IslamicFinance.de

The government of Mozambique plans to access funding from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to finance various investment projects of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Osmar Mitha said. Mithá said the IDB reacted positively to this request from Mozambique, but said the country still faces some obstacles, notably the introduction of some legal improvements. The IDB has applied at least US$300 million in various sectors in Mozambique since 1995, the year the country joined the financial group. Currently, there are 22 ongoing projects valued at more than US$160 million in sectors such as agriculture, education, health and water supply.

The annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank began in the Mozambique capital of Maputo on Sunday that would consider a report on the Medium-Term Sukuk Program for which the bank had already allocated $10 billion. The meeting will also consider the progress made so far in the implementation of its member country partnership strategic program; 20 member countries have so far signed up with the bank. In line with the four day official event, various activities will be organized on Thursday, one of which is a private sector forum where Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investments and Export Credits will present the importance of export credit and investment insurance in Africa.

Indonesia will become a founding member of a cross-border sharia-compliant infrastructure bank to help boost infrastructure development in various countries. The bank, named Islamic Investment Infrastructure Bank, will be cofounded with Turkey and the Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), according to Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro. To qualify as a founding member, Indonesia must contribute more than US$300 million. The sharia infrastructure bank is expected to be established in the second half of this year, following Indonesia’s announcement to join as one of the founding members in the upcoming China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is also expected to help finance the country’s infrastructure projects.

Indonesia is set to co-found a new cross-border Islamic (sharia-compliant) infrastructure bank together with Turkey and Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that Indonesia will contribute more than USD $300 million as start-up capital for the establishment of the new bank, named Islamic Investment Infrastructure Bank (IIIB), which aims to boost infrastructure development in various countries. The bank is set to be established in the second half of 2015. Muliaman D, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), recently stated that Indonesia and Turkey are competing to become host of the Islamic Investment Infrastructure Bank’s headquarters.

The Islamic Development Bank 's total funding portfolio for Egypt has reached US$12.5 billion, including US$3.1 billion in 2014, director country department Mohammad Al-Saati said. The IDB official has referred that his bank had signed financing agreements for important projects in Egypt, including US$450 million for South Helwan power station, US$460 million for Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, and US$220 million for Egyptian-Saudi electricity grid linkage project. Towards bolstering its partnership with Egypt, IDB will sign within the third quarter of this year a new agreement to launch a representative office in the North African country, Al-Saati noted.

Mozambique will next month host the annual meeting of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an event which is expected to be attended by 700 delegates. It will take place on 8 and 11 next June. Eduardo Macuà¡cua, Deputy Executive Director of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) said that the private sector in coordination with the Government, through the Investment Promotion Centre, is already preparing to not only participate in meeting but also, and above all, present projects and business opportunities that the country offers, and perhaps form partnerships. To this end, the CTA is organizing the Private Sector Forum on 8 June, which discusses the role of the private sector in the development of the IDB member countries, particularly those in Africa.

The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank has no immediate plans to issue short-term sukuk (Islamic bonds), leaving it to domestic and regional issuers to meet growing demand for liquidity management tools in the sector. Last year, the IDB said it aimed to issue its first short-term sukuk in 2014, adding to wider efforts to develop high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs) for Islamic banks to use, but at this stage such a programme is not planned. In the meantime, domestic regulators including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have expanded their Islamic liquidity tools in recent months. But there are concerns that such tools could be insufficient in times of market stress, when they are needed most.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is in discussions with Chinese officials to study the use of Islamic financing in the planned Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The move could spur the use of sukuk (Islamic bonds), which have gained prominence as funding tools for a range of countries in recent years, and among multilateral lenders to help fund some of Asia's mounting infrastructure needs. A potential link-up between IDB and AIIB, which have 20 member countries in common, would also open a growing pool of capital in the hands of private-sector Islamic investors across the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

As Pakistan continued its trend of looking for a helping hand to increase foreign exchange reserves, this time will take a loan of $1billion from Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and ask China to extend its term of the previous $1billion loan it detained earlier. The move has also been taken to support rupee against Dollar by raising $2billion in its foreign resources in the financial year 2015-16. According to an official from the Ministry of Finance, the government will take $1billion from from International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) of the Islamic Development Bank to finance crude oil imports, which will lend the money under a short-term Murabaha financing arrangement.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to expand its cooperation with Azerbaijan in respond to the request of the national government. In this regard the bank may send the MDPS to the country. The material is distributed only on private subscription conditions. If you are interested in it please contact the Marketing Service of Fineko Agency.

