IslamicFinance.de

In #Malaysia Danajamin is of national importance because of its role to ensure continued flow of credit in the financial system. It contributes to the democratisation of the capital market by giving financial guarantee insurance to companies that are raising funds from the market through the issuance of bonds and sukuk. Danajamin has provided credit enhancement guarantees for RM9 billion bond/sukuk programmes issued by 31 Malaysian companies across various sectors. These include guaranteeing sukuk issuances to finance the West Coast Expressway Project, connecting the west coast of the peninsula from Banting, Selangor, to Taiping, Perak. Recently, Danajamin has become the first financial guarantee insurer in the world to issue its own sukuk. The agency issued its maiden Tier II Subordinated RM500 million Sukuk Murabahah, with a tenure of 10 years and priced at a yield of 4.8% per annum on Oct 6. The demand from investors was so encouraging that Danajamin decided to upsize the issuance from an initial RM300 million to RM500 million.

Saudi Arabia’s central bank is preparing tougher rules for insurance companies. A new supervisory framework will be introduced in the coming months that will force insurers to boost capital significantly and improve internal risk controls. The moves are aimed at triggering consolidation in the insurance industry and forcing weaker companies to merge with stronger ones. The proposed changes were discussed during a meeting between officials of the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA) and senior insurance executives. Saudi Arabia’s insurance market is fragmented, with only a few companies dominating the sector and an abundance of smaller firms unable to make inroads. The central bank does not want the smaller companies to fail, as more than half of the shares are owned by politically sensitive retail investors in a market unaccustomed to liquidations.

Cheap oil and ambitious infrastructure-building programmes have set the scene for a record year for Islamic bond sales. In the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia led the way with a $9bn global offer in April, while Oman and Bahrain have also sold sukuk. In Malaysia, funding for rail and other projects is driving ringgit issuance by state- owned companies. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, sukuk sales have reached $42.2bn so far this year. CIMB Islamic Bank has arranged the most Islamic note sales by value this year. The bank's CEO, Mohamed Rafe Mohamed Haneef, expects this momentum to be continued through to 2018. Besides the Saudi offer, the biggest sales so far this year are Hong Kong with $1bn, Indonesia with $3bn, Turkey with $1.25bn, Oman with $2bn and Bahrain with $850mn of sukuk in September. In Malaysia, state-owned companies DanaInfra Nasional and Prasarana Malaysia have been among the biggest corporate issuers this year.

Sberbank is considering setting up an Islamic finance entity and will propose regulatory changes to facilitate sharia-compliant business. Vnesheconombank and Tatfondbank are also developing Islamic finance products. Legislation will need to be passed in Russia to make Islamic finance cost-effective. Taxation is often an obstacle, as transactions have double or triple tax duties since they require multiple transfers of underlying assets. Sberbank is currently testing pilot transactions in leasing, financing food production and trading. Oleg Ganeev, deputy chairman at Sberbank, said the decision on whether to set up a separate entity could come by next year. He added that local businesses could also consider issuing sukuk, as they have a variety of tangible assets that can support such deals.

Malaysia’s central bank said that the country is the ideal test bed for developing financial technology (fintech) solutions. Marzunisham Omar, assistant governor at Bank Negara Malaysia, explained that the growth of the sector has provided innovative opportunities within the financial industry. While the country’s central bank is keen to push a fintech agenda, its position on digital currencies is not as clear. Bank Negara governor Muhammad bin Ibrahim said that a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies was not out of the question. The bank is currently developing guidelines for them. Either way, by the end of the year, the bank is expected to reveal its position on the cryptocurrency market.

Arcapita and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company have partnered to acquire an approximately 90% stake in NAS United Healthcare Services (NAS). Arcapita is a global Shari'ah compliant alternative investment manager. Mumtalakat is the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Abu Dhabi-based NAS is a regional leader in the provision of third-party administrator services to more than 40 health insurance and takaful companies in the Arabian Gulf. NAS services a pool of more than 500,000 insured members and processes more than 3 million medical claims per year. The market for outsourced medical claims management in the GCC region is expected to grow significantly. Most GCC governments have either implemented mandatory healthcare insurance coverage or plan to launch initiatives in the next 2 to 3 years.

