country’s apex body on Shariah law, lent its support to the move. The Bombay Stock Exchange launched India’s first Shariah index — S&P BSE 500 Shariah — in May 2013. Over the past year, it has given a return of a robust 46%.

Lahore-based Asia Insurance Company Ltd will seek shareholder approval next week to offer takaful products.The company will seek approval to allocate 50 million rupees ($492,853) in capital to its takaful operation, the minimum capitalisation requirement. It will also seek to increase its authorised capital to 500 million rupees from 300 million currently. Asia Insurance joins a growing list of firms in offering sharia-compliant products including United Insurance Company and EFU insurance group. In May, Pakistani regulators introduced new takaful rules that allowed conventional firms to enter the sector. Regulators expect as many as half of all conventional insurers in Pakistan to eventually offer takaful products.

Abu Dhabi-based Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development will provide $200 million in loans for microfinance projects in Egypt, a move it said would create more than 120,000 jobs by 2020. The UAE state investment fund has signed the loan agreement with the Egyptian government in Cairo. The loan will be directed towards microfinance development in remote and disadvantaged areas and pockets of poverty throughout Egypt. It will also help Egyptian women in rural areas find work. Egypt issued its first law regulating microfinance services last week, seeing the provision of extremely small loans could help to create jobs by giving individual entrepreneurs a start.

Moody's Investors Service has assigned a provisional (P) Caa1 senior unsecured rating to the proposed US dollar Trust Certificates to be issued by The Second Pakistan International Sukuk Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle established in Pakistan, by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Moody's Caa1 government bond rating and stable outlook on Pakistan reflects the country's large but moderating fiscal deficits as well as its stabilizing external liquidity position. It also factors in high susceptibility to event risk, both on the political front and in terms of economic vulnerabilities that could arise. The (P)Caa1 rating assigned to the trust certificates is at the same level as Pakistan's Caa1 issuer ratings.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has signed an agreement with Zakher Marine International Inc. to arrange a US $420 million (AED 1.55 billion) financing for its new ship-building program, including 15 vessels and 3 self-elevating accommodation barges through one of its group companies (QMS Holding Ltd.). ADIB was the Sole Book-runner and initial Mandated lead Arranger. The deal was 2 times oversubscribed by banks including ADCB, Al-Hilal Bank, MashreqBank, Ajman Bank, Arab Bank, National Bank of Fujairah and Noor Bank. ADIB established a Specialized Financing Unit in 2013, through which it has structured and arranged various syndicated facilities for shipping / offshore clients.

An unnamed US investment manager has committed $100m (€80.4m) to a Sharia-compliant mezzanine real estate fund managed by Gatehouse Bank. The closed-end fund, which will invest in western European financings, is the first mezzanine product to comply with Sharia principles. Gatehouse will source, arrange and structure loans up to 85% loan-to-value over the next 18 months. The main principle of Sharia investment involves avoiding assets where more than 10% of the property involves the sale of alcohol, pork or tobacco. With three to five-year terms, the loans are expected to generate net IRRs of between 6% and 10%.

Barwa Bank's profit reached QR641mn in the third quarter of this year, up by 43% on this time last year. The bank registered a third-quarter net profit of QR447mn in 2013, with total assets increasing to QR36.6bn, a 28% rise over the same period in 2013. Financing assets showed a 31% growth to QR22bn in the third quarter and customer deposits grew by 30% to QR22.1bn. Earnings-per-share improved to QR2.12 compared with QR1.9 for the same period last year. The bank's acting group chief executive officer, Khalid Yousef al-Subeai attributted the growth to improvment in processes and managment practises, which has led to greater efficiency and improved profitibilty.

Qatar's Barwa Bank has been appointed by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm) as Joint Lead Manager (JLM) and bookrunner for a benchmark medium term sukuk issue. Rated AA by Standard and Poor's, Aa1 by Moody's and AA+ by Fitch, IFFIm, for which the World Bank acts as Treasury Manager, has mandated Barwa Bank , amongst four other banks, to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, with a sukuk expected to follow the roadshow. The proceeds of the sukuk will be used to provide free vaccines and related health system strengthening support to many of the world's poorest nations.

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.

The total value of investment revenues of Arab Orient Takaful Insurance within the first quarter of the fiscal year 2014/2015 inched by 38% to EGP5.8 million in compared to EGP4.2 million within the same period of the previous year. Mohamed Akef, deputy executive director of financial and administrative affairs of the company explained that the allocated investment revenues reached EGP3.971 million at the end of September while the unallocated investment revenues were EGP1.821 million in the same period. The total value of premiums which attained by Arab Orient Takaful in the first quarter of the fiscal year of 2014/2015 reached EGP63.8 million in compared to EGP52 million in the same period of the previous year, he asserted.

As well as the religious aspect, customers are attracted to Islamic finance by its flexibility, link to real economic activity and its ban on transactions involving speculation or uncertainty. To meet ever-increasing demand, Islamic finance has developed numerous products compliant with sharia law, from loans for cars and houses to funding for major infrastructure projects. The industry, which spans more than 70 countries, could be worth $4 trillion by 2020, according to forecasters including Standard and Poor's. About 80 percent of the assets are now in banks, 15 percent in Islamic bonds called Sukuk, four percent in investment funds and one percent in Islamic insurance known as Takaful.

The Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd of Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding towards developing Islamic Finance Country Reports (IFCR) on Malaysia and Indonesia. The IFCR is expected to provide in-depth information, and independent due diligence to facilitate the growth and development of the Islamic finance industry in IDB Group member countries and encourage investment by enhancing transparency. Through this combined initiative, the two institutions aim to facilitate access to information that is currently not available to stakeholders.

In order to develop a robust takaful sector, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has allowed M/s SPI Insurance Company Limited, formerly known as Saudi Pak Insurance Company Limited, to start window takaful operations. The initiative would help meet the risk mitigation needs of the masses and develop the Islamic financial sector, according to the SECP. Previously, two conventional insurance companies were allowed to transact takaful business through window operations. Currently, the SECP is processing one more application to start window takaful operations. The takaful sector in Pakistan has yet to go a long way in fulfilling the risk mitigation needs of the masses.

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.