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A USD500 million Sukuk has been listed by Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) on Nasdaq Dubai. The capital raised will support SIB’s activities and strategic development. The five-year Sukuk was subscribed 7.2 times by regional and international investors with 150 investors showing their interest. It brings the total value of SIB Sukuk listings on Nasdaq Dubai to USD2 billion following listings of 500 million US dollars each in 2016, 2018 and 2019. SIB’s latest USD500 million Sukuk listed on Nasdaq Dubai on 23rd June 2020.

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain (Al Salam Bank) has achieved the highest reduction in non-performing financing (NPF) amongst 55 GCC listed banks in 2019. According to KPMG, the Bank also ranked sixth in the region for Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), with a strong standing of 20.9%. The KPMG report notes that the region’s positive results were coupled with an increased focus on digitisation. Al Salam Bank has come to be recognised as one of the key institutions driving the digitisation of financial services in Bahrain. Al Salam Bank is continuing the successful roll-out of its three-year strategy, focused on giving customers a virtual branch and an onboarding app that enables clients to open their accounts within minutes.

Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has signed an agreement with Bahrain Bourse for a murabaha financing framework using a Sharia-compliant lending service. The underlying asset is Ijara sukuk provided by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Adding this Murabaha service introduces a new underlying asset to the bank’s existing commodity murabaha facility structure, currently conducted via local and international brokers. This further diversifies the structure and enhances its framework given that it is actioned via a digital system which decreases the processing time exponentially.

Dubai Islamic Bank is expected to sell more than $200 million of its existing sukuk issuance due in 2026. The bank set final price guidance at 240-245 basis points over midswaps, tightening from initial price guidance of around 250 bps. DIB received more than $500 million in orders for the deal.

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) announced its subscription to Bahrain Bourse’s newly introduced Murabaha service, which will be used by the Bank when transacting in Islamic Commodity Murabaha financing. NBB is one of the first banks in the Kingdom to execute a transaction using the new fully Shari’ah compliant service. The service employs Government of Bahrain Islamic Ijara Sukuk, whereby the lender in the financing transaction buys the Sukuk from the CBB and after the transfer of the ownership, sells them to the borrower, with a deferred sell as the underlying commodity.

Dubai-based port operator DP World has hired a group of banks for a potential sale of perpetual U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk. Citi, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan will arrange investor calls in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, to be followed by the issuance of perpetual U.S. dollar-denominated Islamic bonds non-callable for 5-1/2 years. Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, Crédit Agricole, Samba Financial Group, Scotiabank and Standard Chartered Bank are also working on the deal.

Al Baraka Islamic Bank and Bahrain Bourse (BHB) have signed an agreement allowing the bank to buy and sell Sharia-complaint ijara sukuk through the exchange. Proceeds from the sukuk will contribute to facilitating the bank’s financing operations for its underlying clients. The agreement aims to diversify the commodities available for underlying clients when conducting a commodity-based murabaha transaction to include government-based sukuk issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

The CEO of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) outlined the phases for the development of a unified legal framework for Islamic finance. Abdulla Al Awar said that once complete, the project would bring standardisation to the Islamic finance sector and reduce discrepancies in practices across the globe. The DIEDC signed an agreement with the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions for the use of its standards as a reference point in building the international legal framework. The Sharia-compliant segment of Dubai’s economy contributed Dh41.8 billion to the emirate’s gross domestic product in 2018. Dubai continues to pursue its goal of becoming the top Islamic economy hub in the world.

IsDB President Dr. Bandar Bin Hajjar stated that the bank was working on a pioneering project to establish a "Global Waqf Centre of Excellence" in Madinah, with a capital of $50 million. The aim of the center is to build a global umbrella for the Waqf sector, linking and coordinating all those interested in Waqf. The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) is preparing to launch the first initiative of the center to grant an approved certificate of Waqf specialist. IRTI is also working on the "Ish’had" platform, which is an e-platform using blockchain technology, to document and protect Waqf properties.

Saudi real estate financing firm Amlak International plans to float 30% of its shares in Riyadh, in what will be the exchange’s first initial public offering (IPO) since the coronavirus crisis. Amlak said the final offer price would be announced on June 30, after a book-building process starting on June 22. Saudi retailer BinDawood Holding also plans to launch an initial public offering as early as this month. The group hired Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, NCB Capital and GIB to organize the deal.

