IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Arabia's Jadwa Investment says it is planning to invest in domestic real estate as it expands into new asset classes, hoping to cash in on booming demand for new homes. Tariq al-Sudairy, managing director and CEO of Jadwa, said the group will focus on the asset class and target major cities like Riyadh, Mecca, Madina. Jadwa would partner with real estate developers to select and execute projects on behalf of clients. Funds would be set up as projects were selected and the size of the investment would be determined on a case-by-case basis. Sudairy said private equity in the kingdom offered significant potential as well. Jadwa itself hopes to seal an unspecified deal as early as the first quarter of 2015.

This week, 40 young leaders from the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers community will travel to the Vatican to hold a private audience with Pope Francis. They are there to respond to a question posed by the pontiff: how do we create a new global mindset that can overcome social and economic exclusion? The challenge of overcoming socio-economic exclusion is too large for governments, charities, non-profits and agencies to tackle alone. The private sector has played a crucial role in catalysing important advances in health, engineering, communications and technology.

The Middle East and North Africa is in dire need of entrepreneurial growth and opportunities. However, research from the Wamda Research Lab highlights substantial challenges preventing companies from receiving the funding they need to grow. In the recent report, Enhancing Access: Assessing the Funding Landscape for MENA’s Startups, a sample of 254 companies analyzed that have received equity investment as well as 65 institutions providing funding to entrepreneurs in the region. To capitalize on the region's burgeoning startup community, the supporting ecosystem will need to understand the most appropriate sizes, types and frequency of funding that its most promising companies need.

Baku will become the regional Islamic financial center and has a potential to press internationally recognized centers. According to Behnam Gurbanzadeh, IBA (International Bank of Azerbaijan OJSC) Islamic Financing Department Manager, the idea to establish the CIS Islamic Development Bank proposed several years ago has become very attractive for the countries of the Commonwealth. In addition to Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan are very interested in establishing such a bank, Gurbanzadeh said. Today there are up to 700 million users of Islamic financial services in the world.

Bahrain’s Arcapita Bank BSC has raised $100 million from shareholders to fund a return to dealmaking a year after it emerged from bankruptcy. The new equity will be used to fund Shariah compliant private equity and real-estate investments in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. Arcapita will also look at U.S., Asian and European investments at a later stage. Arcapita emerged from bankruptcy in September 2013 after securing a $350 million loan from Goldman Sachs Group. Under the terms of its debt restructuring, a new company called RA Holding Corp. was created to manage Arcapita’s $3 billion of assets. Arcapita earned $10.1 million in the fiscal year ended June, mostly from fees for managing RA on behalf of creditors.

Gatehouse Bank has announced the closure of its first offshore real estate financing in St Helier, Jersey. The Bank provided £10 million of senior financing to Apache Capital Partners, for the acquisition of Mourant Ozannes’ HQ offices, a offshore law firm. Apache Capital Partners, a niche Real Estate and Private Equity Investment Management Firm, specialises in investing capital from the Middle East into the UK. Given this client base, the company has offices in both London and Bahrain and currently has an approximate total of £340 million assets under management.

Turkish participation bank Kuveyt Turk has mandated banks to issue sukuk in Malaysia, aiming to raise as much as 2 billion ringgit ($596.7 million), which will be its first foray into the southeast Asian Islamic debt capital market. Kuveyt Turk, 62 percent owned by Kuwait Finance House , said in a statement it has mandated CIMB Investment Bank Berhad, Kuwait Finance House Berhad and Maybank Investment Bank Berhad. The last time Kuveyt Turk was in the market was in June, when it issued a $500 million five-year sukuk that attracted over $3.25 billion in orders. In July, Turkiye Finans became the first Turkish lender to issue ringgit-denominated sukuk in Malaysia raising 800 million ringgit.

A source at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said a number of insurance companies that have incurred huge losses may be forced to halt operations to protect their clients. The source added that many of these companies’ financial situations are continually deteriorating, they have not committed to presenting a strategic plan to correct their situation and, at the same time, they have refused to merge with other companies. Insurance experts said there are six companies that have incurred losses of 55 to 75 percent: Salamah, Wafa, Arabian, International, Amanah and Inmaa. SAMA has seized the operations of Sanad and Wiqayah insurance companies due to their huge losses.

IIFM through its research and industry consultation process has managed to develop a Master Collateralized Murabahah Agreement that has been designed to meet the urgent requirements of the Islamic Financial Services Industry. The MCM Agreement is a master agreement which sets out terms upon which the parties to the MCM Agreement (Parties) can subsequently enter liquidity management arrangements. Its main objective and each subsequent Collateralized Murabahah Transaction is to allow a Buyer an opportunity to raise liquidity by creating security over its Shar'ah compliant assets. Find more information in the attached pdf file or on the website www.iifm.net.

Investment firm Kurwitu Ventures Limited has become the first Sharia-compliant firm to list at the Growth Enterprise Market Segment of the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The company has listed 102,272 shares by introduction at the GEMs making it the third company in Kenya to list on this segment. The others are real estate firm HomeAfriKa and Flame Tree Group, a cosmetics and water tanks manufacturing outfit. Kurwitu provides investment products and services that are based on Islamic laws on finances.

