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As the bank will be soon marking its first year of operations, Alizz Islamic Bank's performance has been in line that of other Islamic banks operating in Oman. Alizz Islamic Bank last week signed an MoU with Pride Home and Max Electronics (Home Centre & Emax) for personal asset finance (goods murabaha) services. As a result of this MoU, Alizz Islamic Bank will be a preferred Islamic banking financier for personal asset finance, encompassing both home furniture buyers and electronic retail and corporate buyers. All account holders will be entitled to home finance at Home Centre and Emax at an interest rate of 5.25 per cent, on purchase of good worth over RO 1,000. Besides, the bank also plans to have agreements with hospitals and travel agencies and this is the first step in this direction.

Nearly 60 per cent of the world’s family-run businesses are struggling to find external finance to fund investment with 58 per cent of family businesses currently seeking external financing to fund their investment plans, according to KPMG. Despite family businesses creating more than 70 per cent of the global GDP, many say they find their fund-raising options limited and finding the right strategic investment partner can pose a challenge. KPMG has identified one possibly underutilised route for investment with the involvement of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), many of whom have family business experience as well as significant investment capital. According to the Survey, the top priorities of HNWIs and family owned businesses align, meaning that family businesses and HNWIs could prove to be highly compatible partners.

Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank set the size of its five-year sukuk issue at $1.5 billion while tightening the pricing to the low end of its previous guidance. Final pricing was given at a spread of 10 basis points over mid-swaps; previous guidance was in the range of 10 to 12 bps, and initial price thoughts were 15 bps. The order books were approaching $2 billion. Books closed at 1000 GMT on Thursday. The AAA-rated IDB had mandated CIMB, Deutsche Bank, First Gulf Bank, GIB Capital, HSBC, Maybank, Natixis, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Standard Chartered Bank as joint bookrunners to arrange the sukuk sale. The IDB is looking to increase its issuance of sukuk, partly to raise its profile among international investors and to secure similar pricing levels to other development banks.

Improving asset quality and declining credit losses will add up to healthy third-quarter earnings for the region’s banks, says Standard & Poor’s. With the release of quarterly results coming soon, S&P predicted in a report yesterday that the banks will sustain their strong performance – and should continue to do so into 2016. The ratings agency said in a report yesterday that even though interest rates are low, the reductions in banks’ non-performing assets should offset the contraction in net interest margins. Besides, the many infrastructure projects planned in the Gulf should translate into sustained streams of corporate lending.

The Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA) has reaffirmed the ratings of Bahrain-based ABC Islamic Bank at A+/A-1 on the national scale (long-term and short-term respectively), and A-/A-2 on the international scale with a 'Stable' outlook. The ratings agency said the overall fiduciary score of the bank has been assessed to be in the range of '76'“80' and indicates a well developed governance structure and strong fiduciary capacity, wherein rights of various stakeholders are well-protected. As the bank's business prospects continue to improve, enhancement in earnings is likely to be sustainable, the IIRA said. The bank's balance sheet has remained strong, sustained by sound capitalisation related indicators, it added.

New rules issued by the United Arab Emirates' securities market regulator aim to develop local currency bond and sukuk markets in the Arab world's second biggest economy. In meetings with potential issuers and financial firms in Abu Dhabi and Dubai this week, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) outlined rules designed to make it faster and cheaper for companies to issue conventional and Islamic bonds, and easier for investors to trade them. If successful, the project could help to reshape corporate financing in the UAE. At present, firms rely heavily on bank loans and to a lesser extent retained earnings; local currency bond issuance is minimal, and usually only the biggest companies can afford to issue bonds in the international market.

Emirates Islamic has launched of a five year Wakala investment option, with an expected profit rate of 2.5 per cent per annum. Launched with the objective of encouraging customers to focus on long term savings, Emirates Islamic’s five year Wakala investment option is available on amounts starting from AED100,000 up to AED25 million. By offering an annual profit rate similar to what is to be paid for Zakat, Emirates Islamic is enabling Muslim customers to use their funds wisely to meet their Zakat obligations. Meanwhile all customers can benefit from the attractive profit rates. The five year Wakala requires customers to ensure that the amount invested remains locked-in for a period of five years, as early liquidation would mean loss of profit.