New York-based Wahed Invest has secured financing from oil giant Saudi Aramco to expand into the Middle East and make Riyadh its regional hub. The Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures extended the funding to the online Islamic investment platform as part of a $25 million funding round. The three-year-old Wahed Invest, which has secured a license to operate in Saudi Arabia, aims to get regulatory approval in 20 more countries. It currently has licenses to operate in nine countries. The company's Islamic Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) holds investments in Apple, Johnson & Johnson, and Intel Corp. Wahed Invest is also contemplating listing its Islamic ETF on the Saudi stock exchange. Its ETF was listed on the Nasdaq last year.

Sharjah Islamic Bank has hired a group of banks to arrange a global investor call ahead of a potential issuance of five-year U.S. dollar-denominated sukuk. The bank hired Standard Chartered, Bank ABC, Citi, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, KFH Capital and Mashreqbank to arrange the call.

Al Hilal Bank has completed the sale of Al Hilal Takaful to Siraj Holding. The divestment was driven by Al Hilal Bank's strategic decision to focus on delivering high-quality retail banking services, primarily through digital channels. Al Hilal Bank was acquired by ADCB in May 2019, following the merger between ADCB and Union National Bank (UNB). Full integration of the three banks was completed in early April 2020.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) closed a $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) 5-year sukuk with a profit rate of 2.95%. The sukuk attracted more than 170 investors with the order book rising to over $4.5bn. The sukuk was issued as a drawdown under DIB’s $7.5bn Trust Certificate Issuance Programme, which is listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai. It is the first public benchmark sukuk issuance from a regional financial institution after the Covid-19 outbreak. Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, KFH Capital, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners on this transaction.

Al Salam Bank-Bahrain announced the sponsorship of the Islamic Finance Handbook for practitioners, produced locally by the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF). The Islamic Finance Handbook will cover all major Islamic financial products and services including FinTech and Takaful Insurance. The book will incorporate case-studies from Al Salam Bank Bahrain as well as interviews and thoughts from the Bank’s senior management on various aspects of Islamic Finance. The BIBF Centre for Islamic Finance was established in 1997 to help promote the growth of both Islamic finance and banking. Today, the BIBF offers degrees and certifications, and conducts training in more than 27 countries worldwide.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) gave initial price guidance of around 280 basis points over midswaps for a planned issuance of long five-year dollar sukuk. On Monday, DIB hired a group of 10 banks to arrange a global investor call for the deal, which is expected to close on Tuesday.

Al Baraka Banking Group announced the appointment of Abdullah Saleh Kamel as the board's new chairman. Previously, the chairman position was held by the late Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, the group's founder who passed away last month. Kamel served as the board's vice chairman and chairman of the executive committee for several years, contributing to the group's expansion strategies.

Wahed raised $25 million in venture funding with proceeds being funneled into ensuring people can invest their money into a diversified portfolio consisting of stocks, commodities, real estate and sukuk. Since launching in 2017, Wahed was recently awarded the first RoboAdvisory permit by the financial regulator, the U.K.'s Capital Markets Authority, to launch its platform in Saudi Arabia. Wahed’s foray into Malaysia in 2019 bolstered their global presence, and the fintech firm now serves over 100,000 clients globally. Wahed believes that they are paving the way for ethical investment in Islamic finance and showing the world how underserved the Muslim market is.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said it invested in four innovative FinTech start-ups on Monday. The companies receiving funding are: Sarwa, a roboadvisory wealth management firm; FlexxPay, a cloud-based B2B employee benefits platform and two financial services platforms for migrant workers, Now Money and Go Rise. DIFC CEO Arif Amiri said the investments strengthened the free zone’s position as one of the world’s top 10 FinTech hubs. DIFC has rolled out a number of changes in recent months to attract top financial firms and strengthen its credentials.

Women’s wealth in the Middle East is expected to grow to $1.1 trillion from the current $786 billion during the 2019-2023 period. As of 2019, more than 40% of women’s wealth in the Middle East is concentrated in the UAE and Saudi Arabia where women control assets worth $102 billion and $224 billion. According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), women’s wealth is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3% to $140 billion in the UAE and of 5.1% to $273 billion in Saudi Arabia by 2023. Women are likely to set the region’s wealth management trend, if asset managers target this market segment as a business opportunity and personalise their approach. Women are more likely than men to invest on the basis of their values, favouring funds that perform well but also create a positive impact, as opposed to investing solely for performance.