IslamicFinance.de

Political tensions after the Arab Spring still weigh on Bahrain's banking industry which is deterring some investment and inflows of money, and making it harder for Bahrain to compete with other centers such as Dubai. However, a mass exodus of financial firms from Bahrain has not happened and local banks are proving resilient. Moreover, Bahraini authorities have mounted an active campaign to persuade financial institutions to stay in the country. The central bank of Bahrain has also been active in recent months in trying to strengthen financial institutions, asking them to increase capital, encouraging revenue diversification and, in some cases, merge. Nevertheless, the future health of Bahrain as a banking market will not be assured as long as the political unrest continues.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) yesterday reported a net profit of $10.03 million last year as compared to $0.38m in 2011. The profitability is attributed to profitable investments as well as significant restructuring, including the Leeds United football club investment and others. Operating profit before provisions for the year saw an increase of 140 per cent to $20.43m. Additionally, the bank saw a 31pc year-on-year reduction in operating costs mainly due to streamlined operations and reduced facilities. Moreover, GFH settled more than $100m of debt, which will now all mature gradually by 2018 and therefore the bank has been in a stronger liquidity position.

London-based Gatehouse Bank is participating in the youth mentoring initiative 'Mosaic' that seeks to inspire young people from deprived communities to realise their talents and potential. The seminar saw business leaders, including the CEO of Gatehouse Bank, Richard Thomas, sharing important insights and experiences on activities undertaken in 2012. According to a press release from Gatehouse Bank, Mosaic addresses the role that businesses can play in responding to social and environmental problems. Therefore, it directly reflects the business ethos of a socially responsible Shari’ah banking model.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (ABG) announced that it has achieved a net income of $235m in 2012, an increase of 11% on the income achieved in 2011. Other financial position items witnessed good increases as well, including total assets (11%), total financing and investments (21%), deposits including equity of investment account-holders (12%) and total equity (9%). The financial statements of the Group for 2012 showed that the continued expansion in business reflected positively on income, with total operating income of $880m in 2012, an increase of 21% over 2011. According to H.E Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel, Chairman of Al Baraka Banking Group, the success is based on its geographic expansion programs and branch network as well as strong financial means, human resources and technical capabilities. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of ABG's commitment to the Islamic banking model.

Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd (Saadiq), a wholly-owned Islamic bank subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, launched its first branch in the state Sarawak. Saadiq chief executive officer (CEO) Wasim Saifi opened the branch located in Kuching, which was witnessed by Standard Chartered Malaysia consumer banking country head Sonia Wedrychowicz and government officials as well as the bank’s customers, partners and staff. Saadiq stated that the new branch opened seven days a week, extending its operations to weekends in order to improve customer access to the bank’s facilities and services.

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.

Regulatory reforms are underway to help Malaysia’s Islamic banking industry expand further. According to the country’s master plan for capital markets development, Malaysia aims for a 40 per cent share of Islamic domestic financing by the year 2020 and intends to make the industry more international. Therefore, regulators are preparing to release a new legal framework for Islamic finance this year. However, private-sector banks need initiatives of their own, including steps to address a leadership vacuum and to strengthen their overseas strategies.

The senior management of Sohar Islamic held its first Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) meeting, chaired by Dr. Hussain Hamed Hassan, and attended by the other SSB members. The SSB of Sohar Islamic comprises of leading Islamic scholars from Islamic finance and academic sectors from across the world. During the course of the meeting, the SSB considered and approved product structures, contracts and policies in order to generate a workable strategy for a range of Islamic Banking products and services that Bank Sohar will soon offer. The SSB members commended Bank Sohar for addressing the need for Islamic banking and for their diligence in assuring Shariah compliance in all products.

Tunisia, the Arab world’s first democracy, is under threat because of a public-private policy initiated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The real failure can be traced to a decision on her part to mandate non-profits and non-government organizations to promote private sector investment in the region since these ignore the dynamic nature of the numerous private sector companies in Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. The economic policies originating from Washington, DC. have inflicted enormous damage and put current investments by companies in the US, Europe and the gulf sovereign wealth funds in Abu Dhabi and Doha at risk.

Alderman Roger Gifford, the Lord Mayor of The City Of London, said that London is becoming increasingly important in the Islamic finance world. A lot of infrastructure exists to service Islamic finance, however it is nothing more than a niche product in London which represents less than 1 per cent of the entire market. Gifford is therefore promoting further cooperation between Dubai and the wider UAE market with London. This can help Dubai to become a global capital of the Islamic economy, according to the Lord Mayor.

