IslamicFinance.de

Hussein Hassan is the former head of Islamic finance of Deutsche Bank. He moved to UBS in Dubai as Global Head of Islamic Finance. It seems that his place was taken by Ilker Guney, a managing director at the firm.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is enthusiastic to evolve Waqf properties in India and the two sides have investigated ways to cooperate in different fields including launching of Islamic banking in the country.
It seems that the bank has agreed to finance not only Waqf properties in India but also to develop seven Rubaats (Haj shelters) in Makkah for pilgrims' accommodation.

It seems that Dubai’s Islamic bonds are dropping not only the debt of energy-rich Abu Dhabi and Qatar, as investors avoid the region’s riskier assets after slowing global economic growth crimps oil demand.
HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai GCC US Dollar Sukuk Index and the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index stated that the breach between Islamic bonds in the Gulf and those in emerging markets rose six basis points in the past month to 36 on September 9.

Nakheel brought upon itself impairments of 73.8 billion dirhams in 2009, primarily related to the carrying value of assets and capital work in progress.
I seems that after just finishing a complex debt restructuring last month, the company devalued up to 78.6 billion dirhams ($21.4 billion) of its real estate assets due to a property crisis in the emirate.
The Dubai government along with another debt ridden property firm Limitless will control from now on the comapny.

The economic growth in many Gulf countries has signified that an ever increasing number of Muslims and non-Muslims are looking to invest their wealth in a Shariah compliant manner.
Noticing the need for more and more awareness about these principles, universities and institutions in Dubai have introduced various courses to cater to the increasing demand.
The Canadian University of Dubai (CUD) is issuing an MBA in Islamic Banking – the only UAE accredited university degree of its kind to exist in the Middle East — this year at NAJAH Education and Careers exhibition in Abu Dhabi that will take place from October 18 to 20.

It seems that Nigeria has turn into a battleground for Islamic finance. Some lines from the recent newspapers are:
Islamic Banking: Muslims Ready to go to War
Islamic Banking: Insult to Nigeria — Cleric
Stop Islamic Banking in Nigeria
Christian groups oppose establishment of Islamic Banking
Islamic Banking: Christian groups may apply for own licence

Nakheel launched the Dh3.8 billion (US$1.03bn) Islamic bond as a part of its financial restructuring. Through this the company is underscoring investors' continued doubts about the embattled property giant's finances.
Ahmad Alanani is a senior executive officer in the fixed-income department of Exotix in Dubai. He states that retail buyers were taking shares from contractors at about 84 cents on the dollar, sending yields skywards. He predicts prices of 70 to 80 cents on the dollar in the future.

Amlak had a larger net loss as income from its core business fell and impairments more than doubled. The net loss of the second quarter was Dh52.2 million (US$14.2m), compared with Dh597,000 in the same period last year.
Jaap Meijer, a senior analyst at AlembicHC in Dubai, stated that Amlak would need significant impairments on its property investment portfolio.

Tamweel PJSC aims to tap the debt market this year for the first time since 2008 as demand for Islamic bonds keeps borrowing costs near six-year lows.
Tamweel will launch either a benchmark-sized sukuk or a mortgage-backed security in the fourth quarter to achieve a, "long-term financing pipeline to repay liabilities and grow the business,". The statement came from Varun Sood, chief executive officer.

It seems that Limitless received a fifth extension on a $1.2bn loan as the real-estate developer administrated by state-owned Dubai World works on a restructuring plan.
This extension will allow Limitless to complete a debt restructuring deal with creditor banks.
Limitless is looking to extend the tenor of the loan by four to five years and plans to pay no interest over that period. The statement was given by a banker.

Islamic loans from Europe, the Middle East and Africa fell to a five-year low with banks reluctant to borrow amid concerns Europe's budget crisis will roil markets as Arabian Gulf borrowers restructure debts.
Since 2007, Islamic loan issuance has slowly dropped. The main reasons are the threat of sovereign defaults in Europe and the faltering global economic recovery deter lending.
Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co, both based in the Saudi Arabian oil-producing city of Al Khobar, are reorganizing debt. The two companies failed in 2009 after borrowing a total of $15.7 billion (Dh57.6 billion) from more than 80 banks, including HSBC and Credit Agricole SA.

Nakheel announced that its planned Islamic bond has been delayed because of administrative reasons.
The developer overstretched itself with projects such as islands in the shape of palms. That is why the $1.63bn Islamic bond had been slated to issue.
Nakheel stated that it will launch the sukuk as soon as it will proove itself to be practical.

G Capital in partnership with Gürmen Group, has taken into posession Adabank in Turkey for US$ 75 million.
GFH, the parent company of G Capital, has already had a key role in establishing following institutions: Arab Finance House (Lebanon 2003), Solidarity (Bahrain - 2004), First Leasing Bank (Bahrain - 2004), Khaleeji Commercial Bank (Bahrain - 2005), Asian Finance Bank (Malaysia - 2006), Qinvest (Qatar - 2006) and First Energy Bank (Bahrain -2008).

Because of the need to hedge against an increase in U.S. treasury yields and the fact that investors shift toward shorter maturities, Dubai's Islamic bond due 2014 could provide better returns than its 2020 security.
The yield gap between the Dubai government's 6.396% sukuk, due 2014 and its 7.75% security due 2020 widened 11 basis points this month, led by a drop in yields on the shorter-dated notes. The statement came from Bloomberg.

Tabreed stated that it fully repaid a 200 million US dollar Islamic bond. It seems that the total amount paid to certificate holders of the bond was 735 million UAE dirhams.
Dubai-listed Tabreed is one of the many Gulf companies which has to restructure its debt after an economic boom, fuelled by record-high oil prices and easy credit, ended abruptly and caused a property market crash.

Dubai Investments has secured only a quarter so far of the Dh1.2 billion ($326.7 million) loan it wanted to raise. Because of the political unrest the conglomerate’s manufacturing business is facing setbacks.
In April, the firm said it was in bank talks for a Dh1.2 billion loan to expand its operations, which was to be finalised by May. The loan was going to be used for the expansion of Emirates Float Glass, its glass manufacturing unit in Abu Dhabi and to complete the last phase of its industrial development Dubai Investment Park.

After all the messages on the billboards and that are streaming over the net and mobile phones, Emirati teens and their counterparts in Saudi Arabia know what they can expect from their banks and how they intend to go about getting it. Moreover, Islamic banking services and products are much preferred by this demographic.
On the other side, banks are also aware of the potential and what needs to be done.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is expanding his responsabilities, having now a presence at or near the top of virtually all of the entities that make up Dubai Inc.
For example, as chairman of The Emirates Group and its eponymous airline, he transports the tourists and businessmen whose spending is a vital part of Dubai's GDP. At the same time, he is chairman of the Supreme Fiscal Committee, the ultimate holder of the emirate's purse strings, and chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Noor Islamic Bank (NIB) and therefore replaced Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum replaced in exchange Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer as the head of the UAE’s biggest bank by assets Emirates NBD.
The question is what could be the motive behind this. Bankers like Mashreq Capital CEO Kadir Hussein say that “People change senior management and board because they want things to move in another strategic direction.”

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) stated that it will launch a new Sharia opportunity fund in the region with exposure to equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region.
Prudential Asset Management Limited is the one offering the fund. It will search to invest in Sharia-compliant companies in the APAC region excluding Japan. It will also try to capitalise on the sustained economic growth and increasing wealth across the APAC region.