IslamicFinance.de

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has successfully completed a secondary market transaction using TradeAssets, a blockchain-powered trade finance e-marketplace. TradeAssets developed its blockchain-powered trade finance platform with an initial focus on secondary market transactions. In 2019, the company launched the platform with 25 banks, most of them in emerging markets such as Bangladesh. Currently, the platform has over 150 members with many of them being from the Middle East.

Richard Fleming, Mark Firmin and Ben Cairns of Alvarez & Marsal Europe have been appointed joint administrators of Abu Dhabi-based NMC Health. In February the company uncovered $335m (£258m) in previously undisclosed loans to related parties, and a further investigation by PwC unearthed over $2.7bn (£2bn) in undisclosed debt. The administrators have replaced the NMC board, stating that an immediate priority is to implement corporate governance changes in the group. In February, the Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation into NMC's activities after the company's shares were suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Ayman Amin Sejiny has been the chief executive officer of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) since October 2018. The ICD is the private sector arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank Group. Recently, ICD announced a rapid response initiative to combat the repercussions of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) by allocating $250 million in emergency funding. ICD will aid the private health care industries of affected member countries. ICD will also work closely with more than 100 local and regional financial institutions so that they can continue to finance small- and medium-sized enterprises.

NMC Health's biggest creditors have set up a coordinating committee, taking a major step toward restructuring the $6.6 billion debt of the hospital operator. The company asked Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) to chair a coordinating committee of debtholders. Deloitte and Clifford Chance have been appointed to advise the committee while Lazard will work with its chair. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Barclays and Standard Chartered will join Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to form an initial steering group that will lead talks with NMC. NMC is being run by administrators Alvarez & Marsal after succumbing to creditor demands. NMC Health was suspended in February amid allegations of fraud. It has revealed more than $4 billion of undisclosed borrowings, pushing its total debt to $6.6 billion.

The administrators of troubled hospital operator NMC Health have announced a new board of directors. Previous board members, including executive chairman Faisal Belhoul have been removed. The move came after London's High Court on Thursday placed NMC Health into administration, on the application of one of its biggest lenders, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). Michael Brenden Davis remains as interim chief executive officer and chief operating officer, but does not sit on the company's board.

The Zoya mobile application screens US-listed stocks based on criteria issued by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions. US-based Wahed Invest also uses those criteria to help tens of thousands of people invest "ethically". Islamic bankers are hoping that modern platforms will open the industry up to young investors, and that its innately ethical credentials will prove to be another draw. According to Mohammed al-Sehli, CEO of Wethaq Capital, the emphasis has been on growing the market rather than making it more efficient. The sector must focus more on innovation after suffering from lack of innovation, standardisation and automation of processes.

Abu Dhabi's biggest healthcare company is heading for administration as the company revealed it had been unable to secure an agreement on its debt. NMC Health has made a series of damaging disclosures in the past few months after a report by activist investor Muddy Waters in December alleged it inflated cash balances, overpaid for assets and understated its debt. Following the disclosures, chairmen and executives departed from the firm. According to a disclosure from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), NMC Health owes money to more than 80 local, regional and international lenders. ADCB said it expects joint administrators to launch a full, transparent and independent investigation into the company's affairs and the misrepresentation of its finances.

Countries and communities around the world are working to contain COVID-19 and mitigate its effects. Religious communities use digital tools, such as Zoom, to host services, lead classes on spiritual cultivation, and build community amidst mosque closures. North American Muslims change funerary rites in response to the contagious nature of COVID-19. Ulama’ of Al-Azhar University issue fatwa banning congregational prayers.

Healthcare company NMC Health failed to reach agreement with its creditors. Its major lender, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) has filed an application in the UK's High Court requesting the company be placed into administration. ADCB’s exposure to NMC amounts to around $981m. US short seller Muddy Waters raised questions about the company’s true level of debt in December. In February the stock was suspended after the investigation turned up inconsistencies in its finances and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority opened an investigation into the business.

The crisis surrounding NMC Health widened, as the struggling hospital operator rejected a call to be put into administration and United Arab Emirates’ banks disclosed more than $2 billion of exposure. The next chapter opens Thursday when a U.K. court is scheduled to hear Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC’s bid to place NMC into the hands of administrators. With a market value of $2.4 billion and total debt of $6.6 billion, NMC now faces an investigation by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is organising an online workshop on Financial Inclusion and Islamic Finance based on the IFSB’s recent Standard, Technical Note 3 (TN-3) on 21 April 2020 at 4.30pm (Malaysian Time). This is part of the workshop series that is aimed to create flexibility and enhance the participants understanding of the IFSB standards and guiding principles. TN-3 underscores the importance of financial inclusion, due to its intricate connection with economic growth, shared prosperity and poverty reduction. The IFSB invites all of its member organisations and market players to participate in this e-workshop on Financial Inclusion and Islamic Finance.
For more information on this and other FIS e-workshop series please visit https://www.ifsb.org/event_detail.php?e_id=427

