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Nigeria's Jaiz Bank Plc has financed an executive aircraft as part of its programmes to venture into the aviation sub sector. The aircraft, which has been delivered to the customer, Aviation Resource Service Limited, was financed under the bank’s Ijarah wa iqtina. Under this model, the bank and the Aviation Resource Service Limited are co-owners of the aircraft based on a partnership arrangement whereby ownership is gradually transferred to the customer as it pays down. The general manager of Aviation Resource Service Limited, Tanko Yakubu, said that the company was a little bit skeptical at the initial stage of their discussion with Jaiz Bank but were proven wrong.

As part of efforts to ensure that the ecosystem was preserved, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) about two years ago rolled out guidelines on the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP). The central bank had directed that sustainability reporting would commence in June 2014 with the submission of the one-off report (first quarter) not later than July 7, 2014. The CBN also instrcted that the second quarter one-off report should be submitted to it, not later than October 7, 2014, while the third quarter report should reach the CBN not later than January 7, 2015. Nonetheless, there are indications that some banks are having challenge complying with the reporting template because they are required to implement a sustainable banking principles and the respective management approach.

Considering the huge infrastructural deficit that faces Nigeria, and the challenges being faced by the Federal Government of Nigeria due to a decline in oil revenue, it has become imperative for State Governments and corporates to access alternative financing techniques to meet their capital development needs. The potentials for using sukuk as a tool for capital raising and infrastructural development in Nigeria are examined and discusses the recent sukuk issuance by the Osun State of Nigeria under the State’s N60 Billion Debt Issuance Programme.

Jaiz Bank Plc has increased its branch network to fourteen with the opening of the Kano Kabuga branch within Bayero University. A statement from the Head, Corporate Communications of Jaiz Bank, Idris Salihu said more branches would come on board before the end of the year. Salihu also stated that the bank has raised its capital base from the initial N5 billion it started with in 2012 to over N11 billion and is currently working on increasing it by way of right issue. The Bank commenced operations with three branches in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano states in January, 2012 and soon added branches in Gombe, Maiduguri, Katsina and Gusau (Zamfara state), Bauchi. It has three branches in Abuja and four in Kano with the addition of Kabuga branch.

The Governor of Osun State in Nigeria, Rauf Aregbesola, introduced Sukuk Bond to fasttrack the state’s economic development. According to the issuing houses, Governor Aregbesola’s sukuk initiative was said to be the first Islamic bond in sub-Saharan Africa. Though the governor knows that Sukuk is Islamic in nomenclature, the Sukuk bond is a conventional bond and coordinated by the regular investors in the nation’s capital and money market. The N14. 4 billion sukuk (14. 75 percent) fixed return tranche 2 has 42 investors with Lotus Capital Limited as the leading issuing house and Augusto and co as the rating agent. The bond, which is being used to finance roads and school constructions across the state, is due in 2020.

Nigeria-based Lotus Capital Limited recently launched the first sharia compliant exchange traded fund in sub-Saharan Africa – the Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund (“LHE ETF”), with a target of raising about N1.5 billion during the initial offer period. The offer opened August 15, 2014, and closes September 11, 2014. Subscription is at an indicative unit price approximately equal to 1/200th of the value of the NSE-Lotus Islamic Index (“NSE LII”) on the day preceding the subscription. The LHE ETF would be listed and traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and will contribute to overall market capitalisation and the global exchange traded fund universe.

The Nigerian Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) market has shown potential for growth, though many investors are yet to recognise its promise. In the less than four years since the market recorded its first entrants into the ETF space, there are three Exchange Traded products valued at N3.209 billion or 0.0178 percent of the total market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as at August 6, 2014. Comparison of statutory charges (sell side) on equities against ETFs shows a difference of 0.5964 percent in favour of ETFs; while on the buy side, the charges are the same. On the sell side, charges to equities are 0.7050 percent, while ETFs are 0.1086 percent; on the buy side, the charges are same at 0.3750 percent.

A Takaful insurance operator is to strategically consider the maturity matching approach as an investment mechanism in dealing with liquidity issues of the business at hand. Moreover, the issue of distribution of surplus in Takaful comes only after fulfilling or meeting the Shariah obligation of helping participants who have become victims of various risk crystallization. The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) brought out a valid suggestions on adopting the principle of Iltizam bil Tabarru (pledge or commitment to donate). This gives the participants the ownership rights over the scheme while still having the firm commitment of mutual assistance (Ta’awuni) on the premise that a balance, if any, will be returned by the fund manager for distribution between the donating participants or owners of the fund in proportion to their initial contribution.

Lamido Sanusi was crowned Muhammadu Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano in June, taking over from Ado Abdullahi Bayero after his death. A grandson of the 11th Emir of Kano and prince in the royal family, Sanusi was Central Bank governor from 2009 to 2013, when President Goodluck Jonathan suspended him after he exposed massive corruption at the state oil firm. His first months have shown the major challenges he faces: a string of suicide bombings, carried out by women, forced him to cancel the traditional end of Ramadan celebrations called the Durbar. The Islamist Boko Haram insurgency is increasingly targeting Kano. Sanusi also faces possible civil unrest in Kano if Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian southerner seen by many northerners as divisive, wins another term in 2015 elections.

