IslamicFinance.de

17% of the whole European population live below the poverty line of European countries, a number which is increasing due to the current European financial crisis and unemployment. The major portion of European poverty prevails in eastern European countries where more than 20% people are suffering from poverty. This issue can be addressed through introducing Islamic microfinance in Europe, which not only results in the better financial condition of the poor but also in improved health, education, employment creation, enhanced capacity and long lasting sources of income. In order to strengthen the Islamic microfinance, however, legal and regulatory regimes of Islamic microfinance institutions are needed.

Several borrowers plan to offer sukuk such as the Saudi Electricity Co. which has already started to arrange investor meetings. The Malaysian construction company IJM Corp plans to sell up to 3 billion ringgit ($910 million) of Islamic bonds. Moreover, the Omani Bank Muscat plans to set up a 500-million rial ($1.3 billion) sukuk program and sell up to 1 billion rials of Shariah-compliant debt in Saudi Arabia. Besides, Malaysia’s Maybank Islamic has reportedly set up a 10 billion ringgit Basel III sukuk program. On the other hand, U.A.E.’s First Gulf Banks planned 3.5 billion ringgit sukuk program was assigned a AAA rating by RAM Rating Services. Furthermore, the governments of Oman and Pakistan are considering selling sukuk this year, among others.

Sharia-compliant investment is rapidly growing in the UK and has become a “financial powerhouse”, according to specialist asset manager London Central Portfolio (LCP). The UK government has taken a number of steps to promote London as a place for Muslims to invest, including launching an Islamic Finance Task Force and issuing Sharia bonds. According to LCP, London has taken in over £11.7 billion worth of Islamic investment in the last 10 years, making it the largest Islamic financial centre in the western world. However, there are still limited investment options in the sector when compared to the wider financial market. In order to address this issue, LCP and Simply Sharia have teamed up to organise a series of roadshows to look at the best Islamic investment opportunities in the market today. The events will be hosted by Signature Tax and will take place in Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester and London.

GFH Capital has successfully placed its newly acquired prime central London residential property with GCC investors. The placement was oversubscribed by investors seeking attractive opportunities in the UK real estate market. The luxury property, which is located in Kensington, is a five unit Grade II listed building overlooking the Queens Gate Gardens. The investment is expected to deliver above average capital appreciation over the medium term for the bank and its investors. GFH Capital continues to assess other similar opportunities in the UK and US real estate markets where it sees value and upside potential. GFH Capital announced the acquisition of its Queens Gate Gardens property in early January 2014.

Islamic Bank of Britain is hosting an information evening in London dedicated to improving the local community’s understanding of Sharia compliant savings. The event will take place on Thursday 20th March 2014 at Islamic Bank of Britain, 97-99 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1DT, from 6.30 pm – 8.00 pm. The evening will consist of a brief presentation about how customers can maximise the returns from their savings in a tax-efficient and Sharia compliant way. This will be followed by an informal Q&A and discussion session, and will cover IBB’s future plans since becoming part of the Masraf Al Rayan Q.S.C. (MAR) group, Qatar’s largest Sharia compliant bank. IBB is holding the event following its launch of the UK’s only Sharia compliant Notice Cash Individual Savings Account, with an expected profit rate of 1.8% (per annum).

Turkey has significant potential in the sector of Islamic insurance, according to the Global Islamic Insurance Forecasts Report prepared by Ernst & Young (EY) for the period 2013-2014. The report also stressed that Turkey's high potential for Islamic insurance is based upon its young population, along with ongoing regulatory reforms and a government that is willing to promote financial inclusion through participation banking. However, as only four participation banks currently operate in Turkey, there is a major supply-side constraint, as well as limited legal infrastructure in the Islamic finance sector. Another factor negatively affecting Islamic insurance in Turkey is the problematic pricing of this insurance, which leads prices to remain relatively low in the sector.

Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB), the Istanbul-based lender caught in a feud between the government and an Islamic movement, fell to its lowest in more than three weeks as Turkish Airlines (THYAO) said it was no longer using the bank. THYAO didn't say where it had transferred its deposits. As a result, Bank Asya’s shares declined 4.1 percent at 12:24 p.m. in Istanbul. The market may be concerned that Turkish Airlines removing deposits may have a negative impact on the funding structure of the bank. However, it was known in the market that THY took out large deposits before, so the market’s probably overreacting at the moment. The bank has lost 41 percent since Dec. 16, and its price-to-book ratio of 0.43 is the lowest in an index of 16 listed Turkish lenders.

The UK’s maiden sovereign sukuk issue was announced with considerable fanfare in October, and appears to be making progress. But the UK Treasury is not in a rush, and market participants are beginning to wonder why there is a delay. The sukuk will now reportedly take place in the "next financial year" – that is, no earlier than April 5, and potentially not even this year. Sajid Javid, MP, the financial secretary to the Treasury, said that it is very important that the UK has looked at everything in fine detail before issuing its first sukuk. Javid also confirmed that, for the moment, the UK only intends to issue one sukuk. This is a one-off issuance, not a long-term programme, and its main purpose is not financing for the government, but to develop the UK as a financial centre.

The theme for this 2014 Summit is New Markets and Frontiers for Islamic Finance: Innovation and the Regulatory Perimeter.

Please refer to http://www.ifsb.org/preess_full.php?id=240&submit=more for the announcement of the 11th IFSB Summit.

For any queries regarding the Summit, please contact the secretariat:

- Participants' registration

Ms. Yazmin Aziz at yazmin@ifsb.org

Mrs. Ida Shafinaz Ab. Malek at ida.shafinaz@ifsb.org

- Sponsorship and Media

Ms. Rosmawatie Abdul Halim at rosmawatie@ifsb.org

INVITATION TO A RESEARCH INQUIRY
Anti-Terrorism Legislation and Impact in Cross Border Giving

The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropy’s Academy of Philanthropy is leading a research inquiry in collaboration with Cass Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness. After London and Doha, the last of the three dialogues will take place in New York.

This concerns the barriers to giving for international development and relief that affect donors and recipients alike, in the light of continuing international agreements and practices enshrined in legislation. Our work is seeking to identify ways forward for international dialogues to best support and enhance accountable giving and its efficient flow between nations. The findings of the research will be reported to the WCMP’s biennial Global Donor’s Forum, to be held in Washington, DC from April 14-16, 2014.

Donors, nonprofit and development sector representatives, and financial institution executives are welcomed to participate in the dialogue and share their experiences and offer suggestions.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014 - 10.00 am to 4.00 pm
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Observer Mission to the UN

Istanbul-based participation bank Kuveyt Türk, which raised its profit by 20 percent to 300 million Turkish Liras last year, announced ambitious plans for 2014. The lender is aiming to reach 320 branches across Turkey, opening a branch in Qatar and establishing a bank in Germany in 2014. In addition to this, it is planning to issue a Malaysian ringgit- or dollar-denominated sukuk in Malaysia, according to Kuveyt Türk CEO Ufuk Uyan. The Istanbul-based bank has applied to Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in order to carry out its loan and deposit operations in Germany in October. The bank has opened 47 branches within Turkey, extending the number of its branches operating domestically and abroad to 267.

The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, and the UK Senior Minister of State for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Baroness Warsi of Dewsbury, view positively the fast growth of Islamic finance in the UK. During a visit to the IDB headquarters in Jeddah, Baroness Warsi told the IDB President that significant progress has been achieved by the UK Government in terms of Islamic finance. The UK is close to issuing its first sovereign sukuk which will possibly be issued by mid-2014, she said. Dr Ali and the Minister reiterated their commitment to the growing IDB-UK partnership in the area of development assistance and the economic empowerment of women. They also agreed to explore potential partnership opportunities in the development of Awqaf.

Organised in conjunction with the Harvard Islamic Finance Project, Farmida Bi talks on Islamic finance in the Western world. Farmida Bi is partner and European head of Islamic Finance, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. Dr Paul Mills is senior economist at International Monetary Finance, London.

