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An agreement between Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) and Al Hilal Bank for a year-round tree-planting programme in the UAE was signed.
The aim of the partnership is to establish a sense of environmental awareness and responsibility among children. Existing and new customers of Al Hilal Bank will be encouraged to open a Seghaar savings account for their children to be worthy of planting a tree bearing their name.

It seems that Abdulla Al Hamli, Dubai Islamic Bank's chief executive officer, resigned from the board of Gulf Finance House. Apparently he has decided to focus on his duties at Dubai Islamic.

Following the failure of the company to supply details on how it plans to repay $1 billion of sukuk maturing in October, Dana Gas Islamic bonds surged to a record.
Dana Gas shares fell 2.2 per cent, the most in more than a week.
It seems that the company's board considered updates on its stake in Mol Nyrt as well as on financing projects in Egypt and the UAE.

Bank Sarasin-Alpen won the Best Islamic Wealth Manager award at the Islamic Business and Finance Awards 2011 that took place at the Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai on 13th December, 2011 and was managed by CPI Financial. The award was handed to Rohit Walia, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Bank Sarasin-Alpen Group and Mahboob Murshed, Managing Director.
Bank Sarasin-Alpen offers a complete range of first class private banking and investment advisory solutions to private and institutional clients in GCC and South Asia.

The Best Islamic Wealth Manager award was given to Bank Sarasin-Alpen at the Islamic Business and Finance Awards 2011 organized by CPI Financial, publisher of Islamic Business and Finance magazine. The award was accepted by Rohit Walia, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Bank Sarasin-Alpen Group and Mahboob Murshed, Managing Director at a ceremony held at the Emirates Towers Hotel, Dubai on 13th December, 2011.
Bank Sarasin-Alpen offers a complete range of first class private banking and investment advisory solutions to private and institutional clients in GCC and South Asia.

Pakistan International Airlines Corp (PIA) raised $90 million (Dh330 million) through an Islamic syndicated fin-ancing facility.
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Citibank, and United Bank Limited organized the facility being the mandated lead arrangers and joint bookrunners.
Clifford Chance and Haidermota & Co was the legal counsel to the arrangers, PIA being represented by Mandviwalla & Zafar.

Nakheel made payments to the tune of ?Dh7.3 billion ($2 billion) to its trade creditors.
Nakheel will launch another Dh1 billion of sukuk before the end of this year as part of its Dh59 billion restructuring deal with trade creditors.
Under the company’s restructuring plan, the developer has presented trade creditors repayment of 40 per cent cash and the remaining 60 % in the form of sukuk.
Bank creditors will be offered an interest rate of four per cent over London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) and repayment after five years.

A Master’s of Management Finance degree program will be opened this coming spring at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business from Dubai.
The program will mainly focus on conventional finance.

Tamweel hired banks for a possible bond sale as it looking for financing to repay liabilities and increase lending. The shares presented a jumprecord in a month.
Citigroup, Standard Chartered and Dubai Islamic Bank will make appointments for investor meetings in Asia, Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
Tamweel plans to raise at least $300 million to $500 million from Islamic bond sale in the fourth quarter.

According to Ernst & Young's inaugural World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2011, Islamic banking's market share of all banking assets in Gulf extanded over the 25 per cent threshold in 2011.
The report forseen that Mena Islamic banking assets with commercial banks will more than double to $990 billion by 2015 as Islamic banks compete for mainstream customers who are open to Islamic or conventional banking.

Reuters published a report that stated that Dubai Group has not made any interest payments, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, on $10bn of its outstanding debt since August 2010. The report added that no financial support from Dubai authorities has been offered.
It seems that at this point, Dubai Group’s assets could be worth as little as $2.5-3bn.

The Takaful industry in the UAE has had a remarkable growth over the last five years, with seven Takaful companies currently operating in the UAE and five new Takaful providers set to launch shortly.
Experts from the local Takaful industry discussed whether the rise of Takaful companies are improving or salvaging the local insurance market, at the 8th Middle East Insurex 2011.
The Middle East Insurex 2011 took place under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Industry, U.A.E.

Global sales of Islamic bonds were almost double in October as progress toward a resolution to Europe’s debt crisis helps push yields to a one-month low.
Khazanah Nasional Bhd., a Malaysian state-owned investment company, Kuala Lumpur-based Property Holdings Bhd. and Turkish Islamic bank Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi AS have sold global bonds that fulfill Islam’s ban on interest this month.

The Dubai Court of Appeal maintained a lower court’s verdict sentencing four businessmen and two former bank executives to ten-year imprisonment and payment of Dh1.8 billion in fine jointly for swindling Dubai Islamic Bank.
The appellate court panel, presided by Judge Moustapha Shinawi, supported all aspects of the primary conviction of the defendants in the Dh1.8 billion fraud case (more than $500 million).
The verdict could be appealed at the Court of Cassation in term of 30 days.
According to the prosecution records, three other defendants succeeded to defraud the DIB of more than $500 million.

It seems that HSBC Amanah anticipates a pipeline of 30 new Islamic funds to raise its assets under management for serviced funds to $10 billion.
Germain Birgen, global head of securities services, stated that the bank currently services 90 Islamic funds worth roughly $5 billion in assets. He added that 30 new funds are forseen to be launched within the next 12 to 18 months.
He underlined the fact that there is also an increasing trend in the industry for Islamic fund managers in traditional Muslim markets to start international domiciled funds in Singapore and Luxembourg, to take advantage of better financial regulations and draw more conventional investors.

Dubai Bank was saved by Emirates NBD under instructions from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler. Dubai Bank is owned by the government, which also has a 55% stake in Emirates NBD.
Rick Pudner, CEO of ENBD, stated that Dubai Bank will be capitalized by ENBD to the extent considered necessary.

Emirates NBD is taking into consideration the opening of a representative offices in China and a number of Asia Pacific countries and the expantion of its Islamic banking operations in the region, joining an increasing number of Middle Eastern lenders looking for a larger presence in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Emirates NBD already opened a branch in Singapore where it gives the opportunity of wholesale banking, treasury and wealth management services to take advantage of increasing trade flows between South East Asia and the Middle East.

The first-ever Code of Corporate Governance for SMEs was launched by Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in the presence of HE Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, the UAE Minister of Economy, Mr. Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Economic Development (DED); and Mr. Abdul Baset Al Janahi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai SME.
The launch took place during the first-ever Conference for Corporate Governance for SMEs held by Dubai SME. The primary purpose of the conference is to develop awareness among Dubai’s SMEs the importance of embracing corporate governance early.

Tamweel will launch a $300-$500 million sukuk in the fourth quarter. The statement was given by Varun Sood, the acting chief executive of Tamweel.
He added that they are depending on the fact that there is demand for Islamic paper.
Three banks were chosen for the sukuk, but no details were given.

Nakheel revealed the fact that he wants to construct 102 beachfront townhouses on the Palm Jumeirah, and at the same time the company exposed that the value of its sukuk is undervalued on the marketplace.
Rashid Ali, Nakheel’s chairman, stated that its aim is to have the same as last year. He also added that Nakheel is confident of delivering new projects over the next few years.
Although Nakheel has successfully completed its financial restructuring, it is aspiring to extend its retail business and increase community services such as the expansion of Dragon Mart Mall and the construction of two new Neighborhood Community Centers.