Making moral and religious investment decisions is right, but does not change the world. Shariah compliant screening of stock market investments enables investors to invest in accordance with their religious beliefs, but that is all it does. To combat the harm from alcohol, for example, requires other policies. Divestment campaigns do achieve one thing. That is to increase publicity about the issue concerned, whether that is climate change in the case of oil companies, or deaths from smoking in the case of tobacco companies. The ethical and religious reasons for divestment should not be ignored, since they matter to the individual shareholder. However ethical investors should not deceive themselves to believing that divestment will result in change in circumstances when it will not.

Impact investing activity in Asia has grown quickly, but it will be a challenge to maintain the pace of scaling due to the complex and widely heterogeneous landscape of the region. Crowdfunding has been identified as a potential solution to match the demands and risk appetite of investors to the needs of operators. A case study on Music Securities is used to highlight the key benefits and risks of such an impact investing model. Formulating appropriate and efficient policies and increasing awareness among investors will also be crucial in promoting impact investing activity.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group has set-up a special Strategic Preparedness and Response Facility worth $730 million to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID -19 pandemic. The IsDB Group stated that its entities will support the private sector in responding to the crisis and to minimise its impact on SMEs to sustain economic development. Additionally, the Islamic Cooperation for Development (ICD) shall provide $250 million of emergency funding mainly in the form of medium to long-term financing instruments to help affected sectors. ICD will also be aiding the private healthcare industry of affected member-countries to meet surging need for services, equipment and medicine.

Leaders of the most powerful countries in the world will today come together in a virtual summit organized by the Saudi Arabia G20 presidency to tackle the accelerating coronavirus crisis. Among world leaders expected to participate in the meeting are US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The World Health Organization, the UN, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are among the international organizations that will take part, as well as other development organizations. Saudi Arabia’s efforts at global coordination will continue after the virtual summit. Another forum of G20 finance ministers is planned for next month, as well as a virtual gathering of G20 health ministers.

A grocery delivery app in Saudi Arabia has raised funds to expand across the Middle East as lockdown measures related to the coronavirus boost demand for online shopping. The Nana app raised $18 million from investors including venture capital fund STV and Middle East Venture Partners. Dubai-based start-up ecosystem enabler Wamda also participated in the investment round, along with Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), Impact46 and Watar Partners. Nana founder Sami Alhelwah said the penetration of online grocery shopping in the region is very low and the target is to expand across the region and beyond groceries into other products. Nana wants to become the Amazon of the Middle East and wants to be one of the first technology companies listed in Saudi Arabia.

Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group has announced donations worth Dh13 million aimed at supporting the healthcare sector and schools in Dubai to support the country amidst the global coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. The Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group Charity Foundation announced a Dh3 million donation to support the UAE's distance learning initiative at public and non-profit schools in Dubai. The Group also donated Dh10 million to support the Dubai Health Authority's preventive measures against the novel coronavirus. Furthermore, Al Gurg Group has offered tenants of its residential buildings the option of postponing rent payment for three months.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has set up an emergency funding line to tackle the coronavirus crisis. The Strategic Preparedness and Response Facility with a volume of $730mn is established in order to support the member countries and to mitigate the negative health and socio-economic impact of the pandemic. The emergency funding includes $280mn from the IsDB’s Bank and Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development to be used for sovereign projects and programmes, $300mn from IsDB’s division International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to support trade finance among member countries, as well as $150mn to be applied to insurance coverage.

Countries and communities around the world are working to contain COVID-19 and mitigate its effects. The following digest represents a variety of sources in which Islamic law was invoked in the decision making process.
Kuwait amends the adhan to urge prayer at home amidst mosque closures. Egypt closes all mosques, nationwide, in light of COVID-19. Mosques from Istanbul to Mogadishu wrestle with decisions to close in light of coronavirus.
Worshippers around the world risk infection with communal prayer, defying orders to pray at home.

Islamic fintech firms in the Southeast Asian region are providing digital services with wide appeal. The services—especially peer-to-peer financing and crowdfunding—can easily be used by the world’s 1.9 billion Muslims, and the tech-savvy firms are able to compete well with conventional Islamic banks. For example, Alami has a sharia-compliant P2P service to link funders with small and medium-sized businesses in Indonesia. So far, the company has steered P2P funding into over 30 businesses and is recruiting for expansion. Ethis operates a variety of sharia-compliant crowdfunding platforms. Its Indonesian housing venture has built over 8,000 low-cost homes with investments from 65 countries, and a new Ethis platform now provides crowdfunding for real estate projects in Dubai. Two other promising firms are Investree, a P2P marketplace for a range of business financing needs, and Ammana, with similar services.