IslamicFinance.de

The first act of business by the Turkish Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) will be the issuance of securities, while it will also focus on Islamic finance products in securitization. The fund will contact local and foreign investors for securitization over the next few months. Even though the Treasury announced that the transferred asset size was approximately worth $160 billion with an equity size of $35 billion last Friday, an endeavor is currently underway concerning the valuation and auditing of the transferred assets by the fund. According to a Turkish daily, Dünya, the fund is exploring various types of instrument models, especially in Islamic finance. For this reason, the issuance of sukuk is a major focus of the agenda for the fund.

US-based State Street Global Advisors announced that a huge exchange-traded fund for investment in gold has been certified as being sharia compliant. The question of whether ETFs themselves comply with Islamic law has not been addressed. The fund, called SPDR Gold Shares, is one of the world's largest ETFs, having a net asset balance of more than $30 billion. Managed and marketed by State Street Global, it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The World Gold Council paved the way for certification by asking the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions to determine criteria for gold trading. The AAOIFI announced standards for gold trading in December 2016. Joseph Cavatoni, who is in charge of ETFs at the World Gold Council, said the certification is an important step toward meeting demand for gold in the Islamic financial market.

Qatar Islamic Bank's QInvest is exiting the St. Edmund’s Terrace LP Fund. The Shari'ah compliant fund was jointly owned by QInvest and a range of GCC institutional and retail investors. It invested GBP 50 million into developing a new, prime residential project through a real estate development company. The Fund was created to provide investors with the opportunity to invest in London’s prime residential market. At completion, the Fund generated 22% net returns to investors. Craig Cowie, Head of Real Estate at QInvest said the returns exceeded expectations and added a notable asset to the luxury real estate market in London. The project, 50 St. Edmund’s Terrace, completed in June 2015 and comprises of three residential blocks and 37 units. It delivered an average selling price in excess of GBP 2,600 per square foot.

The National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI) plans to make investments in international money and financial markets. According to the fund's director, Ahmad Doust-Hosseini, the fund is also ready to support foreign investors as well as Iranian exporters by extending loans. Doust-Hosseini said from the next Iranian year (March 21, 2017), 30% of revenues from the sale of oil, gas and their related products will be deposited with the NDFI. He added that the fund belongs to the private sector and non-government enterprises, so state-owned entities will not receive any loans. Ali Salehabadi, CEO of the Export Development Bank of Iran (EBDI), said his bank will allocate working capital to export projects in the form of foreign exchange and rial loans in partnership with NDFI.

Summit will explore intersection of #fintech, #ESG and #Islamicfinance. #RFISummit17

January 24, 2017, Zurich, Switzerland –

Bringing together a diversity of perspectives is critical for continuing the growth occurring within responsible finance. On this premise, the Responsible Finance & Investment Summit 2017 will convene in Zurich, Switzerland from 3-4 May 2017 around the theme “Building Bridges, Expanding Impact”.

Recent estimates from industry stakeholders show continued growth in responsible finance assets in many geographies and sectors. Responsible investment in Europe grew by 42% during the past 2 years, while in the U.S., assets grew by 33%. In Islamic finance, which has a global presence with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, growth in the last 2 years has been 21%. Identifying actionable areas for collaboration will support continued growth towards a more sustainable financial system.

#Malaysia’s securities regulator has proposed establishing a fund to invest in the country’s Islamic finance funds and make them more attractive to institutional and foreign investors. The proposed fund is part of an Islamic fund and wealth management blueprint launched on Thursday. It would invest in multi-currency Islamic investment products managed by Malaysian-based asset managers. The fund could address challenges that Islamic funds have faced so far. Few Malaysian-managed funds are offered overseas but this is starting to change. CIMB Islamic Asset Management, for example, this week launched an Ireland-domiciled dollar-denominated sukuk fund. The Employees Provident Fund is launching a RM111.45 billion shariah-compliant retirement fund this month, which could serve as a boon to asset managers in the field.

