IslamicFinance.de

Administrators of NMC Health have started selling off assets of the troubled Middle Eastern hospital operator as they seek funds to pay back creditors. Administrators are planning to start a sale process for NMC’s lucrative fertility business as soon as June or July. They are considering eventually selling most of the company’s assets, potentially including the flagship hospital business, which is the biggest private health-care provider in the Middle East.

The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) is working with UK-based developer Cogneum on a Shariah governance software platform. The cloud-based platform is meant to allow Islamic banks and financial institutions to streamline their internal Shariah governance processes, facilitate the integration of Maqasid al Shariah and the UN SDGs in their workflow. The software will help reduce charitable write-offs by Islamic banks due to Shariah non-compliance issues. The partners will initially target the platform for retail Islamic banks. BIBF director Mujtaba Khalid said the Shariah governance framework of the software solution will be based on AAOIFI Standards but can also be customized as per the banks’ Shariah governance manual. He added that the platform can also help organisations in the areas of green bonds, sukuk and sustainability risk reporting.

The fifth International Albaraka Calligraphy Competition Exhibition meets art lovers on Instagram. Albaraka Türk continues to boost its success in culture and art events as well as in participation banking. The fifth edition of the bank’s International Calligraphy Competition Exhibition was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and later went online on Instagram. The works in the competition have been decorated with illumination and included in the collection. The exhibition has been given a new form with unique content and presented to art lovers on Albaraka Sanat's official Instagram account ( https://www.instagram.com/albarakasanat/) with over 70 stories in total.

The world’s First Halal Angels Network was launched to help investors, businesses, entrepreneurs and startups during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Network would provide huge market opportunities to tap the $5 trillion worth Halal consumer global market. It is founded by Indian American Dr. Tausif Malik, who is a serial entrepreneur based out of Pune, India, and Chicago, USA. He said India is the biggest manufacturer of Halal consumer goods and has huge market opportunities in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Halal Angels Network would be the 1st Angels Network backed by Blockchain technology. The areas of interest for investments would be future technologies (Blockchain, Fintech AI, etc), Modest Fashion & Cosmetics, Retail, Pharmaceuticals, Food Cafe & Restaurants, Processed Food & Tourism.

NMC Health is at the centre of a multi-billion dollar fraud investigation, but its chief financial officer (CFO) Suresh Krishnamoorthy has left the UAE and returned to India. Krishnamoorthy stepped down as CFO in 2017 when Prasanth Manghat took over as the NMC CEO, but was reinstated in February this year when the company's financial troubles came to light. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), which has $981 million worth of exposure in the healthcare provider, successfully applied to UK courts to have the company placed into administration and NMC has subsequently been removed from the London Stock Exchange.

As investors dealt with volatility across most of its prized asset classes, Gulf bonds are emerging resilient after yet another crisis. The region’s debt markets did witness instances of sharp sell-off in the last few weeks, but analysts still see them ending the year strong. According to capital markets expert Anita Yadav, this year total new bond issuances will likely surpass the record $101 billion raised in 2019. So far this year, the GCC bond markets have stayed resilient, having in recent weeks only sold off 60% of emerging market debt and roughly 50% of high-yield debt. Net debt of sovereigns in the region still remains relatively low and credit ratings are relatively high compared with that of other emerging market countries.

On May 1 G20 nations gave debtors a payment holiday until the end of the year, giving developing nations more time to pay for healthcare during the pandemic. Despite more than 100 countries applying to the International Monetary Fund for emergency aid, the IMF and World Bank have not been so generous, insisting nations keep repaying interest on debt. Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said private institutions are owed $18bn by the world's poorest nations this year. If they were to suspend half that amount, that would provide an additional $9bn to fight COVID-19.

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the launch of a new initiative to create a unified global legal and legislative framework for the Islamic finance sector. The framework is set to enable the Islamic economy to expand its reach and responds to calls for greater standardisation within the sector. A memorandum of understanding has already been signed between Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Furthermore, Norton Rose Fulbright has been recently appointed to provide legal advice in drafting the code for the global framework.

More than 300 staff members at NMC Trading have been laid off and more are likely to follow. It was on April 9 that NMC was placed under administration on the UK High Court’s orders, following a request submitted by ADCB, the UAE bank with the highest loan exposure to the company. Letting go of its trading division could bring in some much needed funds for NMC Group. It's also part of the strategy to focus exclusively on core operations made up of its hospitals and clinics.

The Saudi Ministry of Culture announced its launch of the first electronic platform to teach Arabic calligraphy and Islamic decoration. The electronic platform will be supervised by a group of professional calligraphers from the Kingdom and the Arab world. The platform offers various training courses, including professional courses in the types of Arabic calligraphy, making calligraphic paintings and artwork, letter formations, gilding, Islamic decoration, drawing and coloring, the art of paper marbling and Ebru (needle art). The platform will also give the trainee the opportunity to develop Arabic computer fonts by learning designs and programming fonts. The online platform was launched in 2018 and has over 19,000 users from 30 different countries around the world.

