IslamicFinance.de

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) plans to maintain growth and pay off some of its old debt. The board of ADIB is recommending to increase the bank’s issued capital through more than a Dh1.16 billion rights issue. The proposed deal includes issuing 464 million new shares at a nominal face value of Dh1 per share. The bank’s board has also proposed the issuance of a $750m (Dh2.75 billion) perpetual tier 1 sukuk, and the repayment of its $1bn hybrid tier 1 sukuk issued in 2012. ADIB’s vice-chairman Khamis Buharoon said the pace of the bank's growth has been fast, increasing its number of customers to 1 million in the UAE, nearly double the number it had five years ago. He noted that the bank was raising capital to maintain its growth trajectory, while maintaining a capital buffer.

Bahrain’s Bank Alkhair has sold its majority stake in Turkish investment firm Alkhair Capital, as the lender exits some markets. Bank Alkhair entered the Turkish market a decade ago, acquiring an initial 75% stake in the investment firm. The bank has faced a challenging business environment over the past year and is currently streamlining its business lines. Additionally, the bank sold its stake in Pakistani lender Burj Bank and in 2017 the firm upgraded its business licence in the UAE and expanded its capital markets business in Saudi Arabia in a bid to focus on other markets. Now Bank Alkhair has received approval to transfer its 95.79% stake in Alkhair Capital to Ankara-based A1 Capital. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), private wealth in the UAE saw positive growth between 2016 and 2017 of 8% and this growth is projected to remain steady over the next five years. Private wealth is expected to reach $590 billion in investable assets by 2022. The main drivers were the bull market environment in all major economies and the significant strengthening of most major currencies against the dollar. While offshore share is expected to decline over the next five years from 30% in 2017 to 24.1% in 2022, it will continue to grow to reach $140 billion in the UAE in the same period. The report also showed that personal wealth in the Middle East rose by 11% to $3.8 trillion in 2017, a significant increase compared with the rate for the previous five years.

Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed to deliver a keynote address, via teleconferencing, at the three-day Sarajevo Halal Fair. Bosna Bank International's CEO Amer Bukvic announced that the fair would begin on the 27. of September and he invited more Malaysian companies to set up business in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bukvic added that the country aims to become Europe’s halal hub and they need help from Malaysia. The Sarajevo Halal Fair is jointly organised by Bosna Bank International, Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank Group Business Forum and supported by Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corporation.

Fintech has permeated the Islamic banking industry and this development is particularly evident in Indonesia. In July 2018, the country's deputy finance minister Mardiasmo plugged the term "Shariah fintech" in reference to financial technology that is compliant with Islamic laws and beliefs. The market share of Islamic finance remains at less than 5% of the total finance and banking market. There is tremendous potential, but there are some impediments blocking its growth. One is the presumption that certain fintech tools might not be compliant with Shariah law. Cryptocurrency was initially deemed as a violation of Shariah principles. However, in April 2018, Muslim scholar Muhammad Abu-Bakar, released a study exploring the functionalities of Bitcoin, concluding that it did indeed meet the requirements. Indonesia’s OJK (Financial Services Authority) is releasing a new set of regulations to govern the country’s fintech scene, set to come into effect in August 2018. These rules will extend to Shariah-compliant fintech tools as well.

Noor Bank has launched Noor Wealth, a Shari’ah-compliant platform offering tailored product mixes. Noor Wealth targets customers with a minimum of AED 367,300 of assets under management or a minimum salary of AED 50,000. The bank offers mutual funds among other 10 lenders in the GCC and it also offers access to fixed-income products through its Sukuk platform and Islamic structured products. Noor Wealth collaborates with Knight Frank to offer global physical real estate services for its customers. Mufazzal Kajiji, Head of Retail Banking at Noor Bank, said that Noor Wealth currently serves clients from 10 countries and is in the process of expanding.

