IslamicFinance.de

2012 is considered to be a turning point for banking in compliance with Islamic principles. New markets and new regulations in the Middle East contributed very much to the flourishing of the sector. According to data from Ernst and Young, globally assets managed in line with Shari'ah will reach in 2013 record heights, amounting to 1. 8 trillion U.S. dollars, up from 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2012. The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East and the Euro zone debt crisis were not able to stop Islamic banks in the Middle East from expanding their markets and business.

Islamic Bank of Britain reported an increase of 63% in home financing and an increase of 43% in long-term savings deposits for the first three quarters of 2012. Key factors in stimulating the growth and demand were the launch and development of new savings products, the IBB Home Purchase Plan (HPP, the Sharia compliant mortgage alternative) and Buy to Let Purchase Plans, which were strongly supported by effective sales and marketing strategies. Currently, IBB is the leading provider of retail Islamic financial products in the UK and is searching for ways to increase the number of Islamic Banking products it offers to the market.

According to a study by the National Bonds GCC Savings Index, about 90% of the people in a number of GCC countries feel they are not saving enough for their future. The percentage of people, who do not put away any money for future saving, is 71% of residents in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, 74% in Saudi Arabia and 65% in the UAE. The study further shows that in Saudi Arabia 92% felt they were not saving enough. The percentages in the other countries involved in the study are 91% in Kuwait, 88% in Bahrain, 87% in the UAE, 85% in Oman, and 84% in Qatar.

The debut perpetual sukuk of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank have rallied since their sale last month on bets the lender is well positioned to capitalise on the emirate’s economic upturn, even though debt of emerging market peers dropped. Since their issuance on November 8th, the dollar-denominated Islamic bonds yielded 6.05% on Thursday, December 27th , down 33 basis points, or 0.33 percentage point. The average yield on HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai’s US Dollar Sukuk Financial Services Index gained 17 basis points to 2.9% over the same period.

Recently, United Arab Bank (UAB) held its year-end Board Meeting at the new regional office in Al Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi. Including its network of 20 branches across the UAE, the bank reported net profit of Dh298 million and operating profit of Dh382 million for the first nine months of 2012. The meeting was called to order by the founder and chairman of UAB - His Highness Sheikh Faisal bin Sultan Salem Al Qassimi. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss and review the performance in 2012 and the outlook for 2013. According to His Highness Sheikh Faisal, The opening of our new and up-market regional office in Al Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi will enable UAB to offer their discerning customers a superior banking experience.

According to a statement by Abdul Aziz Al-Othman - CEO of Saudi Kuwait Finance House - the company has achieved a profit of SR19m since the beginning of 2012 die to investment in various short and long term investments. He particularly stressed on the strength of the Saudi economy and its numerous opportunities. This way, the company's growth potential is being continuously reinforced. Moreover, he pointed out that Saudi economy played a key role in increasing positive performance indicators during the coming period.

The Saudi British Bank (SABB) held three seminars on the topic of Islamic Banking Services. THe seminars took place in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alkhobar, and were organized by the Commercial Banking Services Department. A large group of SABB 's prominent corporate customers attended the events. Some of the specific topics discussed at the seminars were opportunities and challenges facing Islamic Banking as well as the promising future of Islamic Banking in light of how it differs from conventional banking, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The marketing campaign of solar panel and heating installer The Solar Guys' first sukuk has been going on for a while. The Islamic bond, due in the first half of 2013, serves to fund a 250MW solar power plant in Indonesia. The Solar Guys and Mitabu have formed a joint venture called SGI-Mitabu. The joint venture aims to raise $500 million to build and finance the power plant.

In 2013 the government of Saudi Arabia plans to issue bonds backed by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Finance. The bonds will be used to fund construction work at airports in Riyadh and Jeddah. According to the Kingdom’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA), its plans include the issuance of a second sukuk at the end of 2012 in order to help fund its SR27 billion ($7.2 billion) airport in Jeddah. The first sukuk which was launched earlier in 2012 managed to raise SR15 billion to help fund the Jeddah airport development.

