IslamicFinance.de

Chairman of Borsa Istanbul Talat Ulussever called on Tuesday for the development of trading in stock markets to be compliant with the Islamic Sharia. Transactions at the stock markets should be Islamic Sharia-compliant not only restricted on issuance of bonds, said Ulussever at the opening of the 1st conference on Islamic Finance. He said policies failed to revive the global economy since 2008, but rather increased burden of debts by more than USD 50 trillion. Ulussever said economic and financial crises were linked to huge debts. He said the Islamic financing should be fully based on Islamic foundations.

Another upcoming placement of a Shariah-compliant Real Estate Investment Trust, or Islamic REIT, in Southeast Asia amid a shaky financial market environment shows that the demand for this kind of investment vehicle remains high and the formation of similar REITs in and outside their main playing ground Malaysia will likely pick up momentum. Johor Corp Bhd, the investment arm of Johor state, will list its second REIT, named Al-Salam REIT, on the stock exchange in Kuala Lumpur on September 29. The initial public offering is expected to bring in close to $60mn, with 98% of the units to be sold to institutional investors.

State-owned Investment Corp. of Dubai is reportedly raising a $500 million loan. The facility will be provided by Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank. The money will fund the expansion of its Atlantis, The Palm resort in Dubai. ICD and Kerzner International Holdings, a developer and operator of destination resorts and luxury hotels, plan to spend $1.4 billion to build The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences. The development on Dubai’s man-made island will add nearly 800 guest rooms and 250 luxury residences. ICD acquired Atlantis, The Palm from Dubai World in December 2013.

The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the World Bank Group have issued a consultative report on Payment aspects of financial inclusion. The report examines demand and supply-side factors affecting financial inclusion in the context of payment systems and services, and suggests measures to address these issues. Financial inclusion efforts - from a payment perspective - should aim at achieving a number of objectives. Ideally, all individuals and businesses should have access to and be able to use at least one transaction account operated by a regulated payment service provider, to: (i) perform most, if not all, of their payment needs; (ii) safely store some value; and (iii) serve as a gateway to other financial services.

Banks in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council can thank turbulence in the world’s bond markets for spurring Islamic lending to the highest in three years. Loans that comply with Islam’s ban on interest in the GCC have risen 22% this year to $11.9bn, the most since 2012. At the same time sales of Islamic bonds dropped 41% to $6.9bn. The increase in lending will be welcome for banks in the region, where oil’s more than 50% decline in the past 12 months threatens to curtail government spending and clip economic growth. Investors are demanding higher yields amid market swings, prompting companies including Dubai-based construction contractor Drake & Scull International to delay sales.

Islamic finance is increasingly important in the global economy and needs to be better integrated into the international financial system, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told at the G20’s Investment and Infrastructure Working Group. The World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and countries including Saudi Arabia and South Africa had shared their practical experiences with asset-backed financing and Islamic finance in particular over the past year, he said. The asset-backed nature of Islamic finance should in theory make it ideal to build highway networks, ports and other big projects. An estimated $800 billion worth of infrastructure financing will be needed each year in Asia alone over the next decade, according to the Asian Development Bank.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today approved a charge sheet against 14 people, including Bismillah Group’s Managing Director Khaza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, for embezzling Tk 110 crore from Shahjalal Islami Bank. Nine of them are employees of Bismillah Group, four of Shahjalal Islami Bank and one is Network Frame System Ltd’s Chairman Akhter Hossain. The accused include Soleman’s wife and group’s Chairman Nawrin Hasib, Solaiman’s mother Sarwar Jahan, former manager of Eskaton Branch of Shahjalal Islami Bank Aslamul Haq and former deputy manager ASM Hasanul Kabir. The controversial group swindled the money with the help of bank officials between June 2006 and October 2012.

Islamic art and fashion are quickly becoming burgeoning industries within the diverse landscape of the Islamic economy, and are dominating a key market share in the global lifestyle sector. In 2014, Islamic, or modest, fashion sector expenditure reached $230 billion, constituting 11 per cent of the global fashion market. It is projected to grow a further six per cent to reach $327 billion by 2020, according to the upcoming State of the Global Islamic Economy (SGIE) report, to be published in conjunction with the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES). It will take place on 5 and 6 October 2015 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE.

The Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF) far exceeded global expectations after the first day of the 2-day gathering engaged the responsible investments industry from across Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Over 150 leaders from the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and faith-based investing sectors participated in historic discussions on various facets of ethical finance with the view of collectively forging the next chapter of the industry through collaboration and convergence. The final panel from the first day included a discussion among distinguished historians on the faith-based roots of ethical finance.

The Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF 2015) will serve as a platform for historic discussions on what Islamic financial governance can help address ethical lapses in the ethical finance industry. GEFF 2015 will take place on the 1 and 2 of September in Edinburgh. Experts from organizations such as the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Al Rayan Bank, HSBC Amanah Malaysia, European Islamic Investment Bank (EIIB-Rasmala) and Ernst & Young will engage fellow ethical finance leaders as part of GEFF's mandate to bridge the disconnect between Islamic finance and the rest of the ethical finance universe. During the panel discussions, experts will review the established regulatory infrastructure in Islamic finance. Find more information at www.geff2015.com.

Islamic Finance is an ideal tool of financial inclusion and can address the poverty issues in East Africa effectively, according to Mr. Zubair Mughal, the Chief Executive Officer of AlHuda Center of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE). He was addressing a gathering of the banking and financial industry of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam during an Islamic Banking and Finance event. The overall objective of the event was to create awareness, knowledge development and sharing the best practices of Islamic Banking and Finance with local financial market, so that the Tanzanian Islamic financial market could be established with solid footing using Shariah & technical expertise as concrete.

