IslamicFinance.de

Bahrain-based Ibdar Bank successfully concludes the structuring of a 12-year agreement expiring in 2026 for acquiring four brand new Bombardier Q400 Next Gen aircrafts and leasing them to the Ethiopian Airlines. The agreement that was structured under a joint venture with Dubai-based operating lessor Palma Holding, includes options for an additional four Q400 NextGen aircraft, which Ibdar Bank intends to exercise in the near future. Valued at USD 100 million, Ibdar Bank contributed as investor with USD 22 million, while an amount of USD 78 million was secured through a funding agreement with Canada’s Export Credit Agency “EDC”.

The Bahrain-based International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) will develop contract templates for sharia-compliant corporate finance and trade finance transactions, as the industry body expands its mandate. IIFM is aiming to double the number of its standards by as early as next year. The new standards would help broaden the scope of IIFM, as the body works to harmonise industry practices, said Khalid Hamad, executive director of banking supervision at Bahrain's central bank and IIFM chairman. Trade finance has remained a marginal business for Islamic banks even as other areas have boomed in recent years, partly because of a lack of scale and expertise compared to larger and more established Western banks.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), as sole bookrunner and initial mandated lead arranger, and a group of other lenders on a US$420 million Islamic financing provided to Zakher Marine International Inc. The financing, which was two times oversubscribed, also included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al-Hilal Bank, MashreqBank, Ajman Bank, Arab Bank, National Bank of Fujairah and Noor Bank. The facility arranged by ADIB will fund Zakher Marine's new shipbuilding programme that includes 15 vessels and three self-elevating accommodation barges.

Malaysian financial services firms have an excellent opportunity to play a role in the growth of Islamic finance in the Gulf region, said Mohammed Ayman Al Tajer, director of financial institutions supervision directorate in Bahrain. Vast opportunities in the Gulf are helped by strong economic growth and demand for more sophisticated financial services. There are also opportunities in areas such as insurance and fund management as the financial sector in the Gulf continues to diversify. He added that standardisation remains the key challenge in the industry, as well as lack of trained professionals and scholars and awareness of Islamic finance.

In recent years, international financial centers (IFCs) such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and the Cayman Islands (Cayman) have faced unprecedented political and regulatory pressure from governments and international organizations to open up and become more transparent in their business practices. The impression is that these jurisdictions are secret tax havens. However, IFCs are more compliant with international regulatory requirements than they are portrayed to be. The benefits of using an entity incorporated in an IFC are such that they will remain vital components of international structures, even in the face of mounting pressure from onshore governments.

Muslims in Nigeria have canvassed a good government policy that would promote affordable housing for the citizenry.ome group of Muslim businessmen and other professionals who gathered at the 2014 National Conference organised by The Companion, in Ibadan recently, advised Muslim organizations to join hands in tackling their peculiar challenges and assist members to secure affordable shelters. The gathering resolved that Nigeria’s massive housing deficit may further degenerate until governments and real estate private developers turn their focus to mass housing as a sector priority rather than the present proliferation of luxury estates.

This insight aims to highlight new rules governing the Islamic finance sector in Indonesia and the enhanced role of the National Shariah Board, to set out the current state of the market including opportunities for foreign investment and to trace the roots of the industry in the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. Driven by government influence and foreign investor interest, Islamic finance looks set to become a more meaningful part of Indonesia’s financial industry. The Islamic finance model that is developed in Indonesia is likely to be a hybrid between the Malaysian and Middle Eastern approaches.

Turkey is going to establish an organized industrial zone in the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank, according to a memorandum of understanding co-signed on Wednesday. The memorandum was signed by Turkey's Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Isik, and Palestine's Deputy Prime Minister and National Economy Minister, Mohammed Mostafa. Investors will not pay any taxes. The goods produced in the zone will be able to be exported to world markets including Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and the US without any duties or quotas. Moreover, the businesses will be insured by the World Bank. The goal is to bring the legal framework and corporate capacity in Palestine to international standards.

The private sector arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank plans to tap Islamic capital markets to raise as much as $1.2 billion in long-term funds during its current financial year, its chief executive Khaled Al-Aboodi said. The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) will also explore a capital increase as it expands its economic development activities, with a proposal to be presented to shareholders in June 2015. Fitch Ratings has assigned an AA credit rating to the ICD, which has a low level of leverage but which is expected to grow as the institution increases its lending activities. The ICD will consider both syndicated Islamic loans as well as issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, Al-Aboodi added.

atuk Seri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd (KFH), has tendered his resignation. According to officials, the bank’s board had considered Hamidy’s request to resign. Pending approval by Bank Negara on the appointment of a new CEO, KFH said its board had appointed Datuk Mohamad Aslam Khan Gulam Hassan, who is currently the chief recovery officer, as the acting CEO, effective November 27. KFH also said it had appointed Mohammed Nasser Al Fouzan as chairman of the board of directors, effective November 26.