The global primary sukuk market issuances have cumulatively surpassed the milestone of USD100bln in the first ten months of 2014, said a monthly KFH report on Friday. The pipeline in the last two remaining months of 2014 is robust as the likes of the Government of Pakistan, Government of Tunisia, Dubai and corporate institutions in many countries have plans to tap the sukuk sector within the next few weeks. Overall, 2014 has become the third consecutive year when annual primary market issuances have surpassed the monumental USD100bln mark, said the report. The fourth quarter of 2014 (4Q14) has begun with a modest performance as October recorded a monthly issuance volume of USD8.27bln.

A package of amendments and additions to legislation in order to regulate the activities of Islamic banking in Azerbaijan will be introduced to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan in the first half of 2015.

International Bank of Azerbaijan OJSC will provide services on Islamic financing in Russia, the director of the Department of Islamic Banking of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) Behnam Gurbanzade said.

Countries gain or lose economic competitiveness not by one or two major decisions, but by the steady drip feed of political decisions that either enhance or weaken their competitiveness. While Islamic finance is only a small part of the financial scene in the UK, the way that the UK government has facilitated its grown illustrates the above point very well. Competitiveness is rarely lost by a single dramatic mistake. Similarly, success in increasing competitiveness is often achieved by having a large number of “micro-policies” affecting particular parts of the economy. Promoting Islamic finance as the government has done is clearly in the best interests of the economy and therefore of all British citizens and taxpayers.

R Hotels is to develop the first sharia-compliant, four-star resort and spa on Palm Jumeirah, with the company targeting a Q4 2016 opening following AED500 million (US $136.2 million) of investment. Located on the East Crescent of the man-made island, the hotel will be the sixth property for R Hotels, the hospitality management division of R Holding. No operator has been confirmed yet, although a spokesperson said that it will be an international hotel brand. Aimed at leisure travellers, iIt will feature 259 rooms, modern recreational facilities and family-friendly entertainment. Besides, R Hotels is currently developing a hotel on Al Mina Road in Jumeirah, expected to open in the second quarter of 2015.

Emirates Islamic has announced a philanthropic community initiative to collect donations on behalfof Dubai Health Authority (DHA) for their MOSA'ADAH charity programme. MOSA'ADAH aims to help patients and familieswho cannot afford medical treatment,as well as contribute to projects in support of hospital equipment and medical facilities. As part of this initiative, Emirates Islamic customers can donate funds to MOSA'ADAH under a specially created charity account: Emirates Islamic 0384 540010 001 under 'MOSA'ADAH'. Donations can be made through any Emirates Islamic branch, ATM or CDM across the UAE or via online banking and by SMS. Previously the Bank made contributions to DHA to support Dubai Hospital and Rashid Hospital in purchasing new medical equipment.

In line with BBK’s strategic initiatives for a brighter community, Dr. Jamal Hijris- General Manager- Support Group welcomed at the Bank’s Headquarters, representatives from various societies dedicated to the philanthropic and development work to receive BBK’s contributions for their requests. The entities that have benefited from the BBK support totaling BD12,500 are: Al Noor Charity Welfare, Drug recovery association and Bahrain Philanthropic and Social Work Society. Troughout the years, BBK has supported entities including major clubs, charity funds and social initiatives. These initiatives are aimed at achieving the sole goal and vision of a brighter future and community in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Drake & Scull International PJSC (“DSI”) announced the issuance of a US$ 120 million unrated senior unsecured 5-year certificates by way of private placement. The Sukuk will be due on the 12th November 2019 and redeemed fully at maturity. DSI mandated Emirates NBD Capital Ltd. and Mashreqbank PJSC as Joint Coordinators on the deal while also acting as Joint Lead Managers with Al Hilal Bank PJSC and Noor Bank PJSC. The 5-year Sukuk structured under the Sharia principle of Murabaha, represents the first Sukuk based on Murabaha trades of Sharia-compliant certificates on the NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform. The proceeds of the transaction will be mainly used to capitalize DSI's business.

Reach Out to Asia (ROTA), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, held its fifth Gala Dinner and charity event on Sunday night in Doha. This year’s Gala Dinner theme was “Plant a Book, Harvest a Future.” The event aimed to raise funds for ROTA’s educational activities and projects in Asia and to support the educational needs of children who have been affected by wars and political conflicts in Asia. Collected funds are used for building and renovating schools, encouraging their reentry into education as well as providing employment opportunities for workers in the field of education. The charity auction was also held for the first time to support, through pledges, ROTA’s education projects in Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Nepal and Pakistan.

On 17-21 November, 2014, RCIEF organizes an Islamic insurance course. On 22 September, the Islamic finances roundtable, with passing of resolution of Islamic insurance in Russia, will be held. International and Russian experts are invited. Courses will be held by Dr. Osman Babiker Ahmed, Maksatbet Kairgaliev, Kuralay Eldesbai, and Alfiya Salikhova at Russian Islamic University, 19, Gazovaya str, 319 lecture hall. Visiting of the course provides a practical guideline of innovative insurance products, which meet the requirements of Islamic law. For registered visitors entrance is free of charge. Deadline for application up to November 15, 2014, till 17:00. More Information is available at www.rcief.org.