ASMA Capital owned by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Public Pension Agency (PPA), Ministry of Finance of Bahrain and Ministry of Finance of Brunei has signed a deal with Utico for a significant minority stake. The deal with Utico for a stake in its water business is done through Asma Capital managed IDB Infrastructure Fund II. The deal is valued overall at $ 147 million in equity and project finance and will be completed in the first quarter of 2017. Ernst & Young, Hatch USA, ILFS, GU Advisory UAE, Latham and Watkins, Trowers and Hamlins and Taylor Wessing are advisers to the deal. Utico is making significant investments in the UAE and expanding its infrastructure assets in water, power, transmission and distribution, storage, billing and collection. Richard Menezes, Utico’s Managing Director stated that its model of development has saved the governments billions of dirhams in capital expenditure and subsidies.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a development finance institution of the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), and Dragon Capital Partners, the venture capital and private equity arm of Ukraine-based Dragon Capital Group, recently announced the intention to develop the Silk-way Growth Fund, a Sharia-compliant investment fund benefitting “high growth” small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in manufacturing in Kazakhstan. The fund is slated to address the “financing gap created due to difficulty of accessing capital at sustainable market rates and the banking sub-sector’s lack of confidence in SME entrepreneurs.” According to ICD, SMEs make up 96 percent of all businesses in Kazakhstan and 25 percent of the country’s GDP.
ICD will act as fund advisor to Silk-way as part of its SME Platform, an initiative aimed at building Sharia-compliant investment management capacities in ICD’s 52 member countries, and it will consider investing capital in the fund as plans for the fund are finalized.

Middle Eastern syndicate and real estate asset management platforms are emerging as major and increasing sources of outbound capital from the region with new figures showing an increase in volumes.
“Typically, they exist to pool equity from multiple private and medium-size institutional investors to real estate assets on a deal-by-deal basis,” said Fadi Moussalli head of JLL’s International Capital Group, MENA. “In the first three quarters of 2016 the volume has already reached $5.1bn and we expect the end-year figure to reach around 7bn.”

In this interview CEO of MCB-Arif Habib Savings and Investments (MCBAH) Saqib Saleem gives advice to new individual investors who want to save a portion of their money. He recommends increasing purchasing power over a period of time and seeking reliable investment advice. For this reason, MCBAH has 14 types of mutual funds, two voluntary pension schemes and different investments plans in its product portfolio. The mutual funds industry in Pakistan is still in its infancy stage standing at mere 1.6% of GDP. Saleem believes that an increase in awareness and introduction of innovative products to reach out to general public will provide an impetus to growth. As the Pakistani economy is entering the growth phase, he expects young investors to enter the market and increase their investment profile.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), a development finance institution of the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Deposit (CDC), a financial institution backed by the government of Gabon, recently announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a private equity fund to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Gabon and elsewhere in Central Africa.The goal of the fund is to foster the growth of SMEs that have been ill-served by banks and thus to grow the region’s economy as a whole.
As of October 13, 2015, ICD reported total assets of USD 1.7 billion and annual income of USD 97 million. No financial information for CDC is available. CDC has a balance sheet of XAF 195 billion (approximately USD 315 million).

Mirae Asset Global Investments has launched its inaugural sharia-compliant Asian equities fund that will invest in sharia-compliant companies in Asia. Mirae established the new UCITS-compliant fund to address demand from Islamic investors in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and thereby also widen its client base in the region. The new fund will be domiciled in Luxembourg as part of Mirae’s Global Discovery Fund SICAV and will be registered in a number of selected countries. Mirae Asset Financial Group was founded in 1997 and has expanded in recent years to include a global asset management capability with offices in 12 countries on 5 continents.

The local unit of HSBC Holdings is advising Saudi Arabia’s Public Pension Agency on the sale of its struggling financial hub to the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The Public Investment Fund is offering to acquire the Riyadh district for less than the pension fund’s 30 billion riyals ($8 billion) investment. The wealth fund is being advised by JPMorgan Chase, but a deal hasn’t been reached yet. The King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is about 70% complete and is failing to attract its target clientele, banks, auditors and lawyers. The sale is meant to rehabilitate the 1.6 million square-meter district which includes over 70 buildings. The district will become a special economic zone with looser visa rules and direct links to Riyadh airport as part of plans to restructure the development.