"The Oman Islamic Finance 2014: Building on a Strong Start" is written and produced by Thomson Reuters, Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI). The report provides substantive due diligence on the opportunities for Islamic financial services in Oman.

This report is an annual barometer of the health and development of the Islamic Finance industry worldwide, based on the ICD Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator.

"The Morocco Islamic Finance 2014: Unlocking The kingdom's Potential" is written and produced by Thomson Reuters, Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI). The report provides substantive due diligence on the opportunities for Islamic financial services in Morocco. There are a lot of expectations of Islamic finance in the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Morocco report breaks these down and presents a forward-looking analysis of potential Islamic banking assets and investment opportunities. The national retail consumer survey indicates Moroccan Islamic banking assets could potentially reach up to 5% of total banking assets by 2018.

After months of delays, the Moroccan parliament finally approved the Islamic financial bill that will regulate Islamic banks and sukuk issues in the kingdom. This new bill will pave the way to financial institute to establish full-fledged Islamic banks in Morocco. It will be effective once it is published in Morocco’s official bulletin in coming days. Last month, Brahim Benjelloun Touimi, the CEO of “Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur” (BMCE), said that the bank was preparing to launch an alternative subsidiary as a joint venture with a major Islamic financial institution from the Middle East, without revealing the identity of that financial institution.

The UAE was ranked first in Islamic trading among members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 2012, with trade valued at $91.3 billion. The UAE accounted for 13.40 per cent of the volume of trade between member countries, said Ambassador Hameed Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of OIC, in a statement on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting for the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (COMCEC).

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged the country's investors to invest in the economy of Iraq. Davutoglu made this statement at a session of the ruling Justice and Development Party. He said that Turkey must have firms and companies that operate in Iraq. Turkish investments in the territory of Kurdish autonomy of Iraq are estimated at $ 700 million. At present, around 1,500 Turkish companies, as well as the branches of such banks as Ziraat Bankasi, Vakifbank, Is Bankasi, Bank Asya and Albaraka operate in the territory of Kurdish autonomy of Iraq.

As well as the religious aspect, customers are attracted to Islamic finance by its flexibility, link to real economic activity and its ban on transactions involving speculation or uncertainty. To meet ever-increasing demand, Islamic finance has developed numerous products compliant with sharia law, from loans for cars and houses to funding for major infrastructure projects. The industry, which spans more than 70 countries, could be worth $4 trillion by 2020, according to forecasters including Standard and Poor's. About 80 percent of the assets are now in banks, 15 percent in Islamic bonds called Sukuk, four percent in investment funds and one percent in Islamic insurance known as Takaful.

The Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd of Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding towards developing Islamic Finance Country Reports (IFCR) on Malaysia and Indonesia. The IFCR is expected to provide in-depth information, and independent due diligence to facilitate the growth and development of the Islamic finance industry in IDB Group member countries and encourage investment by enhancing transparency. Through this combined initiative, the two institutions aim to facilitate access to information that is currently not available to stakeholders.

In order to develop a robust takaful sector, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has allowed M/s SPI Insurance Company Limited, formerly known as Saudi Pak Insurance Company Limited, to start window takaful operations. The initiative would help meet the risk mitigation needs of the masses and develop the Islamic financial sector, according to the SECP. Previously, two conventional insurance companies were allowed to transact takaful business through window operations. Currently, the SECP is processing one more application to start window takaful operations. The takaful sector in Pakistan has yet to go a long way in fulfilling the risk mitigation needs of the masses.

Swiss voters will decide Nov. 30 on an initiative that would force the country’s central bank to more than double its gold holdings. The “Save Our Swiss Gold” initiative would require the Swiss National Bank to hold a fifth of its assets in gold within five years. It would also prohibit the bank from selling any of its gold in the future and require that Swiss gold held overseas be repatriated. Organizers of the vote, members of the conservative Swiss People’s Party, say the new rules are needed because a three-year effort to cap the strength of the Swiss franc has left the SNB holding piles of euros, a currency that has been devalued in the wake of the financial crisis. The initiative has drawn opposition from the government, lawmakers and business groups.