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Noor Bank on Monday reported a net profit of Dh255 million for 2013, up from Dh76 million for the year ended 2012. Last year, Noor Bank’s total assets rose 29 per cent to Dh23.2 billion, compared with Dh18 billion, at the beginning of the year. While the total customer financing increased by 32 per cent to Dh14.3 billion, banks’ customer deposits increased by 33 per cent to Dh18.6 billion in 2013. The bank is strongly capitalised with a capital adequacy ratio of 17.6 per cent and has a coverage ratio of almost 100 per cent. With a strong wholesale and retail deposit base, the bank is abundantly liquid. In 2013, Noor Bank launched its trade and SME brand, Noor Trade, and more than doubled financing to SMEs.

The Islamic fund industry manages about $46 billion, only a tiny part of the total global asset management figure, which stands at $60 trillion. The issues that need be addressed for the Islamic asset management and investments to grow were discussed at the first Global Islamic Economy Summit 2013. Performance of the funds is key to bringing in clients, both institutional and retail. In a region, such as the GCC, where the retail component is extremely small, funds have to ensure capturing all the sectors in the market. Moreover, savings ratio in Muslim countries is low and awareness of mutual funds among retail groups is very low. With an attractive performance and support from the sovereign funds and pension funds and the governments, the sector may grow substantially.

According to Thomson Reuters Global Islamic Asset Management Report 2014, assets under management of GCC Islamic funds have been increasing, post global financial crisis and the 2011 political turmoil in the Arab world. However, assets under management (AUM) have been decreasing for the global Islamic fund industry. While Islamic funds globally have doubled since 2007, the AUM have marginally gone up in the last few years, and have in fact declined 1.7 per cent in 2013. Of the total $62 billion assets under management, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia Luxembourg comprise the top three Islamic fund hubs. The full report will be released next week at the Global Islamic Economy summit in Dubai.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) Group has reported a net profit of Dh1.2 billion for the first nine months of the year, up 33.5 per cent compared with Dh899 million reported in the same period in 2012. The bank attributes a 33.5 per cent increase in net profits to increased core business and lower provision requirements due to improved asset quality and overall improvement in the economic environment in the UAE. Net operating revenue of the bank at the end of the third quarter was Dh3.2 billion, up 5.6 per cent from Dh3 billion in the first nine months of 2012. Operating profit before impairments was up 7 per cent at Dh1.95 billion from Dh1.83 billion in the same period in 2012. The bank made provisions of Dh751 million in the first nine months of the year compared with D922 million in the same period in 2012. DIB continues to manage asset quality and non-performing assets by cautious lending and conservative provisioning approach.

Ajman Bank has appointed Mohammad Amiri as its new chief executive officer (CEO). A UAE national, Amiri served Ajman Bank in various capacities from October 2010 to April 2013, first as deputy CEO before being promoted as acting CEO. In his career in financial services, Amiri has been associated with leading organisations such as Dubai Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and HSBC Bank Middle East Limited in senior management positions.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has arranged a £20 million (Dh118.02 million) structured Islamic financing transaction to fund the development of Westbourne House, a prime 1980s commercial property in central London, combining office and retail space. ADIB’s financing package for Westbourne House was specifically tailored to meet the investors’ aims of acquiring, refurbishing and reselling high-value luxury properties to overseas buyers. The deal marks ADIB’s debut in London’s real estate market at a time when the British government is promoting the city as a centre for Islamic finance.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is actively involved in supporting African governments’ efforts to diversify funding through Islamic capital markets, according to Kodeidja Malle Diallo, director, group risk management department of IDB. n addition, the IDB Group and group entities are committed in supporting development projects and capital market linked Islamic fund raising efforts. IDB Group’s portfolio investments in sovereign sukuks will be purely driven by credit worthiness of issuing sovereigns. Despite the strong potential for developing Islamic capital markets in Africa, the plans are moving at a slow pace. At a political level, many countries are yet to agree on what state assets should become collateral (underlying) for a sukuk issue. Additionally, relatively low yields in conventional bonds could also emerge as a challenge for sukuk issues in these markets.

