IslamicFinance.de

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has agreed a 1.6 billion Qatari riyal ($439.4 million) funding deal with Al Jaber Engineering (JEC) to finance a large food security facility at the new Hamad Port. The new food security facility is being built on a 530,000 square metre site and contains facilities that can be used for storing, processing and manufacturing of various foods. The complex will house rice silos, oil storage tanks and associated infrastructure. The funding deal was signed by QIB's CEO, Bassel Gamal, and JEC CEO Osama Hadid. Gamal said the bank was proud to finance JEC’s food security facilities project which is of strategic importance to the country. Hadid added that JEC would be responsible for both the design and construction of the new food security facility. Hamad Port is a $7.4 billion project which has been built to the south of the country's capital, Doha.

The entire business of Solidarity General Takaful (SGT) is proposed to be transferred to Al Ahlia Insurance Company. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) received separate applications from SGT and Al Ahlia. SGT has applied to transfer its business to Al Ahlia and be dissolved under article 66 of CBB Law. SGT, a subsidiary of Solidarity Group Holding, is aiming to consolidate its position through the merger. The combined entity, which would be named Solidarity Bahrain, will have a paid-up capital of BD11.2 million and an estimated 15% market share with 10 branches, making it the largest takaful company in the country. In order to facilitate the merger, Al Ahlia shareholders approved the conversion of the insurance licence from conventional to takaful. Last year, Solidarity acquired a majority stake in Bahrain Bourse (BHB)-listed Al Ahlia Insurance Company via an open offer in a deal worth BD10.7m. Officials had said then that Al Ahlia would continue to be listed on BHB.

Abu Dhabi government-owned Al Hilal Bank has raised $100 million through a private placement of sukuk. The issue, led by First Abu Dhabi Bank, has a two-year maturity and offers 90 basis points over three-month London Interbank Offered Rate. The bank issued a privately placed $225 million sukuk in June last year, describing the deal as the first private placement of sukuk by a United Arab Emirates financial institution. That sukuk matures in January 2019, while the new $100 million issue is due on Aug. 14 of the same year. Al Hilal Bank is rated A1 by Moody's and A+ by Fitch Ratings.

According to officials, Sharjah does‘nt have immediate plans for a sukuk, contrary to previous media reports. These had suggested that Sharjah had hired HSBC for a US dollar sukuk programme which could happen in the 4th quarter of 2017.
But, Tom Koczwara, Director, Debt Management Office, Finance Department at Government of Sharjah reiterated that the situation is still the same as in early May. “There is currently no immediate plan for a further sukuk issuance,” Koczwara said in an email. “The Debt Management Office reviews all financing options on an ongoing basis, assessing market conditions and the government’s financing requirements, and we will make appropriate recommendations on the different options to the relevant government authorities.“
S&P expects the Emirate’s fiscal deficit to narrow to 1.9 % of GDP in 2017 compared to closer to 3 % of GDP in 2016.

London's High Court plans to hold a full hearing in September on efforts by Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas to restructure $700 million of its outstanding sukuk. Dana Gas declared the bonds invalid last month, saying they were no longer compliant with changing interpretations of the Sharia law. The judge upheld an interim High Court injunction blocking holders of the bonds from enforcing claims related to the securities against Dana Gas. However, he imposed restrictions on asset sales by Dana and its ability to raise more debt or pay dividends. The case has worried the Islamic finance industry as it has raised the prospect that other firms could justify not honouring obligations by claiming sharia-based financial standards had changed.

The decision by Dana Gas to declare $700 million of its sukuk invalid has raised concern about the safety of sharia-compliant debt instruments in general. Dana Gas received advice that its sukuk were not compliant with the Islamic sharia code and had become unlawful in the United Arab Emirates. The firm said it would halt payments and proposed that creditors exchange the sukuk for new Islamic instruments. Dana has struggled to obtain payments from its production assets in Egypt and Iraq's Kurdistan. With a cash balance of just $298 million in March, it had been expected to have difficulty redeeming its sukuk in October. Mohammed Khnifer, a senior associate at the Islamic Development Bank, said this specific sharia compliance risk was unprecedented and this incident had startled the Islamic finance industry.