At the moment there are six Islamic banks operating in Turkey, with Kuveyt Turk, Turkiye Finans and Albaraka Turk holding around three quarters of their market share. Harun Çelik, the Islamic Trade Finance Corporation’s (ITFC) regional head for Turkey, says that agriculture is one of the sectors where Islamic banks have big growth potential. Out of almost Tl120bn (US$18.5bn) of agricultural finance in Turkey, the six Islamic banks are only getting 1% of that. That’s where he sees growth potential. Perhaps the greatest nascent opportunity lies with small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). One useful emerging tool for SMEs could be factoring. A form of supply chain finance, factoring typically involves a supplier selling its invoices to a third party at a discount. For the supplier it means quicker access to working capital, while the third party makes its profit once the invoices are paid.

According to hospital operator NMC Health and its Executive Chairman Faisal Belhoul, getting placed in administration by a UK court order would be the "worst-case scenario" for the company’s future. The threat of coming under administration is a live one after Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank had filed a request with a UK court for NMC to be placed under a joint administration. ADCB – which has an exposure of Dh3.6 billion to NMC and affiliates - filed its request in a UK court because NMC Health is listed on London Stock Exchange. According to Belhoul, international institutional investors are keen to take an exposure in NMC despite its current predicament.

It is going to be a very different Ramadan this year due to the Covid-19 global pandemic and the social isolation laws. Ramadan in 2020 means no communal gatherings in mosques for "tarawih" night prayers, no large "iftar" dinners with family and friends at sunset to break the day’s fast, and restrictions on celebrating Eid, the biggest social holiday for Muslims signalling the end of Ramadan. Self-discipline when it comes to physical acts of worship is a part of the heritage of Islam. However, the true essence of Ramadan has been diluted through the generations. The focus of Ramadan can move away from food preparation and "eating at sunset", to self-improvement and self-discipline.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Thursday offered financial support to Pakistan amid the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic. In a video call, IsDB President Dr Bandar MH Hajjar assured Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar of the bank’s support for Pakistan. Hajjar informed that the IsDB Group has approved the $2.3 billion package for the IsDB member countries to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar appreciated the special priority given to Pakistan. The minister also underlined the needs of the member countries and applauded Bank’s response.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has approved a $2.3 billion package for its member countries to mitigate and recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. IsDB President Dr Bandar M H Hajjar said that this will be achieved through a holistic approach aimed to accommodate priorities beyond the immediate and emergency response. Dr Hajjar assured the bank’s full support for the people and the government of Pakistan to mitigate the negative impacts of Covid-19. Pakistan's Minister for Economic Affairs Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar informed that International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) has been directed to immediately finalise $500 million for import of oil and an amount of $150 million has been allocated to alleviate the pandemic impact.

Indonesia’s National Sharia Economy and Finance Committee (KNEKS) will suspend non-urgent programs this year after its budget was slashed by a third as the government allocates resources to fight COVID-19. The committee will conduct a series of webinars focused on the impact of COVID-19 on the Islamic economy. KNEKS will also engage Indonesians to participate more in Islamic social finance by promoting Shariah-compliant fintechs such as LinkAja Syariah. Indonesia’s government has set aside 405.1 trillion rupiah ($24.65 billion) out of the state budget as a support and stimulus package to help the economy. It has re-allocated and re-focused 95.5 trillion rupiah from ministries and other government institutions as part of efforts to fund the package.

The head of the UN food agency warned that besides the coronavirus pandemic the world is on the brink of a hunger pandemic that could lead to multiple famines of biblical proportions within a few months if immediate action isn't taken. World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley said that WFP is providing food to nearly 100 million people on any given day. According to WFP, the 10 countries with the worst food crises in 2019 were Yemen, Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, Sudan, Nigeria and Haiti. Beasley raised the prospect of a hunger pandemic because there is also a real danger that more people could potentially die from the economic impact of Covid-19 than from the virus itself. Lockdowns and economic recession are expected to lead to major income losses for the working poor.

Arabic Collections Online (ACO) is a publicly available digital library of public domain Arabic language content. ACO currently provides digital access to 13,224 volumes across 7,842 subjects drawn from rich Arabic collections of distinguished research libraries. As reported recently, Arabic Collections Online usage jumped 700% in March due to closures of libraries around the world.

According to Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, the board and management of NMC Healthcare should be held accountable for the financial irregularities. It is estimated that more than 80 local, regional and international banks have exposure to healthcare firm. The UAE banks last week announced nearly Dh10 billion exposure to NMC Healthcare. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has the highest exposure to NMC at Dh3 billion. Dubai Islamic Bank and its subsidiary Noor Bank announced Dh2 billion exposure while Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic Bank disclosed Dh747.34 million exposure. NMC recently revised its debt position to $6.6 billion, well above earlier estimates. London's High Court last week placed hospital operator NMC Health into administration, on the application of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom thanked Saudi Arabia for donating 500 million dollars to support the international efforts in combating and preventing the spread of novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). Saudi Arabia will allocate 150 million dollars to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, 150 million dollars to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations and 200 million dollars to the other international and regional health organizations and programs. The novel Coronavirus has killed more than 150,000 people worldwide and infected over 2.2 million people in 193 countries and territories.