Cheraman Group, India’s first Sharia-compliant non-banking company is planning to fund several infrasturcture and industrial projects in the country. The company is gearing up to raise a large portion of its authorized capital of Rs10 billion (Dh588 million) from investors in the Middle East. Some of the directors of the group’s holding company Cheraman Financial Services Limited (CFSL), in which the Government of Kerala has a 11 per cent stake, met in Dubai last week and had consultations with senior officials of some of UAE’s banks and financial institutions as well as high net worth investors.Some of the projects under consideration include petrochemical and chemical plants and airport.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched Anchor 100 Initiative to attract top world businesses to move to Dubai by highlighting the main 11 reasons to invest in Dubai. The reasons include low taxes and incentives, location and infrastructure, and qualified labor force. Besides, the Dubai Chamber together with Thomson Reuters will host the Global Islamic Economy Summit taking place in Dubai on November 25 and 26, 2013. According to Sayd Farook, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Thomson Reuters, there is still a huge untapped potential for Islamic Finance as 72 per cent of Muslims are non-banked. Growing further will need broadening the appeal of Islamic finance as well as targeting opportunities for growth in emerging Islamic markets.

A bachelors degree in Islamic banking and finance programme has been inaugurated by Al Khawarizimi International College (KIC). The new programmes will start from September 1. KIC said the programme will develop a clear understanding of the structure of the Islamic finance industry. The bachelors degree will provide students with the opportunity of learning Islamic principles and methods of banking, economic, finance and accounting through Sharia. Moreover, KIC is also planning to offer more higher education programmes in Islamic economics such as Islamic hospitality and Islamic insurance. According to KIC, graduates rarely face difficulties in finding employment opportunities.

Nigeria is trying to establish itself as the African hub for Islamic finance. In recent months, a string of regulatory initiatives have set the groundwork for products such as Islamic bonds (sukuk), insurance (takaful) and interbank lending products, although there is still only a small number of local market participants. Islamic banking is currently offered by the Islamic window of Stanbic IBTC, a unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank, and Jaiz Bank, a full-fledged Islamic lender which has operated since 2012. Sterling Bank has been granted approval in principle for an Islamic window, while two more lenders have expressed interest in obtaining licences to operate Islamic Windows. However, Nigeria’s banking sector remains underdeveloped, with the majority of adults being unbanked.

Citigroup is the third largest bond underwriter in the Gulf region this year, up from fourth a year earlier and 19th in 2011. It’s also the fourth-largest arranger of syndicated loans, up from 11th last year. Citigroup is relying on the UAE and Qatar for lending as rivals including JPMorgan & Chase Co and Deutsche Bank AG expand in Saudi, the region’s biggest economy. However, the bank’s reliance on UAE debt may bear some risks. The spread between bonds from Saudi Arabia and UAE notes widened to 323 points on August 7, the highest since April 2009. UAE yields have risen 128 basis points this year. Besides, Citigroup is also expanding elsewhere in the Middle East. The bank in June got Iraqi approval to open an office in Baghdad. Iraq is the New York-based bank’s first country opening for six years and comes as CEO Michael Corbat seeks to sell or scale back consumer operations in nations such as Turkey, Pakistan and Uruguay, reversing an expansion strategy into faster-growing economies by former CEO Vikram Pandit.

TheAbu Dhabi Forum on Entrepreneurship, which is organised by the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) from October 7 to 9. The forum aims to highlight important projects by young entrepreneurs, support fresh and creative ideas and finance innovative business models. It addresses a diverse range of issues such as financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises, the evolving role of young entrepreneurs in the economy, social empowerment and numerous other advancements. The forum will also provide an opportunity to meet potential investors, clients and industry bodies and learn from their experiences in the world of business. Around 69 projects totalling Dh51.4 million have been financed by the Khalifa Fund during the first quarter of this year.