Sberbank received official certification for its Mudaraba Finance transaction from Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB). The bank also reaffirmed that it would remain fully committed to Sharia compliant financial activities for its customers. Sberbank, based in Moscow, currently has 16 thousand branches in all 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It is the largest bank of Russia and the leading financial institution in the country. Yasser S. Dahlawi, CEO and Founder of SRB, noted that the Shariyah Review Bureau would continue to review and supervise Sberbank’s transaction and sharing best practices of the Sharia complaint marketplace.

The Sultanate of Oman has started marketing a seven-year US dollar benchmark-sized sukuk offering at 270bp area over mid-swaps. Books are open for pricing via Alizz Islamic Bank, Citigroup, Dubai Islamic Bank, Gulf International Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered. The sovereign had signalled the possibility of an additional 12-year sukuk in its mandate. Expected issue ratings are Baa1 by Moody's and BBB by Fitch.

Egypt’s central bank is launching its anticipated microfinance initiative to support the country’s small and medium-sized businesses. According to the new initiative, the banks will not be obliged to establish a special unit for microfinancing; as they can provide both direct and indirect lending to clients. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) plans to allocate 20 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.2 billion) for the microfinancing activities in the country. CBE deputy governor Gamal Negm announced earlier that the central bank is preparing the ground to launch an initiative dedicated for the microfinance sector before the end of this month.

Qatari investors are increasingly looking for opportunites in the booming US propery market. Just Real Estate (JRE) has recently launched its new US portfolio, while QInvest announced its US mulitifamily residential-focused real estate fund Magnolia Real Estate Fund. The fund completed its first acquisition of an outstanding asset in Colorado, US. QInvest has been investing in Western Europe, UK and US for the past 5-6 years. JRE recently added two upscale addresses in Miami and New York City to its ever-growing portfolio of luxury developments in Qatar. Qatar, as a country, is becoming a big player in the New York City’s real estate market, with unconfirmed reports showing Qatar Investment Authority ranking the city's ninth-largest commercial property owner.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) in partnership with Ibdar Bank and Labour Fund Tamkeen has announced the launch of the Bahrain SME fund. The Bahrain SME Fund is a Shariah compliant mezzanine private equity Fund which will invest in Bahrain’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s). The Fund will target SME’s with high growth potential in consumer, industrial, ICT, education and healthcare sectors, as well as sectors experiencing dynamic change. The Fund will add immense value to Bahrain as a tool for SME growth and development where 90% of Bahrain enterprises are SMEs and their contribution accounts for about 30% of the Kingdom’s GDP.

Saudi Arabia saw bids of $33 billion (Dh121.11 billion) for its record-breaking debut sukuk issue. The issue size of the sukuk could likely be $8 billion, spread across $4 billion each for the 5 year and 10 year tranche. The sukuk was priced at 100 basis points over mid-swaps for the 5-year tranche, and 145 basis points over mid-swaps for the longer dated issue. Anita Yadav, Senior Director of Global markets and treasury at Emirates NBD, said the yield on Saudi sukuk is likely to be attractive on relative value basis, which would appeal to the yield hungry international investor. Analysts expect larger institutions like Aramco or SABIC to take advantage and come the market. On an yearly basis, Emirates NBD expects $20 billion worth of issuance from Saudi Arabia including issues from the government, and state-run enterprises, banks and corporates.

Warba Bank has recently purchased a newly constructed UK vehicle imports-exports facility strategically located next to Immingham port. The property is leased to KIA Motors UK for unbreakable lease term of 20 years. The facility has a capacity of over 15,550 cars and totalling 86.68 acres (35.08 hectares) of land. In addition, the site also includes a warehouse space of 63,515 ft.² (5,901 m²), facilitating distribution, refurbishment, valet, inspection, refuelling, offices and gatehouses. The site receives on average c.1,200 vehicles a week. KIA anticipate 100,000 UK car sales target by 2020. Warba Bank’s CEO, Shaheen Hamed Al Ghanem, said this acquisition was one of the best risks mitigated real estate investment of the bank, generating a steady and secured return from unbreakable long lease. He elaborated that the investment plan for 2017 is highly ambitious and the bank is looking for more international real estate investment opportunities in USA, UK and other continental European countries.