Malaysia will issue more green sukuk to finance environmental-friendly infrastructure projects. Energy and Green Technology Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili said the government was confident it would achieve its renewable energy generation target of 7,200 megawatts (MW) by 2020. The solar energy will contribute 2,080MW to it. In July this year, Malaysia issued the world’s first green sukuk, RM250 million Sustainable Responsible Investment (SRI) sukuk, to finance the construction of an LSS project in Kudat, Sabah. Quantum Solar announced the world’s largest green SRI sukuk issuance of RM1 billion recently. The projects are expected to create up to 3,000 jobs, generate electricity for up to 93,000 households and reduce carbon emissions by 210,000 tonnes annually.

Qatar International Islamic Bank has finished creating a $2 billion sukuk issuance programme and is preparing to issue it when market conditions improve. Qatar's access to international bond markets has become problematic since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with the country. Instead of debt markets banks have turned to privately placed bond and sukuk deals, as well as bilateral loans. Qatari banks are facing greater urgency to secure funding because banks from the four Arab countries have been withdrawing deposits from Qatar. Last month the largest Qatari lender, Qatar National Bank, raised $630 million in Taiwan’s Formosa bond market. Commercial Bank of Qatar is also considering whether to borrow money on the Taiwanese bond market.

In 2013, 2014, and 2016, the UAE was the world’s biggest international donor, disbursing billions of dollars each year. In 2015, it had the fourth highest aid per capita in the world. Most westerners have no idea that the UAE is so active in foreign aid. Around 90% of its foreign aid is developmental with the rest going on humanitarian and religious/cultural assistance. The recipients are primarily developing Arab and Islamic countries, including Egypt, Yemen, and Jordan. A key factor is a difference in Islamic and secular westerner attitudes to charity. When Islamic banks in the Gulf region are solicited for funds to support civil society projects, they often donate only on the condition that their donation be anonymous. Going forward, transparency efforts must continue. However, the UAE must also work hard to protect the dignity of its aid recipients via appropriate levels of discreetness.

The Church of England is circulating a video which discusses investment issues within the church. The initiative is part of Good Money Week to stimulate responsible investment. The YouGov research for Good Money Week shows that there is a high demand for ethical and sustainable investment. 57% of Britain's public believe investment managers have responsibility to ensure holdings are managed in a way positive for society and the environment. There is a rising demand for fossil free funds: 40% want a fossil free option, up from 35% last year and 32% in 2015. This rises to 57% of adults under 24. The research also found that UK savers feel disempowered by financial intermediaries. 76% of Britain's public don’t know how much of their pension is invested ethically and 30% believe they have no say in how their assets are invested. During Good Money Week, the Church of England provides the tools to find out more about ethical investment and helps to take the first steps.

#Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an inquiry into the alleged misuse of authority by SBP officials at the amalgamation of KASB Bank into BankIslami. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), a smear campaign was run in the media against them. SBP added that the onesided views presented in the media led to misjudgment about the authority of SBP as a guardian of the financial sector. All stakeholders of the defunct KASB Bank were well aware of the poor financial conditions of the bank. The State Bank gave ample time to the sponsors of KASB Bank to inject further capital into the bank. Besides capital shortfall, the bank and its sponsors engaged in fraudulent practices and were siphoning off more than Rs 3 billion from the bank. SBP stated that none of its officials misused authority nor were involved in any kind of corrupt practices.

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) launched a strategy for Islamic capital market development. The strategy includes the supervisory role played by SCA, the role played by self-regulatory organizations (SROs) and the challenges encountered. SCA's role is to issue legislative regulations for the Islamic capital market, updates on sukuk and capital adequacy regulations, the introduction of shari'ah board governance system and the organization of training programs. Markets' role is to issue provisions regulating trading securities, update existing regulations and develop investment indicators for Islamic securities. There are numerous challenges facing the Islamic finance market. They include the high costs of Islamic contracts, the increased complexity of Islamic products, the difference in perspectives of Islamic law and the availability of trained and qualified human resources.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) jointly organised the event entitled Shariah Governance in a Globalized World. It featured over 50 experts comprising Shariah scholars, Islamic finance professionals, academics, practitioners and regulators. Issues regarding Islamic jurisprudence were discussed as well as contemporary best practices in the corporate governance of banks. Some participants offered proposals on reforming models of Shariah governance of Islamic banks. Dr Haitham Mohamed Al Salama, chief economic adviser at the QFC, said contributing and collaborating in the field of Islamic finance was a key goal for the QFC. He added that such events were part of QFC's strategy to develop a world-class international business sector in Qatar.

