IslamicFinance.de

Organisé régulièrement dans plusieurs pays, l’Islamic Banking Qualification Program IBQ ® se délocalise à Genève pour une session exceptionnelle les 13-14-15 juin 2016. L’IBQ est une certification internationale dédiée aux principes et pratiques bancaires islamiques. Cette formation en langue française vise à permettre aux professionnels de la finance de comprendre et/ou d’intégrer le secteur bancaire islamique. La formation est d’une durée de 25 heures structurées sous le mode de workshop interactif avec des présentations et études de cas précédées par des lectures.

Oil prices and regional tensions have taken their toll on the Islamic finance sector. Sharia-compliant funds suffered their worst sales in four years, falling more than 74 percent on 2014’s figures. But Magali Mouquet, executive director responsible for IR at Emirates REIT, says that as one of only three sharia-compliant real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the world, adhering to Islamic finance principles has brought only opportunities to the Dubai-based trust. Mouquet says other investors – those perhaps looking for an SRI angle rather than a focus on Islamic finance principles – are also interested in the trust, which offers ‘guaranteed transparency’.

GCC government officials confirmed that value-added tax (VAT) will be introduced as of January 1, 2018, a statement from EY said at the conclusion of the EY-hosted annual MENA Tax Conference in Dubai on March 16. The MENA tax conference featured a session on preparing for VAT in the GCC, providing status updates on the tax implementation and the actions that companies in the region need to take. The introduction of VAT will diversify government revenue sources and reduce reliance on oil revenues to finance government expenditures. The additional revenues collected are likely to fund programs for the development of job opportunities for nationals and improve education and healthcare in the GCC.

The idea of privatizing Saudi Aramco, the national hydrocarbons giant in Saudi Arabia, appears to have re-kindled the privatization fire in the Middle East. While the announcement of what could theoretically be the largest initial public offering (IPO) ever envisaged startled even seasoned market observers, its modalities and timeline remain unclear. Indeed, privatization was not on the agenda of regional governments until a few months ago, when the fiscal situation of some Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries started to deteriorate due to falling oil prices. The last few years have witnessed a virtual halt in privatization activity across the Arab world due to bad experiences with previous experiments and the perception of corruption and insider dealings.

Saudi Arabia’s investment banking regulator is telling international banks to publicly disclose financial statements for the first time as the kingdom seeks to boost transparency. The Capital Markets Authority is requiring financial institutions it regulates to publish the information on their websites from April 1. The CMA has said firms must also disclose senior executives’ pay and significant risk factors. The only banks which need to disclose financial statements now are the 12 publicly traded domestic lenders regulated by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. The disclosure will give insight into how much money banks are making amid a slowdown in economic growth, as well as the cost of employing top executives.

In order to foster the growth of Islamic mutual fund industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has revised the investment parameters for Shariah Compliant open end collective investment schemes. The Commission allowed the Islamic mutual funds to include the Government of Pakistan Ijarah Sukuk not exceeding 90 days remaining maturity in cash and near cash instruments requirement. Shariah Compliant open end collective investments schemes has not seen the issuance of short term Islamic Government papers like T-Bills, therefore, Government Ijarah Sukuk having remaining maturity of 90 days or less is the only viable and available avenue for investment in cash and near cash equivalent.

Management theorist Michael Porter says business is entering a new, third stage in its relationship with society. First, there was philanthropy: Companies made money doing bad things, but then gave some of their earnings to good causes. Second, there was corporate responsibility (or minimizing harm): Companies tried to do fewer bad things. And now companies are working (or should work) on actual solutions: products and services that serve social problems. There are huge unmet needs in the world today. The question now is how to get capitalism to operate at its best because capitalism is fundamentally the best way to meet needs. If you can meet needs at a profit, you can scale, he said.

Saudi Arabia's banking sector is to feel the brunt of cheap oil and the resulting government spending cuts, according to a new report by Moody's. The credit rating agency has downgraded the banking industry from stable to negative as GDP growth is predicted to slow to just 1.5 per cent in 2016, more than half of the previous year. As a result, the agency has predicted loan growth to slow down to between 3 per cent and 5 per cent for 2016, down from from 8 per cent in 2015 and 12 per cent the year before. Asset risk is also expected to rise as a result of the deteriorating operating environment. Meanwhile, capital buffers are likely to remain solid with the sector's average tangible common equity (TCE) ratio remaining broadly stable.

Alinma Jeddah Economic City Fund has secured shari'a compliant financing of up to SAR 3.6 Billion from Alinma Bank on December 10 2015. Formulating the financial model of the project with Alinma Bank was finalized based on a financing strategy that fulfills the project's needs in accordance with the first business plan covering the first phase of the project which is expected to take five years. The objective of the financing is to provide funding to build and develop the infrastructure for phase one of Jeddah Economic City project and to continue the construction of Jeddah Tower.

His Excellency Khaled Mohamed Al-Aboodi, CEO of The Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD) is in India to explore possibilities of expanding the Group activities and interests in India. H.E. Khaled Al-Aboodi’s will explore the possibilities of setting up Interest Free Banking in India, long term solution of accommodating Indian pilgrims, pilgrim education on rituals of Hajj and an initiative of Medical Mobile Units for use in Rural India on behalf of IDB Group. The ICD has decided to launch a US $ 1 billion fund for financing the construction and is in continuous discussion with the Consulate General of India in Jeddah who has been provided with a draft MOU for co-operation.