Saudi Arabia is considering whether to change the structure of its planned U.S. dollar sukuk issue, which would be the kingdom's first international sukuk issue. The structure would comprise a mudaraba agreement plus a murabaha facility. Potential changes to that structure are now under discussion to make the instrument more easily tradable and less complex to understand for international investors. So the structure may be changed to an ijara format, a lease-financing structure which is common among sovereign sukuk issuance around the world. The new issue would be Saudi Arabia's second international bond sale after a $17.5 billion debut conventional bond issue last October. Citi, HSBC and JP Morgan are global coordinators, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank are also involved with lead roles.

Dubai-based building company Drake & Scull said it breached financial covenants in relation to a sukuk syndicated facility and other bank facilities in 2016. The company incurred an annual loss 815.3 million dirhams ($222.01 million) last year as low oil prices and an economic slowdown hit the construction sector in the Gulf region. Drake & Scull was not able to comply with reporting requirements requested for a conditional waiver and therefore, breached financial covenants. These loans are now overdue on their principal and interest payments, and they are technically payable on demand.

Indonesia's finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati announced the government plans to issue a global sukuk this week. Indrawati did not give further details on the planned issuance. An official has previously said the government will issue global sukuk in the first half of 2017. According to Thomson Reuters, Indonesia has given initial yield guidance of 3.75% for a five-year tranche of the U.S.-dollar sukuk and 4.5% for 10-year tranche.

Dubai Financial Market (DFM) said it has officially published the final version of its Standard on Hedging against Investment and Finance Risks. This standard is the newest addition to DFM’s Sharia-compliant standards, which include Standard on Stocks and Standard on Sukuk issued in 2007 and 2014. The key amendments and add-ons to the draft of the standard are adding two types of risks, property risk and reputational risk. The amendment also emphasises the admissibility of the penalty clause only in Istisna, supply contracts and labour-lease contracts, excluding the contracts that result in a monetary debt owed by the debtor. It also emphasises the admissibility of the third-party guarantee in contracts of partnerships, Mudaraba and agency in investment, provided no link is made between this guarantee and the contract of partnership or Mudaraba.

The Responsible Finance & Investment (RFI) Summit 2017 has announced a series of Executive Sessions organized by the RFI Foundation and INCEIF, the Global University of Islamic finance. These sessions will introduce participants from all backgrounds to the connection between Islamic Finance and Responsible Finance. INCEIF President Daud Vicary Abdullah said the alignment between the guiding principles of Islamic finance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was significant. Daud added that these interactive Executive Sessions would provide a platform for people working in responsible finance who do not realize the alignment of responsible investment with Islamic finance.

Bahrain's GFH Financial Group may merge with Dubai-based Shuaa Capital, GFH said in a statement. A web of ties between GFH and Shuaa began forming last year. In May, Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) and GFH said they were jointly setting up an Islamic bank called ADCorp with initial capital of $100 million. In November, ADFG bought a 48.36% stake in Shuaa, which has a market capitalisation of about $535 million. In December, Shuaa bought 14% of Bahrain's Khaleeji Commercial Bank for $25 million. GFH owns 47% of Khaleeji. On Sunday, Shuaa said it would acquire Integrated Capital and Integrated Securities, both controlled by ADFG. Integrated Capital owns 11.74% of GFH. ADFG officials did not respond to requests for comment about the possible merger.

The United Arab Emirates' Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) plans to issue convertible sukuk equivalent to 10% of the lender's capital. Funds raised through the debt sale will be used by Islamic endowments selected by the government of the emirate of Sharjah. The bank also authorised a capital increase to 2.67 billion dirhams ($726 million) from 2.43 billion dirhams.