IslamicFinance.de

Japanese financial institutions have started offering Islamic financial services in Muslim countries in the region. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking for example arranged a Shariah-compliant deal with a shipping company affiliated with the Brunei government. Meanwhile, other financial institutions are expanding their Islamic banking services. Especially the markets for Islamic financing in Malaysia and Indonesia are expected to grow.

Nakheel may look to refinance its sukuk borrowings this year due to a reported growing of its 2012 profits. However, an analyst warned of wrong rating and pricing.

· To lead and manage the implementation of Ijarah financing (Islamic Leasing) activities
· To lead and initiate the overall process of the financing including operations, marketing, collection, documentation, legal requirements and etc
· Sourcing, identifying and evaluating potential opportunities for further expansion of the activity

To provide the Shari'ah Committee (SC) with administrative and secretarial support which includes coordinating meetings, compiling proposal papers, disseminating SC decisions to relevant stakeholders, and engaging with relevant parties.
· To regularly review and assess the activities and operations of the company with the objective of ensuring conformity with the Shari'ah.
· To ensure availability and keeping proper records of relevant documentation for Shari'ah Committee Meetings

To develop and manage the Branch portfolio and to lead the branch effectively in order to ensure the achievement of retail liabilities, assets, cards and third party product sales targets, profitability objectives, and implementation of superior customer service culture and standards, while adhering to Banks policies and guidelines

The Italian private equity fund Investindustrial bought a 37.5 percent stake of Aston Martin. The deal was financed via a capital increase agreed with majority Kuwaiti owner Investment Dar. According to the carmaker's CEO Ulrich Bez the transaction will bring money for the next generation of products from 2015 to 2025, as well as know-how and experience. Investindustrial plans to expand Aston's model range and to strengthen its global dealership network.

Fola Daniel, head of the National Insurance Commission (NIC), said the Nigerian insurance market has the capacity to become the biggest in Africa and one of the largest globally. However, a recent study shows that penetration rates of products and services offered by insurance companies are low. In order to achieve a higher coverage, the acceptance of insurance among the wider public needs to be increased. The rising purchasing power of many Nigerians may allow the industry to deepen its penetration and lift earnings.

Ithmaar Bank helped support a local charity that provides an Education Scholarship Fund (ESF) for children of financially challenged families. Ithmaar Bank Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board, Mohammed Bucheerei, presented the cheque for the ESF to Azra Mohammed Mohsin, President of the Pakistani Women's Association (PWA) which established the fund. More than 100 children are receiving support from the ESF in the current academic year .

A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has downgraded the financial strength rating of Islamic Arab Insurance Co. (Salama). This is due to the uncertainty regarding Salama’s main subsidiary, BEST RE Limited (Malaysia), and the potential implications for Salama’s capitalisation, operating performance and profile. Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings as Salama has requested to no longer participate in their rating process.

The Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB) intends to acquire 100 per cent of Tamweel PJSC, the UAE-based Islamic home finance provider. DIB is the major shareholder of Tamweel, and will offer the other shareholders ten DIB shares for every 18 Tamweel shares. After approval by all regulators the date of the offer will be communicated individually to all Tamweel shareholders giving them adequate time to respond.

Muslims live their lives in accordance to the teachings of their founder, Muhammad, whose business dealings were strongly linked to humanitarian values. Therefore, today’s Muslims are encouraged to keep their wealth in constant circulation, either into the business, or into local communities. Comparatively, a social enterprise is an organization, which focuses on environmental, social and economical well-being with a profit-making business model. These two types of businesses have community interests in common and are also faced with similar issues due to the constant circulation of money.

Ali Rashid Lootah, the chairman of Dubai government-owned developer Nakheel, assured that his company is in a good financial position and has about $600 million of cash on its balance sheet. The comments followed a recent report from analysts at boutique investment bank Exotix that estimated Nakheel may have difficulties repaying a $1.1 billion Islamic bond and about $2 billion of bank debt due in 2016 with its own resources. Nakheel issued the Islamic bond, or sukuk, as part of its restructuring settlement. According to Mr. Lootah further sukuk shares will be issued.

Jawad I. Ali, Managing Partner of King & Spalding LLP’s Middle East offices, emphasizes the importance of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as a financial and capital center for all kinds of operations in the Middle East. Besides, the jurisdiction of the DIFC courts was expanded, now anybody can opt in their contracts to subject them to the DIFC law. The laws itself are modeled after English common law, and the official language of the DIFC courts is English. That’s why it is expected that the DIFC courts will soon become a major center for dispute resolution.

Due to the growing number of Shariah-compliant funds in Luxembourg, four companies have launched the service ALIF (Alliance for Luxembourg Islamic Finance) which offers administration and custody of Islamic funds in a Shariah-compliant manner. The service includes legal work and Islamic Finance expertise. The portfolios and processing of the funds registered by ALIF will be periodically reviewed by the Shariah Supervisory Board of Amanie Advisors.

EFG-Hermes Holding SAE (HRHO) said its sale to Qatar’s QInvest LLC has been delayed because of regulatory approvals. This is because the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority hasn’t yet approved the transfer of EFG-Hermes’ Egyptian assets to the new, Qatari-based entity. QInvest will invest $250 million in the venture, with the option to buy total ownership.

The entire board of the Financial Services Association of the United Arab Emirates reportedly resigned after having lost trust and confidence in the group’s co-founder and sole shareholder Arwa Hamdieh. She herself claims having disbanded the board due to delays in implementing decisions. The board represented a third of the association’s members.

The Egyptian cabinet last week approved a draft law that would allow the government to issue Islamic bonds. The bill divides government assets into “publicly owned by the state" and "privately owned by the state". Only the first type of asset is allowed for sukuk. However, the bill does not describe the two types, a fact that is already causing controversy. The bill is still to be reviewed by the upper house of parliament and religious scholars at the Al-Azhar university.

The finalists for the inaugural British Muslim Awards were announced. The event will be held on Tuesday, 29th January 2013 in Manchester and honors achievements of Britain’s Muslim individuals, groups and business people. The Islamic Bank of Britain sponsors the event that will also raise money for Mosaic, a charity enterprise.

The Canadian life insurer InSun Life Financial c. (SLF) has forged an alliance with Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) to jointly acquire 98% of CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad, and CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad. The remaining 2%will be retained by CIMB Group. The bancassurance agreement will cover a span of 20 years and will cost C$586 million. Through this transaction, SLF will be able to expand its international operations in Asia.

Bank Islam Malaysia lodged two police reports against its suspended chief economist, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin for allegedly possessing and leaking confidential documents. Azrul was found in the possession of the minutes of the bank’s board of directors’ meeting which were reportedly sent to a third party last June. The police is investigating the case. Azrul was suspended by the bank last week after airing his comments on political issuses.