IslamicFinance.de

Qatar International Islamic Bank is in the advanced stages of preparing to conduct a Tier 1 sukuk issue worth 1 billion riyals ($275 million), it said in a statement on Thursday. The bank said the capital-boosting issue would follow the bank receiving all regulatory approvals. It didn't elaborate.

Dubai Islamic Bank is embarking on a roadshow for a senior dollar sukuk, and looks likely to be the first bank from the Gulf Cooperation Council to enter the public bond markets this year. Bank ABC, DIB, Emirates Islamic Bank, HSBC, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have arranged fixed income investor meetings to take place in London on March 21. DIB, rated Baa1/—/A, will print the Reg S note under its $2.5bn sukuk programme.

Holborn Assets as part of its strategic growth plan to diversify and move into new markets has developed and launched its own bespoke shariah wealth and financial planning service. Increasing demand from its advisers and clientsprompted Holborn to undertake research on Takaful (Islamic Life Assurance) providers in the UAE market. This exercise culminated in Holborn signing terms with Salama Islamic Arab Insurance Co. Salama is the largest Takaful and Retakaful provider in the world, dominating the UAE market in terms of size.

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.

A consortium of Bahrain-based lenders Venture Capital Bank (VC Bank) and Seera Investment Bank has acquired a major real estate portfolio consisting of two multifamily residential assets in Atlanta (US) comprising 866 units. This marks the consortium’s first investment in the US multifamily sector and has been in co-operation with a local partner that has experience in the management and operation of multifamily residential assets. Atlanta remains a hot favourite among global investors, thanks to the large number of Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered there. It is also the fourth biggest city with headquartered Fortune 500 companies after New York City, Houston, and Dallas.

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.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has launched four new Wakala Deposit product variants. The DIB Wakala Deposit product variants offer various schemes in terms of tenures and profit rates. DIB’s Long Term Wakala Deposits offer a 15.25% profit rate on a 5 year, or 8% profit rate on a 3 year tenure. Customers can also subscribe to DIB Maximizer Deposits, an 18-month facility which is developed on step-up profit rates of up to 6%. Furthermore, the Recurring Wakala Deposit is a deposit product whereby a fixed amount is deposited on a monthly basis. A minimum goal of AED 12,000 (AED 1,000 per month) is agreed upon – as well as the recurring instalment payments.

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.

Resetting Priorities - Redefining Roles

Five years ago, the Global Donors Forum was convened in Dubai to take on a challenging task: to define the roadmap for Muslim giving into the next decade. As a growing network of philanthropists, grantmaking foundations and socially responsible corporations, the Forum lead a consultative dialogue among the thought leaders from which, it was hoped, a new social compact could emerge.

Half a decade on, with the world having changed dramatically as events in the Middle East would attest, the Global Donors Forum 2016, has a new set of issues to focus upon. Foremost among these is the need to rigorously analyse the past decade in order to ascertain how best to formulate strategies to counter emerging challenges. The GDF 2016 will, therefore, attempt to set new priorities as it looks to redefine the role of philanthropy, with a focus on the Muslim world in a radically changed global landscape.

Oman’s Islamic financial institutions are showing robust growth with the value of gross assets touching OMR2.25 billion by the end of 2015, accounting for a 7.45 per cent market share of the total banking industry, said Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman (CBO). Islamic banks and window operations are expected to ramp up this market share to 10 per cent of the entire banking industry by 2018. The CBO chief said gross finance had also grown to touch OMR1.78 billion by 2015-end, indicating a market share of 8.86 per cent. All these achievements were reported within a short span of about three years, despite teething problems faced by these institutions.

Barwa Bank has appointed Nasser Rashid Al Humaidi as group chief operating officer. Reporting to the acting GCEO of Barwa Bank Group, Khalid Yousef Al-Subeai, Al-Humaidi will be tasked with developing a unified structure to improve operational efficiency, increase proficiency and modernise processes and procedures, by using the latest financial sector tools. With more than 19 years’ experience in the operations management and information technology sectors, Al-Humaidi has a track record in a number of institutions from different sectors, including telecom, real estate development, oil and gas as well as national steering committees. He worked as the executive director for Operations & Support at Qatar Development Bank for the past three years.

Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman launched on Monday a 14-story complex costing SR52 million that would house all the region's charities. Speaking at the opening, Prince Faisal, who is also chairman of the Charitable Society for Social Services, said the complex would have state-of-the art facilities that would streamline services to the needy. Abdul Barie bin Awadh Al-Thibaiti, secretary general of the society, said the new building would generate much-needed funds for charitable activities. He said the 30-year-old organization helps more than 6,000 students a year on a five-year budget of SR33 million.

Moody's Investors Service has placed on review for downgrade the ratings of eight government-related issuers (GRIs) based in GCC countries. These issuers are: Emirates Telecommunications Grp Co PJSC, Industries Qatar Q.S.C., International Petroleum Investment Company, Mubadala Development Company, Qatar Petroleum, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Saudi Electricity Company, Saudi Telecom Company. Moody's also placed on review for downgrade the ratings of Qatari Diar Finance Q.S.C. (QDF) and the ratings on the notes issued by 1MDB Energy Limited (1MDBEL). Today's actions follow the placement on review for downgrade of the sovereign ratings of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the emirate of Abu Dhabi on 4 March 2016.

Several companies in Oman, including a real estate developer, are planning to issue sukuk or Islamic debt instrument. A real estate company has already approached the market regulator Capital Market Authority for floating a sukuk issue for its second phase development, said Abdullah Salim Al Salmi, executive president of the Capital Market Authority (CMA). However, he declined to name the real estate company that is trying to raise funds by way of a sukuk issue. Al Salmi said that the banks may face liquidity problem and the financial institutions have to issue either sukuk or bond for raising funds to avoid an asset-liability mismatch.

Qatar’s Barwa Ban has announced the appointment of Mr. Nasser Rashid Al-Humaidi as the Group’s Chief Operating Officer (GCOO). Mr. Al-Humaidi, who will be directly reporting to the Acting GCEO of Barwa Bank Group Mr. Khalid Yousef Al-Subeai, will be developing an integrated structural framework to enhance operational efficiency, boost productivity and streamline processes and procedures by employing the latest financial sector technologies. He is backed up by more than 19 years of experience in the ??operations management and information technology sectors. He worked as the Executive Director for Operations & Support at Qatar Development Bank over the past three years.

As part of the training programs provided internally by Capital Market Authority (CMA), Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has held the 2nd batch of the training course “Essentials of Islamic Economics and Finance” to CMA’s management team members and employees, on March 21-22, 2016, in Riyadh. The course was delivered by Sheikh Dr. Yousef Al-Shubaili and Dr. Sami al Suwailem. AAOIFI’s active institutional membership includes more than 13 regulatory and supervisory authorities (for capital markets, insurance and finance) and central banks. AAOIFI provides its technical and professional services to a number of supervisory and regulatory bodies across the globe.

The international rating agency Fitch ranked the Saudi banking system fourth-best and the strongest banking system in the world, after Australia, Canada and Singapore, said Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Dr. Fahd Al-Mubarak. In a speech during the Islamic Banking and Finance Conference organized by Makkah-based Umm Al Qura University, he said that financial activity compatible with the provisions of Islamic law is witnessing a remarkable growth at the international level, with an average ratio estimated at 17% per annum.

The future of Islamic bonds in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) seems "excellent" in the medium-to-long term, but lack of supply and right price is "stifling" demand and liquidity in the market, according to NBAD. Finding that oil prices will be a key determinant of sukuk returns in 2016, NBAD said the uncertainty over the likely trajectory in the US interest rates, the bear market in oil, and increasing fiscal concerns across the region all contributed to a bearish tone in the market, causing many issuers to remain on the sidelines. Although GCC sukuk investors remain natural buyers, they have tightened their credit quality criteria, and become much more price sensitive.