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Kuwait Finance House (KFH said its 20 percent capital increase had been oversubscribed by shareholders, without providing specific details. The bank was raising 319 million dinars ($1.12 billion) from the sale of 639 million new shares at 0.5 dinars each - a 35.9 percent discount to the closing price at the start of June, when the offer period was announced. The share sale, which ran for two weeks from June 5, will boost KFH's paid-up capital by 64 million dinars and would fund the bank's expansion and strengthen its balance sheet. The sale will push the bank's Tier 1 ratio towards its 17 percent target for the end of 2013. It currently stands at 13.6 percent, below the 15.5 percent average for the Kuwait banking sector. The capital increase is part of the bank's five-year strategic plan, with shareholders giving assent to the move in April.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Kuwait Finance House's (KFH) long term ratings by one notch to A1 from Aa3. Moody's also downgraded KFH's baseline credit assessment (BCA) and bank financial strength rating (BFSR) by two notches to ba1/D+ from baa2/C- respectively. The Prime-1 short term rating was confirmed. All ratings assigned to KFH carry a negative outlook. The rating actions reflect (1) continued asset quality pressures (2) an increasing reliance on volatile investment income and (3) the current organisational complexity and overall risk profile inconsistent with global peers. The rating action concludes the review for downgrade initiated for Kuwait Finance House on 7 November 2012.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) organized in collaboration with the Islamic Finance Club at Gulf University for Science and Technology a scientific trip for a delegation of the university students to the United Kingdom. The trip that lasted for 7 days aimed to develop scientific knowledge in Islamic finance and increase awareness of the latest development of this industry. 17 students from various majors of the university participated in this trip. Moreover KFH organized, on the sidelines of the visit, a lecture on the principles of Islamic economy and its impacts on the lives of communities.

Shareholders in Kuwait Finance House (KFH) have agreed to a 20 percent capital hike, The plans to increase its capital are part of the bank's five-year strategic plan. New shares will be issued at 100 fils ($0.35) per share plus a premium of 400 fils. KFH shares are now trading at 780 fils, down 1.27 percent on the Kuwait bourse. According to Al Watan newspaper, a capital increase could boost KFH's paid-up capital to 348.5 million dinars ($1.24 billion) from 290.4 million dinars.

Zakat House General Manager Abdul Qader Al-Ojail asserted that Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is known for supporting the community, and is considered to be one of the authority's main partners in charity. Al-Ojail received two cheques with a total value of KD8.8m from KFH's Chairman Mohammed Al-Khodairi, in order to financially support Zakat House charitable projects and activities. Al-Khodairi said that KFH's priority is to contribute to the success of Kuwait development projects and to serve the society, in addition to supporting projects executed by official charity institutions.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is mulling over a restructuring exercise that will entail a change of chief executive and the creation of a separate investment banking division. KFH's existing chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Jamelah Jamaluddin had reportedly been chosen to head this new investment banking subsidiary. Datuk Seri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz, the chairman of Danajamin Nasional and Credit Guarantee Corp, is a likely replacement as KFH's CEO. KFH is seeking approval from the authorities for these changes, which it intends to bring about soon.

The conference of 'the private sector role in projects development' was held in Kuwait, where participants discussed a large number of important economic issues related to projects development, legislation, incentives and funding sources as well as the obstacles and difficulties they face. Kuwait Finance House KFH received appreciation for their plans for development in Kuwait that aim to build an economic base, create jobs and areas of new production and strengthen the role of the Kuwaiti private sector. Important international financial institutions and Kuwaiti banks expressed their keenness and ability to finance these projects.

According to a recent report by Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Sukuk market is expected to grow by around 30 percent this year, and Sukuk issuance will grow by 20-30 percent. The Islamic capital market now stands aflush with more than US 230 billion in outstanding sukuk papers. Within the corporate sukuk market, USD 26.8 billion worth of papers or 73.5 percent of total issuances were issued in Malaysia, while US 4.2 billion (11.5 percent) was issued in the UAE and USD 3.4 billion (9.3 percent) was issued in Saudi Arabia, the report concluded.

Alafco, a Kuwait-based Aircraft leasing group, may list some of its shares on an international exchange. The idea reportedly came from shareholders. However, the size of the stake that could be listed or on which exchange was not announced. Kuwait Finance House owns a 53.69 percent stake in Alafco, the rest belongs to State-run Kuwait Airways Corporation and private investors.

