IslamicFinance.de

Gatehouse Bank has issued its first real estate-backed Sukuk that comprises shares in a company which owns a property leased to Fujitsu Services Limited. Rental payments will be applied to fund payments to the Sukuk holders and investors have the option to redeem their investment on a quarterly basis. Therefore, this asset constitutes a short term cash instrument with an annual yield of three per cent.

The Government of Dubai mandated five banks to arrange a benchmark-sized, dollar-denominated Islamic bond which is expected to price on Tuesday in the low four percent area. The mandated banks to arrange the deal are Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, HSBC Holdings, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered.

Sharakah is Oman’s fund that supports prospective entrepreneurs in the establishment and running of their own businesses in the Sultanate. It provides capital and assistance in order to develop the SME sector and generate job opportunities. So far, Sharakah has supported more than 50 businesses in 13 years. It also regularly takes part in exhibitions, among which the annual Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Exhibition and Conference aiming to help it reach out to budding entrepreneurs.

Multinational corporations and nations buy up land in foreign countries, most of them intending to export the production. Oxfam recently published a report about this phenomenon, called land-grabbing and its problems for the local societies. However, the Oxfam’s study also gives recommendations for a possible solution to the dilemma.

“Hima” means “protected place” in Arabic and aims at preserving special landscapes for the public. Middle Eastern environmentalists have established several new himas in Lebanon and are promoting the idea throughout the Middle East since they have positive effects on the communities.

Since 2009, the emirate’s financial authorities and indebted government related enterprises (GREs) have adapted new tactics to overcome the debt crisis. The actions include negotiations with creditors and mortgage providers as well as repayments and restructurings. However, Dubai’s debt is still as high as $110bn, so this year’s debt deals are just the beginning of the approach to manage the crisis and avoid legal actions.

Arab leaders from various countries will take part in the third Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Riyadh starting on January 21st. The summit will last two days and aims to break tradition and tackle the people's hopes in the times of the Arab Spring uprisings. The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud al-Faisal, pointed out that the summit must concentrate on problems and issues concerning the lives and aspirations of the people.

José Graziano da Silva - Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organization - and Ilse Aigner - the German Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection - have pointed out the importance of a significant increase in responsible investments in agriculture. Thus the issue of eradicating hunger and feeding a growing world population can be addressed. They further explained that investments in regions with severe rural poverty and hunger are still too low. Efforts should be concentrated on farmers because they play a key role in the rural environment.

Al Dahra, an Abu Dhabi-based company, announced the investment of around 200 million Euros in Serbia's agriculture. 100 million Euros will be invested in the new irrigation system in order to boost production, and 100 million in the takeover of 80 percent stake in eight state-controlled agricultural companies. The investment in irrigation is expected to pay off in three to five years.

Heads of state and businessmen meet in Davos at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday 23/01/2013, where attention will be focused on economic reforms following the Arab Spring. This year’s theme will be resilient dynamism and how to deal with changing contexts and sudden shocks. The Davos meeting will also include a separate session on Syria to discuss the country’s prospects this year.

NCB Capital has launched AlAhli Global Natural Resource Fund aiming to enrich investment portfolios with natural resources due to rising demand for those in emerging markets. Investors are given the opportunity to achieve capital growth by investing primarily in the listed shares of international companies that are involved in the natural resource related sectors. AlAhli Global Natural Resource Fund is a Shariah-compliant fund denominated in US Dollars with a minimum subscription amount of $2000, managed by investment professionals.

Al Rajhi Takaful posted a net profit of SAR 1,477 thousand for the last quarter of 2012. Compared to that, the net profit for the corresponding period in 2011 was SAR 5,125 thousand, which marks a decrease of 71.2%. The net profit before Zakat is SAR 2,118 thousand for Q4 2012, contrasting with profit before Zakat of SAR 5,125 thousand for the same period in 2011, thus reaching a decrease of 58.7%. There is a 55.2% difference in net profit after Zakat betwen Q3 and Q4 in favour of the former. In Q4 it was SAR 3,294 thousand.

The Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) were inaugurated by the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria on January 10th in their headquarters. Governor Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi pointed out that the establishment of the FRACE was part of the provisions of the bank's Guidelines aimed at regulating and supervising institutions which offer financial services compliant with Islamic commercial jurisprudence. FRACE will further ensure that products and services offered by the non-interest financial institutions meet the requirements for compliance to the principles underpinning their mode of operation.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK) registered a decline of 9.5% in terms of profit last year. Meanwhile, the biggest Shariah-compliant lender in the country raised provisions against bad loans. According to a recent statement, the net income was 1.24 billion riyals ($341 million). In comparison to that, it was 1.37 billion riyals in 2011. Estimations of seven analysts pointed at a profit of 1.46 billion riyals. In 2012 the bank raised provisions from 194 million riyals in 2011 to 502 million riyals.

•Strategic interventions for improvement of portfolio size and quality
•Portfolio Pricing initiatives
• Support the acquisition efforts , specially around cross sell and alternate channels

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eFC Ref Nr1156157

Paper by Funds@Work regarding Islamic Finance vs. Sustainability from a network perspective insight; "Our aim was to show that we should never look at phenomena in an isolated manner. Islamic, ESG as well as conventional investors can greatly learn from each other by being more open. Islamic Finance should not be looked at from a religious perspective but rather from what it brings to the table from which ESG and conventional investors can profi t. Our fi nance and investment system globally will be more resilient if individual participants approach each other more openly and share ideas converging into a mainstream “sustainable fi nance system” which borrows the best of all worlds. From a network analytic perspective we should be aware that openness leads to greater innovation and stability and creates more opportunities to interact. In this context we need to address prejudices which stem from mere ignorance and act as barriers to cooperate. Because ultimately what the world needs is a greater integration of networks such as the Islamic Finance, ESG, and conventional investments communities to make their individual achievements accessible to a broader audience.

Dear Reader,

Could you check whether all Islamic financial institutions of your region are listed already or any mistakes need to be rectified?

http://wiki.islamicfinance.de/index.php/Islamic_financial_institutions

Please send us an email at: gassner@islamicfinance.de

Best regards,

Michael Saleh Gassner

DanaInfra Nasional Bhd (DINB) has extended the offer period and upped the indicative profit rate of its Exchange Traded Bonds and Sukuk (ETBS), also known as DanaInfra Retail Sukuk for retail investors. The move is intended to attracting more investors to take up the new asset class. The offer period will now close on January 25th. Meanwhile, the indicative profit rate, previously at a minimum of 3.7% a year, has been altered to 4% a year. The money raised from the DanaInfra Retail Sukuk will be partially used to fund the MRT project which is worth RM15 billion.

Juris Corp is about to open an office in Chennai, the opening is scheduled for next week. Two weeks ago Hufriz Wadia, who is a former Wadia Ghandy associate and the sister of long-time Mumbai partner Hoshedar Wadia, became partner at the company. Her focus of operation will be growing the firm’s banking, corporate, dispute resolution and real estate practice in Chennai. She will particularly concentrate on Islamic finance.

RAKBank has recently launched an Islamic banking unit. According to a statement by the Ras Al Khaimah-based lender, it had received approval from the Central Bank to start an Islamic offering. The new unit will offer customers debit and credit cards with discounts at Sharia-compliant outlets, as well as car loans and takaful policies. As a subsidiary, RAKBank Amal becomes part of a continuously increasing number of lenders seeking to capitalise upon a development drive into Islamic finance.