IslamicFinance.de

Arab investors in a €400m (US$516m) French property fund operated by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) are seriously thinking about legal action because they have received neither any dividend nor audited financial statements on the fund's status for the last three years. The launch of the Al Rayyan II French Property Fund took place in 2005. It is managed by Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) on behalf of DIB. The fund was used to invest in several income-producing properties in France. Initially, a yearly return of around 8% was given to the investors.

According to Hasan S. AlJabri - CEO of SEDCO Capital - banks in Saudi Arabia have success in Shariah-compliant financing and arouse attention and excitement around the world. Together with some of the leading global managers SEDCO has been working on the development of sophisticated Shariah-compliant investments making them more rewarding than conventional investments. The reason for that is pointed out to be the low leverage.

An exclusive home finance scheme for high-end residential communities was launched by Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) on Saadiyat island. THe new scheme is applicable to purchases of the luxury Saadiyat Beach Villas. A unique and simple home finance package for potential residents of the Villas including 100% finance up to Dhs30m repayable over a period of 25 years with a competitive profit rate starting from 4.99% will be offered.

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM) intends to issue its first sukuk at the beginning of 2013. A board meeting next week has been scheduled by the company. Plans concerning the issuance will be discussed there an length.

Gatehouse Bank's acquisition of a diverse industrial portfolio of 19 operationally critical properties all over the USA has been competed. The properties are leased to 16 tenants, whereby the remaining lease term is 14 years in average. The portfolio is stabilised at 100% occupancy. The acquisition worth $178 million was carried out in partnership with the Brennan Investment Group (BIG).

A savings market area in which a number of new names at the top of the best buy tables emerged this year is the area of fixed rate savings bonds. In terms of the best rates in the one, two, and three-year bond market, the predominant banks are such as United Bank UK, the State Bank of India, the Bank of London and the Middle East, the Islamic Bank of Britain, Triodos Bank and First Save. No high street bank can be seen in the top list of the area. In order to be protected in the event that a bank or other institution goes bust, UK savers can rely on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

At a recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM) the Savola Group gave its approval for the issuance of a sukuk. The bond's total total value shall not be higher than the company’s paid-up capital. THe EGM furthermore voted the delegation of the issuance of such tradable debt instruments to the Board the authority without reverting to the General Assembly.

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) announced the successful integration of of Dubai Bank customers, branches and operations into its platform. The most branches have now been converted to EIB systems and brand. The remaining ones will undergo conversion at the beginning of December. EIB further explained that customers whose accounts have been migrated from Dubai Bank will receive new account numbers. The old account numbers and existing identification will still be valid for the foreseeable future across all banking channels.

Pakistani ABL Asset Management has announced the establishment of an Islamic equity fund. The fund is expected to tap the growing market of investors who want to make their investments in stocks of Shariah-compliant companies only. In contrast with the current offer of the company - the Islamic Income Fund - the new Islamic equity fund will entail higher levels of risk and return. The date of release is not known yet but according to the company's CEO Farid Ahmed Khan, it will be rather soon.

The second Hawkamah MENA judicial and financial colloquium started on the 5th of December at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The event lasts for two days and is being held by Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development (ADCED), DIFC Courts, Dubai Judicial Institute, European Bank For Reconstruction and Development, ICAEW Middle East, INSOL International and The World Bank Group. Key topics of the colloquium are the legal, financial and policy dimensions of insolvency and restructuring. The discussions include case studies on restructuring and panel discussions on insolvency law reforms.

The UAE has improved its ranking in terms of corruption and has moved one place up in a global ranking of countries perceived as the least corrupt. According to this year's survey, it is the only state in the Arabian Gulf to move to a better position. The annual study of the Berlin-based Transparency International examines the outside perceptions of dealing with public sector officials. It showed that the UAE reached the 27th place, alongside Qatar. The latter, on the other hand, has moved five places down since 2011.

In Malaysia, Islamic finance has been developing at a rapid pace during the recent years and has become a serious rival to conventional banking in largely Muslim countries like this. The pioneer lender in the country - HSBC - embodies the development and success of Islamic banking in Malaysia. However, in other countries the bank did not gain such a profit. Not long ago it even announced the closing of its Islamic finance operations in six markets, remaining present only in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and a scaled-down operation in Indonesia. The reason therefore is said to be the differences in interpretation of the Islamic law in different countries.

A recent report by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and KPMG states makes a call for co-operation between standard setters and Islamic banks. Thus, harmonization of financial reporting shall be enabled. ACCA supports the opinion that due to the rapid global growth in Islamic finance reports must be harmonized and consistent. Guidance and standards should be developed and the investor community should be educated on the most significant matters.

Saudi Arabian financial services company Sidra Capital (Sidra) and Swiss alternative investment house INOKS Capital SA (INOKS) made an announcement about investments in various transactions by its jointly managed Sidra Ancile Global Structured Trade Finance Fund (STFIF). The joint facility totals $13.5 million. STFIF is regulated both by Saudi Arabia Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) of Luxembourg. The fund has given approval to a number of investments in various transactions since the closure of its first offering of subscription in September 2012.

Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz - governor of Bank Negara Malaysia - recently announced that the legislative process for the new legal framework for Islamic banking and takaful to be enacted is progressing. Not only will the new framework streamline the legal requirements across sectors but it is also expected to make sure that the law was reflective of the nature and features of Shariah contracts. Moreover, this way the degree of regulation would commensurate with level of risks that Islamic financial institutions, markets and products pose to the overall financial sytem.

Despite the worldwide domination of a few credit rating agencies, two not-for-profit rating providers announced their alliance. The agencies are Wikirating and Public Sector Credit Solutions (PSCS). They both use crowdsourcing techniques, thus aiming to improve credit ratings. Wikirating employs a technology similar to that of Wikipedia in order to gather and aggregate information and views about credit quality for multiple categories of bonds. PSCS has provided an open source software tool which is used to calculates default probabilities for government bonds. It also has fully transparent sample models and data sets.

Qatar's emir has eventually given his approval to the regulatory reform which is expected to simplify the slow and complex process of doing business in the country. However, no timetable for the completion of a reform first mooted five years ago was given. According to a central bank spokesman, the law ensures an umbrella body which will regulate banks, financial services and insurance companies and the country's bourse as well as banking, financial and insurance companies licensed by the Qatar Financial Center.

According to an announcement by Noor Islamic Bank, the bank will launch its new product Business Instalment Finance. This new package will serve to cater to the financial requirements of small businesses. Small businesses which already have a business relationship with Noor Islamic Bank will have access to loans at competitive profit rates. Part of the new package is fixed-term financing of up to AED 750,000 for 48 months. Documentation and the processing time will be held at minimum.

To prepare management account and monthly management reports.
To assist in the budgeting process and the review of HLISB financial performance and the preparation of financial highlights.
Prepare the Profit and Loss account by business unit to monitor profitability of the respective unit on monthly basis.
To assist Unit Head in special project, especially for matters relating to accounting.

To enable effective Shariah Compliance on a bank-wide basis to ensure the bank's products, policies, procedures and systems are Shariah compliant.

To provide independent assurance to the Shariah Advisory Committee (SAC) on the effectiveness of controls in the above areas to be in line with Shariah restriction.

Also be responsible to perform research and establish Shariah standards for bank-wide adoption, to conduct review and testing for Shariah compliance with regards to HLISB head office operations, branches, centres etc.