The net income of listed companies in the GCC Islamic insurance sector has nearly halved in 2017 to $375m, from $674m in 2016. The decline in 2017 net income was mainly driven by weaker results in the Saudi Arabian insurance sector. S&P Global Ratings believes that medium-term growth prospects in the sector remain satisfactory given relatively low penetration levels. It expects Islamic insurance to remain profitable overall in 2018. The ratings agency also observes strengthening capital levels. The Islamic insurance industry in GCC countries outside Saudi Arabia recorded an increase in net income by about 832% to $82m in 2017 from$9m in 2016. Also, there was an increase of more than 60% in first-quarter 2018 compared with the same period last year. This improvement was mainly driven by better results in the UAE.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has issued the Rahn policy document which is aimed at strengthening the practice among Islamic financial institutions to offer services that are end-to-end Shariah-compliant. BNM stated that the subject matter of the Rahn contract shall be collateral that is recognised by Shariah and Shariah-compliant liability or obligation owing to the pledgee. It added that the collateral must be owned either by the obligor, a third party, or the obligor and a third party. BNM said the collateral shall be immediately possessed by the pledgee upon entering into the Rahn contract unless a pledgee approves a delay in possession. A Rahn contract is applicable with contracts including qard, murabahah, tawarruq, baiinah, istisna, ijarah, kafalah, mudarabah, musyarakah, wakalah bi al-istithmar, and wad as well as takaful coverage.

According to Moody's Investor Service, the Malaysian government is increasingly using longer-term Islamic instruments to fund its deficit to lower liquidity risk. The shift toward Islamic financial instruments is seen as credit positive for the sovereign. The Malaysian government has a sizable debt burden currently at 50.8% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The Malaysian Government Investment Issues (MGII), local currency, Shariah-compliant debt instruments, accounted for 50% of total federal government financing in 2017, up from a 26.4% share in 2008. The country's active participation in Islamic finance is part of Malaysia's broader vision to position itself as an international center for the instrument, and a recognized goal in the central bank's financial sector master plan.

During the global financial crisis many experts pointed out that Shariah compliant shares had performed much better than those which were not. However, once the world emerged from the crisis, the Shariah All-World index has consistently underperformed its conventional counterpart. A conventional investor who is selecting shares from the complete universe of shares will, on average, outperform a Shariah compliant investor who selects shares only from the Shariah compliant subset of the universe. The conventional investor is always free to buy high quality Shariah compliant shares, but the Shariah compliant investor can never buy high quality non-Shariah compliant shares. This is simply a fact of life to be accepted.

La Société internationale islamique de financement du commerce du Groupe de la Banque islamique de développement (BID) est satisfaite de sa coopération avec le Cameroun. Aliou Barki Kane et le ministre camerounais en charge de l’Economie, Alamine Ousmane Mey ont passé en revue le portefeuille de coopération avec la BID. Aliou Barki Kane a déclaré que 560 millions de dollars ont été tous décaissés, remboursés et les bénéfices ont été mesurés à travers les intrants agricoles et également la commercialisation du coton à travers la Sodecoton. Barki Kane a ajouté que la coopération avec le Cameroun a été fructueuse et les fonds ont été mis à la disposition des bénéficiaires finaux.

India has reportedly approved a proposal from Bank Pasargad of Iran to open a branch in Mumbai. The Federation of Indian Export Organizations had earlier objected the entry of Iranian banks into India. In the wake of new US sanctions, India may explore the possibility of reviving the rupee-rial arrangement to import oil from Iran that it has used in the past. The presence of an Iranian bank in India will ensure the smooth flow of funds between the two countries. US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the UN Security Council. Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) invited Bahrain's Ahli United Bank (AUB) to begin a due diligence process for a potential merger. KFH also asked AUB to sign a non-disclosure agreement. If the merger goes ahead, it would be the latest of several recent tie-ups to create bigger and stronger lenders in an over-banked region. If the merger proceeds, the total assets of the two banks would be $90.57 billion, making it the sixth largest bank in the Gulf. The agreement to begin due diligence demonstrates seriousness in the deal process and backing from the lenders' major shareholders. The major shareholders in the two lenders are Kuwait state-owned entities.