China plans its first dollar sukuk issuance to tap a four-fold increase in Chinese funds that can invest in bonds overseas. Sichuan Development Financial Leasing plans to sell $300 million of Islamic bonds via Singapore-based special purpose vehicle, Silk Routes Capital. According to investment manager Hasif Murad, the predominant interest for this issuance will remain from yield-hungry domestic Chinese investors. Silk Routes Capital hired Standard Chartered, CIMB Group Holdings, Bank of China and Bank of China International to help to arrange investor meetings. In a sign that the traditional Silk Road is coming back to life, Chinese companies are building roads, railways and ports along the route to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

China plans its first dollar sukuk issuance to tap a four-fold increase in Chinese funds that can invest in bonds overseas. Sichuan Development Financial Leasing plans to sell $300 million of Islamic bonds via Singapore-based special purpose vehicle, Silk Routes Capital. According to investment manager Hasif Murad, the predominant interest for this issuance will remain from yield-hungry domestic Chinese investors. Silk Routes Capital hired Standard Chartered, CIMB Group Holdings, Bank of China and Bank of China International to help to arrange investor meetings. In a sign that the traditional Silk Road is coming back to life, Chinese companies are building roads, railways and ports along the route to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Dragon Capital Partners (DCP) has mandated the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) as a strategic advisor for developing a joint investment fund to raise $100 million for Kazakhstani SMEs. The purpose of the fund will be to co-invest with foreign investors in Kazakhstan and unlock growth potential in key sectors of the country. The Silk-Way Growth Fund initiative aims to attract international equity funds to invest in Kazakhstani SMEs. The Fund will invest in high-growth Kazakhstani industrial and manufacturing SMEs that enjoy competitive advantages and strong export potential and capacity. The Fund will help reviving the Silk Road on Kazakhstani territory.

Two successful investment funds have facilitated the Secura Investment Management, the first SEBI registered and Shariah compliant venture capital fund, to come out with a third fund – Realty AIF – with a target to raise 200 crore. The first scheme Secura India Real Estate fund Domestic Scheme 1 has completed with a pay back record of 18%, while the second fund is in the investment stage and its tenure will be over next year. Managing Director M.A.Mahaboob said funds will be invested in equity modes, quasi-equity and equity related instruments, investment in a co-investment capacity with development companies and other promoters. The minimum investment under the scheme is 1 crore which is to be paid in instalments in three years with a down payment of 10% of the capital commitment.

Al Meezan Investment Management (Al Meezan) announced the launch of Meezan Strategic Allocation Plan-I (MSAP-I), an allocation plan under the newly launched fund of funds scheme, Meezan Strategic Allocation Fund. According to Al Meezan CEO Mohammad Shoaib, the plan has an initial term of two years and is now open for subscription. He added that the previous plan with two years duration was very well received by the investors as it gained a cumulative return of 26.21% since its inception. He said the new MSAP-I plan was an ideal investment for those who wished an active asset allocation between Shariah-compliant equity and money market schemes. Al Meezan is the largest private sector asset management company in Pakistan with total assets under management of Rs 86.96 billion in 11 funds and has investor base of 47,000 clients.

Emirates NBD Asset Management (Emirates NBD) has entered into a partnership agreement with UTI International (UTI) to launch the Emirates Islamic India Equity Fund. The fund will expand Emirates NBD’s global portfolio and offer investors exposure to Shariah compliant Indian equities. Emirates NBD is looking to develop a portfolio of global funds with leading international partners, and its latest collaboration with UTI forms part of this strategy. Leo Puri, managing director of UTI, said the new fund presents an excellent opportunity for GCC investors to realise strong returns on Shariah compliant Indian equities. The rationale for the agreement is driven by Emirates NBD’s strong interest in India as a growth market. According to a recent McKinsey report, India is expected to rank in the top five global economies by 2020 and to reach the top three by 2030.

#India’s first fully Sharia-compliant fund launched its third investment fund, Realty AIF 1 (Alternative Investment Fund). The fund is meant for the real estate sector with IL&FS Trust Company acting as trustee for the fund and Secura Investment Management as promoter. According to managing director Mehaboob, the fund will raise 200 crore and the minimum investment under the scheme is 1 crore. The tenure of the fund is seven years from the final closing. Mehaboob added that an annualised RoI of 15-20% is expected, with a profit share post hurdle of 80:20 with catch-up. Company officials said the investments under the fund will be made in the modes of investment in equity, quasi-equity and equity-related instruments. Other modes include investment in a co-investment capacity with development companies or other promoters of a portfolio company, and investment in special purpose vehicles created by the company.