Hajara Adeola, managing director, Lotus Capital Limited, has spoken on the benefits of the forthcoming listing of first Sharia Compliant Equity Exchange Traded Fund, the Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund (LHEETF) on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange via an initial offer for subscription. he TLHE ETF will be very liquid, he said, since its units can be bought and sold any time on the Exchange. More so, investors who hold a minimum of 5,000,000 units of the LHE ETF can exit by exchanging their LHE ETF units for the relevant number of the Fund’s underlying shares. Investors can either subscribe via a cash subscription or via in-kind subscription by the delivery of the stocks of the constituent companies of the NSE- LII in exchange for units of the ETF.

The Maidah Foundation, a non-governmental organisation for muslim women entrepreneurs has urged the federal government to adopt a non-interest financing to boost micro small and medium enterprise (MSME) in the country. This is contained in a communique read to newsmen by the Secretary-General of the Foundation, Hajia Latifat Balogun, at its stakeholder forum in Abuja. The communique said the development had capacity to bring millions of unbanked Nigerians to the formal sector. The communique further said the foundation was prepared to support government efforts to formulate appropriate template for the adoption of the new finance regime. The objective of the foundation is to contribute towards the economic development of women entrepreneurs in the country.

Following the receipt of the Securities and Exchange Commission clearance of the Offer Documents in respect of the proposed initial offer for subscription of 100 million units of the Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Lotus Capital Limited has announced the successful hosting of the signing ceremony in respect of the proposed initial offer. The board of directors of the company and relevant professional parties, including Vetiva Capital Management Limited (issuing house to the offer), were present to execute the offer documents during the signing ceremony. Lotus Capital, upon receipt of final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, plans to launch the Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund, an Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) based on the NSE Lotus Islamic Index.

The chairman of the Board of Directors of Jaiz Bank Plc, Umaru Mutallab, has charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other regulatory authorities in the banking sector to urgently consider developing Sharia-compliant liquidity management instruments for non-interest Islamic banks to invest in. Moreover, the process needed to be expedited to create a level playing field for all the participants in the financial service sub-sector including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that so badly needed non-interest loans for their businesses, he added. Meanwhile a communiqué issued by Maidah Foundation, a network of Nigerian Muslim women entrepreneurs, prayed the federal government to strengthen the role of Islamic organisations in the creation of funds for the Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Nigeria’s Jaiz Bank Plc has recorded a 141 percent increase in total assets, from N14 billion ($86 million) in 2012 to N34 billion ($209 million) at the end of the bank’s 2013 financial year. Customers’ deposits experienced a similar exponential surge to N21.9 billion ($134.3 million) - a 567 percent increase over the previous year. Last week, the bank announced that its social responsibility unit, Jaiz Foundation gave N10 million ($61,000) relief materials to victims of Boko Haram bombing in Borno State. Jaiz hopes to get a National operating license before the end of the year. Besides, the bank hopes to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in the next few years to avail more Nigerians the opportunity to invest in the bank.

Shareholders of Jaiz Bank Plc yesterday approved the bank's bid to get a national operating licence in order to establish its presence across the country. It also emerged that the bank has grown its assets base to N34 billion as at the end of its 2013 financial year. This represented an increase of 141 per cent compared to the N14 billion recorded in 2012. The bank hopes to acquire the National Operating License before the end of the third quarter, to enable it operate in all the 36 states of the federation. Chairman of the bank, Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab, said that in no distant future, the company would be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Jaiz foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Jaiz Bank, has donated relief materials worth N10 million to victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Borno state. The items donated included 200 bags of grains, 1,600 pieces of clothing materials for both men and women, 660 gallons of groundnut oil, among others. Borno state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, assured that the materials will be distributed to victims of Boko Haram insurgency, especially during the Ramadan. Shettima assured of the state government's readiness to continue to identify with the bank and called on other institutions and corporate bodies to emulate Jaiz and Dangote foundations.

The Islamic Development Bank has launched a programme to release $180 million in financing to six African countries for renewable energy projects. The new initiative, called Renewable Energy for Poverty Reduction, will target projects over the next three years to improve access to electricity in Africa's rural areas. Around $125 million have been committed by the bank and initial talks with potential partners such as the OPEC Fund for International Development have started to secure the rest. The initiative will focus on West Africa and projects in Burkina Faso have already been approved. Projects such as mini-grids and rooftop solar systems for Mali, Senegal, Niger and Nigeria are likely to follow and a sixth African country not yet determined.

The Islamic Development Bank has launched a programme to loan $180 million to six African countries for the purpose of renewable energy projects. Islamic finance is growing in Africa and mainly used by governments that want to develop infrastructure projects on a large scale. Saudi Arabia-based IDB promotes economic development in 56 countries through Shariah-compliant loans and grants. Just about half of the bank's member countries are in Africa. The continent is home to hundreds of millions of Muslims.

Jaiz Bank Plc has appointed Mahe Abubakar as the Executive Director in charge of Business Development. Until his appointment, Mahe was a General Manager/ Group Zonal Head of Zenith Bank Plc in charge of the Northwest region. He has a Master Degree in Business Administration from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and he is a qualified Dealing Clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Mahe has attended several trainings in and outside Nigeria. His appointment has been confirmed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Jaiz Bank will boost its net worth of investment in Nigeria to N22 billion by July, according to the bank's Managing Director Mr. Muhammed Islam. The bank's present investment stands at N15 billion and will rise to N20 billion by the end of June by sponsoring projects worth N7 billion in the period. The Jaiz bank boss explained that most of the investments were in home-financing, automotive, industrial sector, imports and exports among others. He disclosed that the bank has a deposit base of N25 billion and a working capital of up to N35 billion. Islam said the bank would soon secure licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to expand its operations to all state capitals in the country, to enable more customers access its services.