Jordan chose the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, to support the country's debut sovereign issue of sukuk. The ICD will provide "transaction technical support" for the domestic issue of Jordanian dinar-denominated sukuk, which is expected this year. The sukuk will be used to absorb excess liquidity held by Jordan's Islamic banks, which is estimated to total 1.4 billion dinars ($2 billion). Khaled Al-Aboodi, chief executive of the ICD, said the issue would help to develop Jordan's capital market and provide an alternative to its Treasury bills for investment by Islamic banks.

The president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group has urged the government of Ghana to join the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries for the country to benefit from a number of development assistance being offered by the Group. Ghana and Liberia are the only two countries in West Africa who are still not members of the OIC. By becoming a member country, Ghana will benefit immensely from development assistance especially in the areas of infrastructure development. Although not a member country, the IDB has supported Ghana with more than US$5.5 million in grants for the completion of more than 16 different projects across the country.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the Islamic Development Bank Group Ahmad Mohamed Ali in Jeddah. They expressed their satisfaction with the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Development Bank. It was noted that the ongoing development processes in Azerbaijan gave a push to the expansion of the bilateral relations. Azerbaijan and the IDB cooperate in the fields of oil and gas, power industry, water supply, road construction, implementation of infrastructure projects, agriculture and industry, and investment making. The parties exchanged views over the issue of involving other partners in the bilateral cooperation.

Nigeria and Ivory Coast have begun negotiations with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) for sukuk issuance. According to the ICD head Khaled Al-Aboodi, the two countries are looking to emulate Senegal’s successful move into the market for Islamic bonds. Al-Aboodi added that they were exploring with Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The issuance by Senegal has opened up the whole region, he said. The ICD hopes to support at least two countries in 2015 to issue a sukuk. Meanwhile, Niger has signed up for a sukuk programme worth 150 billion CFA francs ($260 million), although the timing has yet to be determined.

More than US$718 million will be invested in roads, power generation, water supply, sanitation, agriculture and rural development projects in a number of countries after the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) approved a funding partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The projects will be in Turkey, the Sultanate of Brunei, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Cote d'Ivoire and Benin. Technical assistance will also be given to projects in Bahrain. The first tranche of funds under the agreement will see $100m worth of grants issued before the end of this year. Operations are expected to begin in 2016.

The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dr Ahmad Ali, will host an online press conference on Thursday, March 19th, 2015 at 09:30 GMT. Journalists interested in attending this online press conference will be able to ask questions live via the internet. The conference will be held in English, Arabic and French. This service is free and only requires a computer connected to the internet. Register on the following website: http://www.apo-opa.com/application.php?L=E&vc=ISB

Dentons advised the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on the update of the IsDB Trust Services Limited $10 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme completed on 24 February 2015. Dentons also advised the IsDB on the issue of $1 billion Trust Certificates due 2020 under the Programme, completed on 12 March 2015. The Programme was listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Dubai. The Programme was arranged by HSBC and CIMB, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Dealers. The Dentons team was led by Alex Roussos and included senior associate Beene Ndulo and associate Katie Phillips.

Arab Women's Enterprise Fund (AWEF) aims to empower poor women, increasing their income and well-being and ultimately improving their livelihoods and growth opportunities. The programme will do this by increasing their participation in markets through working with market actors to encourage the adoption of new practices and also by addressing constraints in the enabling environment. AWEF is an 10 million pouns market development programme that will work in Egypt, Jordan and the Overseas Palestinian Territories (OPTs). DFID will work in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) who will contribute an additional 10 million pounds in sharia-compliant concessionary finance through financial intermediaries.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), rated Aaa/AAA/AAA by Moody's, S&P and Fitch (all stable outlook), has successfully priced $1 billion, 5-year, trust certificates (sukuk) issued at par with a 1.83 percent semi-annual profit rate under its $10 billion trust certificate issuance program. Despite an uncertain market environment, IDB achieved extremely attractive pricing, with the deal pricing approximately 22bps inside the secondary market levels. The trust certificates will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Dubai and Bursa Malaysia under an exempt regime.

Arab Women's Enterprise Fund (AWEF) aims to empower poor women, increasing their income and well-being and ultimately improving their livelihoods and growth opportunities. The programme will do this by increasing their participation in markets through working with market actors to encourage the adoption of new practices and also by addressing constraints in the enabling environment. AWEF is an 10 million pouns market development programme that will work in Egypt, Jordan and the Overseas Palestinian Territories (OPTs). DFID will work in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) who will contribute an additional 10 million pounds in sharia-compliant concessionary finance through financial intermediaries.