RAM Ratings has downgraded Kuveyt Turk's long-term rating to A1/Stable from AA3/Negative. The rating of KT Kira Sertifikalari Varlik Kiralama’s RM2.0 billion Islamic MTN Programme (2015/2025) has been revised downwards to A1(s)/Stable from AA3(s)/Negative. The Bank’s short-term financial institution rating remains unchanged at P1. The rating actions were triggered by the downgrade of Turkey’s sovereign ratings to gBB2(pi)/Stable/gNP(pi) from gBBB3(pi)/Negative/gP3(pi), due to an erosion of the country’s fiscal discipline. Kuveyt Turk has a relatively favourable funding profile, with a moderate reliance on market-based funding compared to the industry norm. The bank’s customer deposit base is well diversified. The bank’s liquidity profile is robust, with an average liquidity coverage ratio of 230% in fiscal year 2017.

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) held a public hearing of two of its standards hosted by Banque du Liban (BDL) (Central bank of Lebanon) in Beirut, Lebanon. AAOIFI also held its 10th meeting of the AAOIFI Accounting Board (AAB), where the Board deliberated on the Exposure Draft on Ijarah and Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek, and the Standards Review and Revision Project. Several public hearings for AAOIFI standards have earlier taken place in Bahrain, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and future public hearings will be held during 2018 in different parts of the world to obtain industry feedback on other exposure drafts already issued by AAOIFI.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is seeking to hold talks with Bahrain's Ahli United Bank (AUB) for a potential merger. This would create an Islamic lender with about $92 billion of assets, six months after negotiations broke down. KFH sent a letter inviting Ahli United to sign a memorandum of understanding and a non-disclosure agreement to start valuation studies. The deal may provide a boost to debt-laden Bahrain, as the country struggles to cope with lower oil prices. According to Joice Mathew, the head of equity research at United Securities, the integration of business could be challenging because of the geographical dispersion of their assets and combination of Islamic and conventional banking.

Saudi Arabia’s new bankruptcy law will come into effect in late August and aims to attract foreign and domestic investment in private businesses. The new law is designed to outline bankruptcy proceedings and will offer protection to creditors and embattled companies seeking to conduct their affairs without fear of asset seizure. According to lawyer Dario Najm, an associate in Ahmad bin Hezeem & Associates, the new law allows indebted corporations to maintain their operations while gradually settling their debts. Creditors and debtors will enter into agreements on debt payment schedules. When implemented, the law will be the sole regulation covering bankruptcy, effectively replacing previous rules passed in 1996.

Islamic trade finance is poised for change with the launch of new products and common standards. Islamic banks have been laggards in trade finance but some see a business opportunity here. According to the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), digital tools such as blockchain can support this by helping to lower costs and speed up sharia-compliant transactions. Islamic trade finance is estimated at around $186 billion, compared to the $4.4 trillion worth of trade finance activity in Muslim-majority countries. Some firms are now introducing digital Islamic trade finance platforms. Emirates Islamic Bank has already launched its online supply chain tool. There is also a push towards standardisation of practices. The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) and the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) are developing standard documentation for both Islamic-funded and unfunded trade finance deals.

Kuwait International Bank (KIB) closed a $250 million 3-year syndicated Murabaha financing facility. The financing was concluded with a consortium of international and local banks that includes Standard Chartered Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, National Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Finance House and Boubyan Bank. The ceremony to mark the occasion was attended by KIB's top management led by Mohamed Said El Saka, Deputy Chief Executive Officer & Acting CEO. He said that this new facility will help KIB continue pursuing its strategic objectives to strengthen the Bank’s position as a leading Islamic bank in Kuwait.

BIMB Invest is expected to achieve a subscription of RM100 million of its BIMB-Arabesque ValueCAP Malaysia Shariah-ESG Equity Fund within a year. The fund was launched together with Arabesque Asset Management and ValueCAP and approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia. As the fund is mainly targeted at corporate and institutional investors, BIMB Invest is hoping to get the likes of pension funds, insurance and takaful firms on board. The fund will invest in about 100 local listed companies that are Shariah-compliant as well as in line with ESG practices. It will analyse the ESG factors of each company using Arabesque’s proprietary methodology, the Arabesque S-Ray, which daily assesses the performance of companies.