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) organised and successfully concluded its second Sustainability Summer School (SSS)end June where over 50 undergraduate and post-graduate students from various universities across the region participated in a week-long professional development programme on sustainability.The theme at the event this year was “Greener Hands for a Greener Community’. It was aimed at the participating students imparting knowledge on how to reduce the ecological footprint not only as individuals but also as campaigners who would enthuse other members of the community in developing greener communities for a greener future.Members of the five competing teams were proactive in coming up with innovative eco-conservation ideas and making field trips to organisations such as Masdar City, Dubai Metro, DEWA and the Platinum Pacific Control’s building that uses solar energy.

Dubai Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) recorded a net profit of Dh739 million in the first half of this year, up 25 per cent from Dh592 million during the same time a year ago. Net profit for the second quarter of this year reached Dh437 million, up 31 per cent from compared to Dh334 million registered during the corresponding time last year. Net revenue for the first half of the year amounted to Dh2.1 billion, an increase of 10 per cent from Dh1.9 billion recorded during the same period in 2012. As of the end of June, the bank’s total assets reached Dh111.1 billion, customer deposits grew by 23 per cent to Dh82.4 billion. The bank’s gross investing and financing assets rose 1.4 per cent to Dh59.6 billion. During the first half of the year, the bank expanded its retail franchise to include three branches and 23 ATMs to its network. Additionally, it completed its acquisition of Tamweel, an Islamic home finance provider.

Ramadan 19, named as “Emirati Humanitarian Work Day”, is an annual event in memory of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and aims to inculcate the spirit of giving and philanthropy nationwide. As many as 1,500 charitable activities will be organised across the country by 270 local and federal departments to mark the day. The activities will feature presenting refrigerators and air conditioners to the needy families, setting up a chocolate factory to offer jobs to people with special needs, workshops for needy families, a day for orphans and distribution of Ramadan rations and Eid Al Fitr gifts. Moreover, the UAE has launched the “Egypt in Our Heart” campaign, which will contribute to infrastructure development in Egypt, Besides, other initiatives have been launched, to help Syrian refugee children and to combat blindness and visual disability, among others.

In the past, European arrangers and investors dominated issuance of international bonds from Turkey. But in recent months the Gulf has started to play a major role, for commercial and possibly even political reasons. About $10 billion of last year’s Turkish issuance came in the final four months of the year, and was dominated by banks. The Gulf is central to the current stream of issuance. One reason for the shift is Turkey’s move into Islamic finance. The fact that three of Turkey’s four Islamic banks are affiliates of Gulf banks has also helped steer sukuk issuance to the region. Another factor behind the trend is Turkey’s increasing emphasis on developing political and economic ties with the Gulf. Pricing is also a factor because yields from Turkey are generally higher for similar credit ratings.

Strong investor demand supported by improving liquidity is expected to boost both issuance and performance of sukuk this year. Global issuance expanded for the fourth year in a row in 2012, growing 64 per cent to about $138 billion. While sukuk is still considered an alternative investment, it is believed to have the potential to grow, especially due to funding needs and large infrastructure investments in Malaysia and the GCC.

Falcon Private Bank is planning to launch a fund early next month that will invest in global sukuk.The fund will be offered to the bank’s clients and could grow to $500 million, according to Zafar Khan, Falcon’s Mena chief executive. There is alreade substantial demand from the bank's clients for global sukuk investments, he added. He also considers the yields of the past two years dislocated and the current yields more realistic to the underlying risk.

According to a report from Standard and Poor’s, an increasing number of African countries are considering issuing sukuk to fund their huge infrastructure needs and to diversify their investor base. South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mauritania have all announced in recent years their intention to issue sukuk bonds. Moreover, following the Arab spring and the rising influence of Islamist parties in some countries, the development of Islamic finance has gained importance for their governments, for example in Egypt and Tunisia. Standard & Poor’s believes that sukuk issued by African sovereigns could address an investor base in the GCC or at the Islamic Development Bank.