IslamicFinance.de

Gulf Finance House has announced the acquisition of two multi-family residential properties in Houston, Texas, as part of the Diversified US Residential Portfolio, which the bank has recently agreed to acquire. The properties — located in Houston, and Atlanta — have an overall occupancy of 94 per cent, and nearly 1,300 apartments. They have been selected due to their proximity to the large infrastructure assets in the cities, and are expected to benefit from the economic recovery in the US. The total size of the assets is $75 million (Dh275.4 million).

A new screening method for sukuk, developed in cooperation with Saudi Arabian financial institutions, aims to reduce the cumbersome approval process that these instruments often require. San Francisco-based IdealRatings said its product addressed compliance hurdles faced by sukuk investors contending with multiple structures and disparate opinions. The product reviews and categorises sukuk to allow Islamic banks to adhere to their own guidelines more efficiently, reducing the time and costs of due diligence in each deal. The service was developed over the past two years in consultation with Islamic financial institutions, in particular Saudi firms.

Goldman Sachs last week revived plans to issue a debut Islamic bond, a deal that was first mooted three years ago. In September 2011, Goldman set up a sukuk programme registered under the commodity murabaha format with the intention to follow it up with a deal. But some Islamic finance participants raised concerns over whether the proceeds would be used to lend interest-based money to Goldman’s clients. Those close to the transaction denied this at the time, but the programme expired unused. The hope is that the change in structure and circumstance would facilitate a different outcome this time round. The upcoming transaction will use the wakala structure, a cost-plus model with which Middle East Islamic investors are more familiar with, and it will be underpinned by crude oil assets.

Holders of accounts with the Islamic lender Bank Asya have reportedly been subjected to threats about making deposits, while being urged to withdraw money from their accounts. Individuals said they had received calls from blocked numbers who had mysteriously obtained information regarding their bank account. The aim of the government seems to be to create panic among depositors of the bank and to frighten them so that they will rush to withdraw their money, throwing the bank into a liquidity crisis that would eventually justify the nationalization of the bank. Observers have called on BDDK head Mukim Öztekin to step down because the watchdog's reputation as an independent institution has become highly questionable since these recent developments.

Naushad Virji's firm Sharia Portfolio is a financial-planning practice. Virji, CEO of the firm, helps clients to calculate the right amount of their Zakat. He also constructs portfolios of individual stocks, mutual funds and bonds that adhere to Islamic law. And he researches mortgages that don't violate Islam's prohibition against interest and helps clients find suitable investments in their 401(k) plans. When he started his firm in 2003, he reached out to his own network as potential clients and soon found that the Muslims he knew didn't have much experience working with a financial advisor. There are more and more financial options for observant Muslims, choices that didn't exist just a few years ago.

Jan - June 2014 issue of the Malaysian ICM bulletin published by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is now available online.

Islamic fund and wealth management is an integral component of Islamic financial system. This is attributed to the significant rise in income and wealth of certain Islamic countries over the last four decades as well as the emergence of Islamic finance as a viable alternative to conventional finance. The benefits of Islamic fund and wealth management cut across racial and religious boundaries as it not only benefit Muslims who wish to see their wealth preserved and enhanced within the Shariah framework, but also to non-Muslims who may view this from an ethical perspective of managing wealth.

Global sukuk issuance is expected to reach around $70 billion in 2014, largely driven by increased issuance from governments. Moody's expects sovereigns to issue approximately $30 billion of sukuk in 2014, increasing the size of the sovereign market to around $115 billion by year-end 2014. The ratings agency forecasts this momentum to be sustained as both Islamic and non-Islamic governments increasingly tap or newly enter the market. Investors’ growing comfort with relatively complex Islamic instruments, the increasing financing needs and leverage appetites of some Muslim countries, as well as a desire for stronger investment links with the faster growing economies in the Gulf and Asia are driving this growth.

SWIFT, in collaboration with The Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and the Malaysian Islamic financial community, has announced that it will launch a new rulebook for the usage of SWIFT MT messages for Islamic finance. This rulebook will provide greater clarity around SWIFT MT message usage based on Islamic principles in order to enable straight-through processing (STP), thereby improving efficiency as well as reducing risk and cost. It will provide an efficient platform for exchanging Islamic finance messages and further promote the usage of message standards. The SWIFT Islamic Finance Rulebook will be available to the Message User Group (MUG) by the end of 2014.

Deyaar Development is planning to build a Sharia-compliant hotel and furnished apartment tower in the Al Barsha area of Dubai. The company confirmed the project, estimated to cost around AED450 million (US $123 million). Deyaar owns two adjacent plots of land in Al Barsha spanning a total of 71,000 square feet. The project is in the preliminary design stage. Earlier this week, Deyaar launched a new project in Dubai called Montrose, featuring a hotel apartment tower and two residential towers. In March, the company said it had allotted up to one million square feet for hotel and serviced apartment projects in prime locations in the city in the coming years.

Goldman Sachs is preparing to issue benchmark-sized, U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk with a wakala structure after announcing plans to meet fixed income investors, according to leads. The investment bank plans to issue the sukuk through the JANY Sukuk Co vehicle after meeting investors in the Middle East on Sept. 10 and 11, a document from lead managers said. Goldman Sachs picked itself, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and NCB Capital to arrange the investor meetings.