Maybank Islamic Bhd is optimistic that Malaysia's financial sector will hold strong in the current turmoil and weather through the storm. Its chief executive officer Datuk Muzaffar Hisham is also confident that foreign investors will continue to invest in Malaysia's financial sector for the long run. Muzaffar was speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony between Maybank Islamic and the Selangor State Government for a new home financing package. On Thursday, Maybank Islamic recorded a revenue of RM1.9 billion for the first half ended June 30, 2015. Muzaffar said the group is expecting a lower loan growth for the second half of this year and will continue to monitor closely to maintain sustainability for the next few quarters.

Beehive, UAE’s online marketplace for peer-to-peer (P2P) finance, has been certified as a Sharia-compliant P2P finance platform by the Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB). The SRB review was conducted over a period of several weeks in June and July 2015 during which SRB’s Sharia scholars reviewed all operational processes, documentation, and relationship management on Beehive’s Islamic platform. As the first online marketplace for P2P finance in the UAE, Beehive has channelled over AED 15 million ($4m) worth of finance to more than 32 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) since its launch in November 2014. Finance requests on Beehive are processed under a ‘Commodity Murabaha’ structure, using the ‘DMCC Tradeflow’ platform.

Financial inclusion can be achieved via traditional banking offerings, but also through digital financial services such as mobile money, among other innovative approaches. The Brookings Financial and Digital Inclu­sion Project (FDIP) Report and Scorecard seeks to help answer a set of fundamental questions about today’s global financial inclusion efforts. To answer these questions, Brookings experts John D. Villasenor, Darrell M. West, and Robin J. Lewis analyzed finan­cial inclusion in 21 geographically, economically, and politically diverse countries. This year’s report and scorecard is the first of a series of annual reports examining financial inclusion activities and assessing usage of financial services in selected countries around the world.

Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Masraf Al Rayan's (MAR) A2/Prime-1 issuer ratings and baa3 baseline credit assessment (BCA) and adjusted BCA. At the same time, Moody's changed the outlook on the bank's long term issuer ratings to positive from stable. The change in the outlook to positive from stable reflects the ongoing improvements in MAR's business and geographic diversification, including the growth and transition to profitability of its recently acquired subsidiary Al Rayan Bank PLC based in UK. Further underpinning Moody's view on the outlook is Qatar's considerable economic strength, with robust growth prospects driven by the significant wealth and resources of the country, despite lower oil prices.

Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) is inviting nominations for candidates to serve on its technical boards that are tasked to carry out development and revision of its international Islamic finance standards. The technical boards in AAOIFI currently consist of Shari'a Board as well as Accounting and Auditing Standards Board. It is proposed that AAOIFI Accounting and Auditing Standards Board will be split into two new technical boards, namely AAOIFI Accounting Board and AAOIFI Governance and Ethics Board. These two boards will be responsible for AAOIFI standards on accounting, auditing, ethics and governance. Meanwhile, AAOIFI Shari'a Board will continue to be responsible for AAOIFI Shari'a standards.

GCC Board Directors Institute ("BDI") has appointed H+K Strategies ("H+K") as content partner to the Institute for a period of three years. The other content partners are PwC, McKinsey & Co, Heidrick& Struggles and Allen &Overy, while supported by the Capital Market Authorities in Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, Qatar Financial Centre and the Central Bank of Bahrain. Launched in 2007, BDI is the pre-eminent organization for boards and directors in the Gulf helping boards become more effective so that organizations may perform better and grow. In its capacity of content partner, H+K will contribute with knowledge on matters critical to board effectiveness in today's multi-faceted and high-speed communications environment.

The recently released report “State of the Global Islamic Economy” commissioned by Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center and produced by business intelligence provider Thomson Reuters is highlighting a lot of new trends in the Islamic economy. However, and most importantly, the report points out that the Islamic economy is embracing the digital age which it sees as a “new frontier” in the Muslim world. The digital age will also bring Islamic finance a big step forward, another recent report, “The Digital Islamic Services Landscape“ authored by consultancy Deloitte and sponsored by Kuwait-based Noor Telecom, points out, highlighting the huge untapped potential of the digital Islamic services market.

Johor state investment arm Johor Corp will list its Islamic real estate investment trust (REIT) known as Al-Salam on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Sept 22. Al-Salam REIT is seeking to raise gross proceeds of RM252.36 million arising from the issuance of 252.36 million offer units, based on an offer price of RM1 per unit, which will account for 43.5% of the trust. The bulk or RM242.86 million of the proceeds raised from the initial public offering (IPO) will be used to pay for the purchase of five properties that will make up the initial portfolio.The Islamic REIT will primarily comprise commercial retail, office and industrial purposes as well as real estate-related assets.

New markets for Islamic finance are emerging, with African countries launching debut sovereign sukuk and East Asian countries enabling their domestic markets to tap into Islamic financing, a glimpse of the 2015-2016 edition of the ‘State of the Global Islamic Economy’ said ahead of the Global Islamic Economy Summit that will run in Dubai on Oct. 5-6, 2015. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have formally launched a $500 million grant facility to address poverty and diseases in IDB member countries. Meanwhile, European banks in Russia and Germany, for example, are also investing in Islamic finance through debut sovereign sukuk and Islamic banking windows.