The seminar titled "Islamic Microfinance - Approaches & Practices: A Case Study of Akhuwat" was held in Pakistan last Wednesday. Various initiatives of Islamic microfinance in Pakistan, their philosophies and methodologies were highlighted in the seminar and the case of Akhuwat Foundation was discussed as a case study. It was also observed that Islamic microfinance was still in its evolution, and speakers therefore gave recommendations for further growth and strengthening the operations of Islamic microfinance institutions.

Finanzkrise, Bankenkrise, Eurokrise – und kein Ende. In den drei monotheistischen Religionen gibt es ziemlich präzise Vorstellungen über den Umgang mit Geld und Schulden. Bieten sie uns Lösungsansätze für die heutigen Probleme?

Dienstag, 5. März 2013, 20 Uhr, IGB Leimenstr. 24, 4051 Basel

Michael Gassner: Geld und Ethik im Islam

„Jüdische“ oder „christliche“ Banken gibt es nicht, wohl aber islamische, deren Geschäftstätigkeit sich nach dem islamischen Religionsgesetz, der Schari‘a, richtet. Der zweite Vortrag in der Reihe „Geld & Ethik“ beschäftigt sich mit den Regeln des Geldwesens im Islam und deren Anwendung im modernen islamischen Bankwesen. Michael Gassner ist muslimischer Bankfachmann und entwickelt islamische Finanzprodukte für eine Schweizer Privatbank.

Women are starting to play an increasingly influential role in the family businesses of the Gulf region that account for approximately 90 percent of commercial activity there. As women become more economically independent, the decision-making process has shifted to incorporate women's interests and motivations. However, it is essential that women are fully equipped with the right knowledge, tools and skills. Therefore, Gatehouse Bank has initiated a corporate social responsibility project to promote financial literacy among women in the GCC. The bank shares its skills and knowledge with women in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

The new Egyptian Sukuk law will be approved on Wednesday by the cabinet before being referred to the Shura Council on the same day. It is fully Sharia-compliant, and it will have a special Sharia committee to oversee its implementation, said Ahmed El-Najjar, member of the economic committee at the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and advisor to the minister of finance. The sukuk revenues will be used to bridge the budget deficit gap in an indirect way. However, they will not be used as an alternative to regular debt instruments, but will, rather, function more within a complimentary capacity.

Syrian banks prepare for worst-case scenarios after profits tumbled by between 40 and 90 per cent last year as the civil war further weakens the financial sector. Banking transactions such as trade finance or corporate lending have taken a big hit, while basic banking services continue despite the challenging environment. Therefore, several banks, including Byblos Bank Syria, have developed emergency plans to preserve business continuity. However, Syria's private lenders, an important part of president Bashar Al Assad's economic modernisation plan, are struggling with a mismatch of assets and liabilities.

During the last ten years, Pakistan-based Akhuwat, the world’s first completely interest-free microfinance program, has disbursed $30 million to over 1 million people, without charging any interest. The company now has more than 1,000 regular employees and offices in 105 cities of Pakistan across the country. Their mission is to challenge the interest based system and challenge Islamic finance to evolve out of its current complacency with interest-mimicking products towards products based on the foundational principles of equity, sharing, and gifting and therfore fight poverty.

Thomson Reuters will be discussing Oman's leading position as a preferred investment destination for Sukuk during an upcoming forum set to take place on February 24, 2013. It will be investigated what needs to be done to facilitate the country's entry to global Islamic financial markets by Thomson Reuters with support from the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) and Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI). Thought leaders, bankers, and Shariah scholars will discuss the opportunities of setting up Islamic financial markets operations in Oman, how to capitalize on the global Islamic financial markets interest, and explore prospects to develop a strong Islamic interbank and fixed income market.

Four people were sentenced to death on charges of corruption and disrupting the country’s economic system by the Iran Judiciary. The four are Mahafarid Amir-Khosravi, Behdad Behzadi, his legal advisor, Iraj Shoja, his financial solicitor and Saeed Kiani Rezazadeh, head of the Ahvaz branch of Saderat Bank. Other defendants were handed down sentences including imprisonment and cash fines. The defendants stood trial for misappropriating a total of USD2.6 billion of funds by using forged documents to obtain credit from banks to purchase state-owned companies. However, almost none of the companies involved in this case were ordered closed by the court.

The UK’s student accommodation market was recently calculated by realtor CBRE as having generated £2.7 billion in transactions in 2012. With the exception of the largest operator none of the top five operators are listed or otherwise in obviously British public ownership. The lack of liquidity is a definite drawback for investment in student accommodation. There’s growing American money in the UK’s student accommodation investment market, and Middle Eastern, Shari’ah-compliant investment – such as the AUB UK Student Accommodation Fund, which hails out of the Ahli United Bank of Bahrain. A REIT, a real estate investment trust, could serve as a vehicle for investment in this part of the UK’s real estate sector in order to instill a high level of investor confidence, which in turn aids liquidity.

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.