IslamicFinance.de

Saudi-based Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros Co (AHAB) said it was about to start talks with creditors, after a newspaper reported it and Saad Group are seeking to restructure USD 10 bn in debt.

AXA has partnered with SALAMA - Islamic Arab Insurance Company to offer Group Life Solutions to AXA’s clients in the UAE.

Olivant Investments has written down the entire value of its 30 % stake in Amiri Capital, a company offering a Sharia compliant Hedge fund platform.

Vision3, conceived by Gulf Finance House, Abu Dhabi Investment House and Ithmaar Bank signed an MoU with Morocco's largest bank, Attijariwafa, signaling their intention to establish AgriCap Invest, a specialized food and agriculture focused investment institution in the Kingdom of Morocco. The new firm will offer intelligent financial solutions to agricultural initiatives in the Kingdom of Morocco and across North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean and the broader MENA region.

ALBARAKA Bank in South Africa was keen to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, JSE, and would probably do so by the end of next year, Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the chairman said.

Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), the parent company, is listed in Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt and Sudan.

Amara Holdings, a Dubai investment firm, and New China Trust Company’s subsidiary, Shanghai Ding Hai Investment Management Company, will identify and evaluate Islamic finance investment opportunities in China for themselves and co-investors and clients.

Kuwait Finance House, has minimal exposure to two troubled Saudi firms, belwo 0.1 % of the total credit portfolio, according to Emad Yousef Al-Monayea, Managing Director of Kuwait Finance's subsidiary, Liquidity House.

Sukuk growth might be limied due to higher costs of structuring, issuing, accounting fees, real estate downturn, and low hydrocarbon prices, says S&P in a report. Nevertheless, it said sukuk-based financing remained the most attractive means of raising funding for medium and long-term capital costs for GCC issuers.

The refinancing of Nakheel’s US$3.5 billion (Dh12.85bn) Sukuk will be of utmost relevance to the credit ratings Moody's has for Dubai entities. Nakheel has not the stand alone capacity to repay the Sukuk reported Paulo Vecina in The National.

The Investment Dar Co.The Investment Dar Co.held its latest financial restructuring update meeting in Dubai on Monday 8 June 2009 with its banks and investors. The firm expects its audited results soon. Morgan Stanley is appointed by the steering committee for debt restructuring as their financial advisor.

Saad Trading Contracting & Financial Services Co.’s debt securities, known as sukuk, are trading for 25 cents on the dollar compared with this year’s high of 79 cents on Feb. 26, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Saad Group on June 2 appointed BDO Capital Finance to advise the company on restructuring plans after the Saudi central bank last month froze bank accounts of al-Sanea and his family members, reported Haris Anwar on Bloomberg.

The Governments of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates signed the agreement on opening of Al Hilal Islamic Bank in Kazakhstan; Aigul Tulekbayeva on Kazinform reports. The Bank’s nominal capital will make up over AED 100 mln and it will be opened in Astana and Almaty.

Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah reported on 12 June in the Tribune about a seminar for charities to comply with US provisions in their country.

The Internal Revenue Service, the MacArthur Foundation and a group of lawyers called Muslim Advocates instructed Chicago-area leaders in proper ways to report the collection of foreign funds, keep bookkeeping transparent and otherwise reassure U.S. officials that the money they raise never will end up in the hands of terrorists. The initiative has been inspired by a new generation of leaders and by what many Muslims perceive as a new climate under President Barack Obama, who mentioned the issue of charity, or zakat, during his landmark speech to the Islamic world from Egypt last week.

Indonesian Islamic financer PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Syariah (BRI Syariah) expects its assets to double to 3 trillion rupiah by the end of the year.

Bahrain's USD 750 mn sovereign sukuk issue attracted an order book of about USD 4 bn and the size was increased to USD 750 mn. The sukuk was priced at the low end of expectations at 340 basis points over US Treasuries. Some 55 % of the issue went to Middle Eastern investors, with Europe accounting for 26 % and Asia for 15 % of the investor base of almost 200 accounts.

Saudi billionaire's firm denies that Kuwaiti assets are frozen; as Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai had reported previously.

Tamweel says that it does not agree with media report rejected a media report saying it needed USD 1.55 bn to restart its financing operations.

Saudi Arabia said it launches its new market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, and bonds.Tadawul currently trades Islamic bond issues by only two listed firms - Saudi Basic Industries Corp and Saudi Electricity, which will launch sukuk on Saturday worth 5 billion saudi riyals. The government is a major shareholder in both firms.

Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group plans to spend up to USD 120 mn on acquisitions this year as asset valuations drop amid a global financial crisis.

Saudi Arabia needs 1 million new houses by 2014 to meet the needs of its growing population but house prices are seen falling in the short term due to the global credit crisis, HSBC said in a report. The bank forecast a 15 % decline in house prices and rents in the kingdom's capital Riyadh in 2009 due to credit shortage , with a slow recovery expected in 2010. The rapidly growing population means there are shortages in residential, commercial, retail and hospitality property in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and the Eastern Province according to the report.