The Finance Ministry has set stricter down payment requirements on Islamic financing concerning automotive purchases in order to to help curb consumer financing growth. According to the new regulation, a down payment of 20% for two-wheeled vehicle purchases and a 25% down payment for four-wheeled vehicles is required. The regulation will apply to all non-bank Islamic financing institutions. The requirements for the purchase of commercial four-wheeled vehicles, e.g. trucks or buses, are a 20% down payment.

Palestinian Sadara Ventures has made an investment of about $1 million in the mobile tech venture Souktel. The new venture matches job seekers and employers using basic mobile phone technology. According to the founder and the investors of Souktel, the company will contribute to the alleviation of dire economic situations for many families and help local businesses find qualified talent in areas of conflict.

Just in time for the beginning of 2013, Bank Indonesia (BI) introduced several new regulations serving to improve banks’ competitive and operating efficiencies, maintain stability via capital enhancement and ensure long-term sustainable growth among other things. Some of the rulings are higher CAR for higher-risk profiled banks, limitation in banking activities based on banks’ tier I capital, and productive loans with minimum MSME to limit credit risk.

The ideal candidate must have exceptional communication skills, experience of working within a medium scale call centre operation preferably within insurance industry, ideally within an outbound sales environment, and will come with experience of account management and relationship management within a fast-paced targeted call centre operation.

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WAFAA - a non-profit organization - provides Shari`ah-compliant loans for low-income entrepreneurs in order to enable a better life. Co-founder and Managing Partner of WAFAA - Hammam Khaled - explains that Wafaa is an online micro-financing platform. The role of the company and the platform is to act as a middleman between entrepreneurs and individuals interested in lending. The platform has been running since 2010.

Responsibilities include the following: To perform all financial transactions (cash, cheques & transfer) for individual or corporate customers, in a risk free manner. To investigate differences in books by following the established process of checking reports, notes, denominations etc. To report deviations to concerned authority.

Meezan Bank has become the first bank in Pakistan which offers Shariah-compliant agricultural financing by extending a Shariah-compliant financing facility to the agriculture industry of Pakistan. Adhering to the financial arrangement, the bank will sell DAP, urea, pesticides and seeds to its clients on a Murabaha basis. Expansion of the scope of this facility to other geographical areas is planned. Furthermore, a comprehensive Agricultural Financing Policy and detailed procedural manuals for this initiative has been developed.

Gambia will receive a grant of US$20.28 million from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to use for improving livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Particular attention will be paid to rural women and youths in the country. Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Abdou Kolley and president of IFAD Kanayo F. Nwanze signed the financing agreement for the National Agriculture Land and Water Management Development Project. Agriculture is a sector of significant importance in Gambia since it employs more than 72% of the population and contribuets about 30% to the gross domestic product.

Indonesia is developing into a significant takaful industry, demonstrating higher growth rates in gross written premiums generated than some of the GCC countries. Key factors for the dynamic growth of the industry are the relatively low penetration rates in combination with strong macroeconomic fundamentals, favorable demographics and an improved regulatory framework. Moreover, both domestic and international takaful insurance companies increase in number, thus supporting the overall growth of the industry.

Job Purpose

•To contribute to the growth in volume & earnings of Bank’s Corporate Banking business and ensuring a healthy Corporate Banking portfolio.
Key Responsibilities:

•Develop and nurture relationships with assigned companies Acts in an advisory role to the client fostering responsible banking.
•Seek to grow the business volume & earnings while maximizing customer satisfaction
•Handle relationships through regular meetings with clients and establish their current and future financial needs.

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According to experts from Ernst & Young, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are poised to become the most attractive private equity (PE) destinations in the MENA region. Saudi Arabia is the first in the ranking of the most attractive PE investment destinations in 2011. The reasons for that were the initiatives of the Kingdom's government and its relaxed foreign ownership norms. There are some basic factors such as demographics, the robustness of its financial institutions, a very healthy economic outlook and steady growth which play a key role in positioning Saudi Arabia as a leading PE destination.