On 2 March 2016, the Luxembourg Court of Appeal has denied an appeal filed by Dr. Adil Elias, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt and a handful of other creditors of BCCI against a judgment previously rendered by the Luxembourg Commercial Court, which had refused to reopen the liquidation proceedings of Bank of Credit and Commerce International S.A. (“BCCI S.A.”) and BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg) S.A. (“BCCI Holdings”). Back in July 1991, the Luxembourg, English and Cayman Islands regulators undertook a joint action to close down the operations of the BCCI banking group, and in all three jurisdictions, joint liquidators were appointed to deal with one of the largest bankruptcies of a banking institution ever.

GFH Capital has agreed to acquire a market leading bread and sweets producer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for a transaction value of US$50 million. The Company was established in 1984 and is a leading industrial scale producer of bread and sweets, employing 300 staff and supplying to over 3,000 clients across the Kingdom through its distribution network. The Company has reported strong, consistent growth year after year with revenues increasing at a CAGR of 11% between 2010 and 2014. The company is expected to maintain this level of growth over the investment period. GFH’s strategy is focused on investing in cash yielding opportunities in defensive sectors that have sound growth potential.

Financing needs for the GCC countries are estimated at USD 151.3 billion this year, according to M.R. Raghu, Head of Research at Markaz and Managing Director of Marmore MENA Intelligence. These funding requirements are expected to come from reserves (52%), USD 57.7 bn from domestic and international bond issuances (38%) and the rest through loans (10%). Overall, GCC governments are expected to raise between USD 285-390 billion cumulatively through 2020 through local and international bonds. Raghu said low oil prices have altered the fiscal landscape of GCC countries as the prized fiscal surplus registered in erstwhile years has flipped into large scale deficits to the tune of USD 160 bn in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is set to initiate talks with the Reserve Bank of India to allow them to introduce Islamic Financing in India. Islamic finace refers to the ways by which corporations who are a part of the IDB group, including banks and other lending institutions, raise capital in accordance with or Islamic law. IDB is also looking at starting interest-free banking in the country wherein instead of extending cash loans, the lender buys and leases the product for which the loan is required. And it earns rental on it.

A report launched by Thomson Reuters on Friday -- called "Indonesia Islamic Finance: Prospects for Exponential Growth" -- says the country's shariah finance industry recorded 559 trillion rupiah ($42.3 billion) in assets as of 2014, merely 3% of the country's financial industry assets overall. However, while the total financial sector's assets grew by 42% during the 2010-2014 period, assets for shariah finance surged by 139%. Boosted by government infrastructure spending and road maps for development of shariah finance, Indonesia's Islamic finance sector is expected to record double growth over the next five years.

Meethaq organised a series of meetings to highlight the role of Islamic finance in the economic development of Oman. The Shua’a initiative by Meethaq to raise awareness on Islamic economics was attended by members of the Majlis Ash’shura Economic Committee. A similar meeting held in the Higher Judicial Institute in Nizwa was attended by scholars, researchers, entrepreneurs and students. The meetings addressed by senior Meethaq officials covered a wide gamut of areas, including savings account, asset management and project finance. Meethaq is focused on developing as a benchmark Islamic financial institution in Oman and the region.

China is preparing for an unprecedented overhaul in how it treats its trillions in non-performing loans. They officially amount to $614 billion but are realistically anywhere between 8% and 20% of China's total $35 trillion in bank assets. It is the unknown treatment of these NPLs that has been the greatest threat to China's just as vast deposit base amounting to well over $20 trillion, which has been the fundamental catalyst behind China's record capital flight as depositors have been eager to move their savings as far from China's domestic banks as possible. As a result, China is reportedly preparing regulations that would allow commercial banks to swap non-performing loans of companies for stakes in those firms.

Financial Services Authority held an exhibition of Islamic financial products and services of Islamic Financial Fair (KSF) 2016 in Jakarta Gandaria City Mall in an effort to continuously introduce and bring people to the products and service of Islamic finance. KSF is also done in launch Working Group named SiKOMPAK Syariah (Synergy Communications and Marketing Joint of Islamic Finance) which is a joint program of the OJK and the Islamic Financial Industry in marketing Islamic financial products and services. In addition, OJK also launched Standard Book for Islamic Banking products such as Murabaha, Musharaka products and Musharaka Mutanaqisah.

Indonesia is likely to defeat Turkey to host the Islamic Development Bank’s (IDB) headquarters, a spokesman of the bank has said. Indonesia's strategic position and role during the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit were two driving factors behind the decision. IDB Indonesia country director Ibrahim Shoukry said the bank had committed to investing US$1.2 billion on projects in Indonesia over five years. Indonesia, he further said, had some advantages over Turkey due to its prospective market in Asia, which is healthier than Turkey's main market, Europe. Indonesia’s market will be broader due to the ASEAN Economic Community.

The Republic of Indonesia begins global roadshows on Thursday for a new global sukuk deal, its first benchmark borrowing of the year in the offshore markets. The prospective Reg S/144a transaction is being led by CIMB, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered. A few weeks ahead of the roadshow, Robert Pakpahan, Indonesia's director general of budget financing and risk management, spoke about the sovereign's funding plans for the year. Pakpahan says he hopes declining oil prices and shrinking investment funds from the Middle East will not affect the pricing prospects for the new deal.