Investment banks (IBs) want Bank Negara Malaysia to withdraw the property lending guideline, which was introduced in 1997. It stipulates that a bank’s credit facilities should not exceed 20% of its total outstanding loan base. Compliance with this requirement is calculated on a quarterly basis. For IBs, the guideline mainly affects their underwriting business. They think the guideline is outdated, especially since there are already other macroprudential measures introduced by Bank Negara in recent years. The Malaysian Investment Banking Association (MIBA) had highlighted the issues affecting the industry to Bank Negara. It is understood that the central bank is currently reviewing the guideline.

#Saudi asset manager SEDCO Capital participated in the Islamic Finance Forum in London as an associate sponsor. Several panels and workshops were held focusing on trends in Islamic Finance and European markets. Panel topics included the role of European Stock Exchanges in facilitating Islamic capital raising, Islamic corporate financing activity in Europe and the impact of Brexit. Kamran Butt, Managing Director at SEDCO Capital, participated in the panel discussion entitled "Responsible Investing: The Shift towards Green Finance, ESG & Ethical Funds". Butt said SEDCO's Prudent Ethical Investing (PEI) strategy created optimal risk adjusted returns by integrating Shariah-compliant investment approach with ethical investing. PEI stresses the importance of due diligence and transparency. PEI investment products are getting increasingly popular. International investors can choose from over 14 SEDCO Sharia-compliant investment strategies in Luxembourg with total AUMs of $1.8 billion.

There are several rumors about possible mergers of the smaller Islamic banks in the GCC region. According to UCapital, the relatively small size of Islamic banks is one of the compelling reasons for them to consider consolidation. However there is no compelling reason for a big number of regional banks to rush into merger deals. Banks across the region are facing pressure on profitability and tighter liquidity. The UAE, Bahrain and Oman would benefit from consolidation as many banks in these countries lack sufficient scale. A proposed merger of Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank is expected to result in second biggest Islamic Bank in the GCC. Merger of Qatari banks Masraf Al Rayan, Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar which was announced last year is progressing and is expected to complete by end of the year.

#Malaysian Danajamin Nasional has issued its inaugural RM500 million, tier-2 subordinated sukuk. It is part of a RM2 billion of senior and subordinated Sukuk Murabahah facility. The subordinated sukuk has a tenure of 10 years and is rated AA1 by RAM Rating Services and AA+ by the Malaysian Rating Corporation. The inaugural issue was oversubscribed, receiving a response of about RM800 million from a diverse range of investors. Danajamin CEO Mohamed Nazri Omar said that a total of 16 investors participated in the inaugural issuance and the sukuk achieved a yield of 4.80%. The issuance also sees Danajamin strengthening its regulatory capital level, enabling it to continue meeting its developmental mandate to stimulate the sukuk market.

Warba Bank participated in the launch of the Islamic Development Bank’s (IDB) most recent Sukuk issuance. The IDB has issued a five-year $1.25 billion Sukuk at an annual return of 2.661%. In terms of the final allocation, 53% of the issue size has been allocated to investors in EMEA, while 47% has been allocated to Asia. 57% of the issue size has been allocated to central banks and official agencies, while 43% has been allocated to banks and fund managers. Shaheen Hamad Al Ghanim, CEO of Warba Bank, said he was proud to participate in IDB's latest issuance, which came in addition to the Bank’s launch of its $250 million Sukuk earlier this year. That has been a key factor in making the bank the first option to manage Sukuk issuances. Al-Ghanim pointed out that Warba Bank would continue its strategy and explore investment opportunities in the regional and international markets that yield maximum returns.

Christ Coin has launched as the first Christian cryptocurrency. Built by Life Change, Christ Coin has a mission to meet the spiritual and practical needs of anyone and unite Christians together as one community. Following the initial crowdfunding period, anyone can sign up on the Life Change Platform and be monetarily rewarded by interacting with the platform. There are various ways of interacting, like volunteering, participating in small groups, posting content and even reading the Bible. Investment in the crowdfunding is not required. Luke Forstmann, co-founder of Christ Coin, said Christ Coin was an investment opportunity which goes much farther than personal finance. It is created to change lives, support ministries and inspire people to grow in their faith. As with other cryptocurrencies, Christ Coin will offer quarterly buybacks and burn of coins. This allows Christ Coin to grow and increase the currency value.

A judge at a United Arab Emirates court has postponed the ruling in the Dana Gas sukuk case. Dana is refusing to make payments on the sukuk, which will mature this month. It argues that changes in Islamic finance over recent years have made the bonds unlawful in the UAE. The postponement means the next major development in the dispute may occur in a London High Court, where fund manager BlackRock and Deutsche Bank are representing the sukuk holders. In late September, High Court judge George Leggatt said he would adjourn the London trial until October 12.