Turkey's private Bank Asya has said it will fight authorities for not taking action even though a "massive smear campaign" against the financial institution has been ongoing for nine months. The private Islamic lender said in a statement on Thursday that it is going to fight the country's bank watchdog at court due to its silence amidst daily attacks on the bank. The statement came on a day when the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has reportedly taken over a wide range of powers at Bank Asya. The move gives the BDDK watchdog the authority to restrict or temporarily halt Bank Asya's operations, as well as to merge it with another bank.

International ratings agency Fitch on Thursday upgraded Al Hilal Bank and affirmed 8 other banks and one non-bank financial institution rating. Fitch said it had upgraded Al Hilal Bank's (AHB) Viability Rating (VR) and affirmed the VRs of the other seven banks and all other ratings. The affirmation of the banks' Long-Term IDRs, Support Ratings and Support Rating Floors, reflects the extremely high probability of support available from the UAE authorities and governments, if required. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreqbank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, RakBank, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Bank of Sharjah and Dunia have been rated in the report.

Turkey's banking watchdog placed Asya Katilim Bankasi AS under watch and armed regulators with broad powers over the beleaguered Islamic lender. The move brings the bank one step closer to state seizure, as capital outflows and a ratings downgrade exacerbate damages from a political fight embroiling the lender, which has fallen from the largest of Turkey's four Islamic banks in December to third in terms of assets.

Pakistan’s insurance sector is set for a boost in competition after the industry regulator allowed conventional firms to offer takaful earlier this year. The regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), has now granted two takaful licenses and has up to 10 applications currently being finalised. 20 to 25 new takaful window operators are expected in the market within one year. The regulator sees greater opportunity in life insurance although commercial lines of business could also find appeal in rural markets where the demand for products like crop, agricultural, livestock insurance is increasing. Such an increase in activity could face challenges, in particular a lack of experienced staff as well as the need for Islamic re-insurance products to help manage excess risk.

For the second year in a row, Bahrain has been named the GCC's leading Islamic finance market and second out of 92 countries worldwide. This is according to the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI). As well as being highly-ranked in terms of the kingdom's commitment to research and training and local awareness of the industry, Bahrain was also ranked as having the best governance in Islamic finance in the world. The report praises the well-established regulatory framework covering all sectors, and high levels of disclosure. The IFDI is a measure of five key components to evaluate Islamic finance in 92 countries - quantitative development, governance, corporate social responsibility, knowledge and awareness.

Bank Islam Malaysia expects a 20 per cent growth in its financing activities this year, says Managing Director, Datuk Seri Zukri Samat. He said this would be slightly lower compared with the 25 per cent growth registered last year. Zukri added that this was probably impacted by some of Bank Negara Malaysia's measures to slow down the debt growth in the household sector. On its aim to become Malaysia's first mega Islamic bank, he said the bank was open to any merger and acquisition proposal but is not in talks with any party at this point in time. Towards this end, he said the bank was looking for synergies to complement the areas that the Islamic bank is lacking, for instance, corporate banking.

Malaysia is ready and has the potential to become a mega takaful operator in the region given its strong track record, right capitalisation, capable expertise and broad knowledge of the industry, said Ernst & Young. Its global Islamic finance leader, Ashar Nazim, said the local takaful operators had the right ‘ingredients’ to build upon and grow beyond Malaysian borders into Asean region as well as into various parts of the world. Country managing partner and Islamic finance leader of Ernst & Young Malaysia, Datuk Rauf Rashid, said there was huge untapped market in the region that would translate into tremendous demand for takaful businesses.

Indonesia raised $1.5 billion from the sale of dollar-denominated sukuk on Tuesday, which is to help finance the country’s budget deficit. Foreign investors submitted $10 billion worth of bids on Tuesday, or six times the amount offered. The government awarded 35 percent of the sukuk to Middle East and Islamic funds, 30 percent to investors based in Asia, including Indonesia, 20 percent to US funds and 15 percent to European investors. The 10-year Islamic bonds were sold at 4.35 percent yields, as compared with 6.125 percent paid on notes maturing in 5.5 years in September 2013 and the record-low 3.3 percent on 10-year sukuk sold in 2012. Foreign holdings of the country’s bonds increased to Rp 437.4 trillion as of Sept 2, accounting for some 37 percent of the total debt.

The launch of "Murabaha" through equities programme by the Bahrain Bourse (BHB) has moved closer to implementation with the exchange appointing Dr Shaikh Osama Mohammed Bahar as its Sharia adviser. His scope of work will include the review and approval of all Sharia-compliant securities, funds, and other investment instruments. The role will also include the review of all Sharia-based products to ensure compliance with underlying Sharia principles. In addition, he will be responsible for the issuance of Sharia statements (fatwa) with regards to Sharia-compliant securities listed on the bourse, and supervising its operations to ensure their compliance with underlying Sharia principles. BHB's strategy aims at enhancing market liquidity, and providing a wider range of products and solutions.

An eight-month rally in Islamic bonds showed its resilience as an Indonesian sukuk drew record bids before debuts by Luxembourg, Hong Kong and South Africa. A Bloomberg index tracking dollar-denominated Shariah-compliant debt from 43 sovereign and corporate issuers rose to an all-time high this week, as supply was limited amid the worst quarter for new issuance since 2010. Luxembourg and Hong Kong have hired arrangers for their sales planned for September. South Africa has hired banks for its debut offering of Shariah-compliant notes, while Bangladesh and Tatarstan are also planning maiden sales. While the average yield on debt that complies with Muslim tenets has dropped to a three-month low, it’s almost twice that available on U.S. Treasuries.