Recorded on 12 February 2014 in New Theatre, East Building.

The Turkish Treasury said on Monday it will issue a lira-denominated Islamic bond, or sukuk, on Feb 19. In order to diversify the borrowing instruments, broaden the investor base and increase the domestic savings, Turkish lira-denominated Lease Certificates will be issued. The Treasury previously said it would issue a sukuk worth 1.5 billion lira in February.
.

Italy is seeking trade and investment with wealthy Gulf Arab states as a way to grow out of its debt problems. Gulf investors have already shown considerable interest in Italy's luxury good firms; in 2012, for example, Italian fashion brand Valentino was bought by Qatar's royal family. Moreover, Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund announced this month that it would invest 500 million euros ($685 million) in Italian companies in coordination with the Italian government's own strategic investment fund. Italy made a similar deal with Qatar last year. These activities should include a review of existing regulations. Currently, however, only broad discussions are taking place with Italian policy makers and no specific agenda is in place. Italian companies have explored Islamic financing options in the past but did not do deals, partly because of a lack of regulatory support in Italy.

The Islamic Banking and Finance Society (IBFS) was inaugurated at Oxford Union Debating Chamber last Wednesday. The new society aims at acting as a platform for the Islamic finance as well as creating relationships between professionals in Islamic banking and finance students at Oxford. Financial experts have debated aspects of Islamic finance and banking, offering future economists a platform to better understand the industry. Presentations from Islamic finance Experts have also highlighted the ethical spirit of Islamic finance. The United Kingdom is one of the leading countries in the European Union to have Islamic banks. It is also developing its takaful market for Islamic insurance. Moreover, the UK also has a strong foothold in developing products such as commodity murabaha and Islamic retail services.

Sultan Choudhury, managing director of Islamic Bank of Britain, discussed findings from a poll of more than 300 investors by IBB, which showed one-third of respondents were non-Muslim. Some 66 per cent of those surveyed believed sharia finance was appropriate in a modern western society. A similar number (60 per cent) said sharia finance was relevant to all faiths, while more than half (58 per cent) said they considered Islamic finance to be an ethical system. IBB also reported 81 per cent of its customers said they were likely to use sharia-compliant finance again. This first piece of research will shape how the retail market for Islamic finance evolves, he added.

Luxembourg's parliament could pass a bill as soon as two months from now to facilitate its first issue of sovereign sukuk, though an upcoming budget vote may delay approval for five months. Last month, the Luxembourg government presented a bill to parliament to allow the securitisation of assets for a proposed sukuk worth 200 million euros ($275 million), part of efforts to boost the tiny state's Islamic finance credentials. Lawmakers are now studying the bill's conformity to existing laws, while the actual structure and issuance of the sukuk depends on the finance ministry. Legal filings show Luxembourg's sukuk would be denominated in euros and listed on an exchange, but such details are not final.

The Inauguration of the Islamic Banking and Finance Society (IBFS) at the Oxford Union Debating Chamber on February 12 featured presentations by leading figures from the Islamic finance world. Keynote speakers included Salah Jaidah, vice chairman of Mena at Deutsche Bank and chief country officer for Deutsche Bank Qatar; Baroness Warsi, Senior Minister of State and Minister for Faith and Communities, and the Ministerial lead on Islamic Finance; Nigel Denison, executive director of Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME), and Azeemeh Zaheer, vice president of Gatehouse Bank and former vice consul, US oil & gas sector head for the British Consulate General. The IBFS hopes to act as a platform for leading professionals in Islamic banking to create relationships with students at Oxford interested in pursuing a career in finance.

Muslim borrowers will be allowed to use Shariah-compliant Home Purchase Plans (HPP) under a change to the Government’s Help to Buy scheme aimed at extending the range of home buyers able to access taxpayer-backed funding. HPPs split ownership of a property between the borrower and their bank, a financing arrangement that accords with Islamic law that prevents muslims from using conventional mortgages that see borrowers paying interest to a lender. Sajid Javid, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, launched the updated scheme on February 11 at an Islamic finance conference in London.