According to research by Kuwait Finance House, the total of sukuk issuance by end of 2012 has amounted to $131bn. This is an increase of 54% compared to 2011. The total sukuk issuance in December is $8bn marking a 61% increase in comparison with the previous year. Malaysia is the country which issued the most sukuk, followed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Indonesia.

The merger between three Islamic banks based in Bahrain - Elaf Bank, Capital Management House and Capivest - has been successfully closed by Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain). The merger will enable a strengthened financial institution with a total equity reaching approximately $340 million. The total assets in excess will be $400m spanning the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), Europe and Asia. KFH-Bahrain played the role of transaction and lead adviser. The discussions and procedures started in late 2011 leading now to the creation of a robust merged entity which is more competitive in the field of global Islamic banking and investment industry.

According to a statement by Abdul Aziz Al-Othman - CEO of Saudi Kuwait Finance House - the company has achieved a profit of SR19m since the beginning of 2012 die to investment in various short and long term investments. He particularly stressed on the strength of the Saudi economy and its numerous opportunities. This way, the company's growth potential is being continuously reinforced. Moreover, he pointed out that Saudi economy played a key role in increasing positive performance indicators during the coming period.

The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) is progressing on a variety of Sharia products issued. This was made known at their 27th board meeting which was hosted by Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain in Manama. The mentioned products include Interbank Unrestricted Wakalah standards, Islamic Currency Hedging product standards and Collateralised (Rahn) Product Standard. Moreover, the board reached an agreement on the initiation of several new standards among which Ijarah sukuk standardisation as well as consultation on credit support arrangement concerning Islamic hedging.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) made an announcement about the sale of 16 real estate assets worth KD84m ($298m). Thus, KFH reorganises its property portfolio. No specific locations of the properties released from its portfolio across North America, south East Asia, and Europe were made public. According to Anwar Al-Ghaith, CEO of KFH, the sale aims to ensure better returns for investors and depositors.

According to a statement by Mr. Fahad Al-Mukhaizeem - strategy and corporate affairs general manager at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) - KFH-Research together with Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and Central Statistical Bureau intends to prepare economic indicators for the private sector. Moreover, they consider an upgrade to the mechanisms followed in its researches. Such a move will stabilize business and give additional value to the national economy. A documented scientific product will be released which will include a number of indicators in Kuwait's private sector business field.

Kuveyt Turk has made an application for a a German banking licence. According to its Chief Executive - Ufuk Uyan - it thus aims to become the first Islamic bank in Germany. The company is now waiting for a response from German financial watchdog BaFin. Kuveyt Turk's plans include opening a number of branches in Germany and probably in other European countries later. Moreover, it is decided upon an initial capital investment worth 45 million euros ($58 million) in the planned German unit.

Kuwait Finance House has informed its shareholders about the planned raising of the share capital by 20 pct . This move should help KFH to maintain stable ratings, improve capital ratios and boost fund expansion.

According to a study of Ernst and Young, there will be three times higher demand for Islamic bonds (or Sukuk) till 2017. It is also assumed that this year could be the biggest year for Sukuk as the supply is close to demand. The Continuing standardization by Islamic finance organizations should help Sukuk securities to grow in long-term, analysts says.

See more under: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/731907.shtml

Kuwait Finance House has issued $1.5 bln sukuk for Turkey in cooperation with Citigroup and HSBC. It is the first issuance of this kind for the Government of Turkey. The expectations of the financing are high due to high amount of potential investors (altogether 250) that have been attracted by newly-issued sukuk. This fact confirms not only the great confidence of investors to Turkish economy, but also the confidence of global markets in sukuk products.

See more under: http://www.zawya.com/story/KFH_issues_15b_sukuk_for_Turkey-ZAWYA20120930...

The Viability Rating of Kuwait Finance House has been downgraded to 'bb' by Fitch Ratings. The bank's Long-term Issuer Default Rating, however, remains at 'A+'. According to Fitch Ratings, the decrease in the VR is caused by he high concentrations in KFH's financing portfolio as well as asset quality indicators which continuously become worse. In addition, the bank reported slightly weaker regulatory Tier 1 and Fitch Core Capital ratios in H112. A positive move on KFH's side is expected: they plan to bolster their capital in the months to follow.