The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has issued a new set of regulations for the bonds and sukuk market cutting the minimum value of issuance from Dh50 million to Dh10 million. The regulations include a shortened approval time of five days, and the removal of the requirement to obtain a credit rating. Additionally, bond issuers are no longer required to provide a quarterly report as they may only provide an audited annual financial statement within 180 days of the year-end. The new set of regulations aims to give momentum to the market, and strengthen the UAE’s role as a financial hub for global Islamic economy. However, the regulations do not apply to government entities and companies wholly owned by the government.

Turkish Islamic lender Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi plans to establish a presence in Bahrain. No details were given on the timeframe to start operations or what type of licence was being sought. Turkiye Finans, in which Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank is the largest shareholder, announced the plans during a visit by bank officials to the Gulf state. The move would help rekindle Bahrain’s Islamic banking sector, which includes six retail banks and 18 wholesale banks. As of June, they held a combined $24.6 billion in assets, a 5.2 per cent drop from a year earlier. Turkey Finans is one of four Islamic banks in Turkey, and has a predominant focus on corporate banking.

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB) has raised loan growth forecasts for 2014 as it increases its corporate and real estate businesses amid the fastest economic expansion in the lender’s home market for at least seven years. The bank expects lending to grow 15 percent to 20 percent in 2014, more than the 10 percent to 15 percent it had previously forecast, according to Chief Executive Officer Adnan Chilwan. The company will continue to expand to take advantage of the emirate’s buoyant property market, while keeping its proportion of total lending at about 25 percent. Besides, the lender is exploring the option of setting up a new bank in Kenya by the end of the year to add to its presence in Pakistan, Jordan, and Bosnia, Chilwan said. It also expects to increase its stake in Indonesia’s Bank Panin Syariah.

The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has appointed a new secretary-general. Saudi Arabian national Hamed Hassan Merah has been chosen for the post, replacing Khaled Al Fakih, who left the organisation in May after two and a half years in charge. Merah most recently worked with Solidarity Saudi Takaful Company and before that with Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment. Established in 1990, AAOIFI issues guidelines that are followed wholly or in part by Islamic financial institutions around the world. But as Islamic banking has grown globally over the last several years, other standard-setting bodies have become increasingly active and influential.

Kuwait Financial Centre ‘Markaz’, in its recent research report GCC Bonds & Sukuk Market Survey, reports aggregate primary issuance of bonds and sukuk in the GCC totaled $56.71 billion in H1 2014, a 24.71 per cent increase from the total amount raised in H1 2013. June was the most active month in terms of both the amount raised and the number of issuances. A total of $15.55 billion was raised during the month through 44 issues. The GCC bond and Sukuk market in H1 2014 was dominated by the US Dollar denominated issuances: a total of $14.06 billion was raised, representing 57.2 per cent of the total amount.

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) recently concluded a thematic review of the corporate governance of firms licensed to provide financial services in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The review focussed on twelve themes fundamental to good corporate governance including management structures and practices, systems and controls, internal audit and management information flows. This review is the first full scale corporate governance review and is the first occasion on which the DFSA has issued a Report on this subject. A significant finding of the review, documented in the Report, was that firms often did not carry out structured, periodic reviews of their Governing Bodies and their committees, or their effectiveness.

Empower, the district cooling company, has secured a $127.8 million (Dh469.4 million) loan from Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB). The loan facility, to be paid back over half yearly instalments over five years, will be used to fund Empower’s district cooling area in Dubai’s Business Bay area. Empower said that the loan is a cost-effective measure to sustain company growth. The loan is the first Islamic financing facility taken out by Empower.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is offering investors low-risk exposure to global sharia-compliant stocks through a new 100% capital-protected note that tracks the Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 index. The launch of the note is part of ADIB's growing wealth management offering and helps investors in the region to diversify their portfolio. The Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which includes the largest 100 sharia-compliant stocks traded globally, has given an annualized return of 6.01 percent over the last 10 years, and just over 21 percent in 2013. The note provides 100 percent capital protection at maturity to minimize risk for a minimum investment of US $30,000. The notes are open for subscription until 24th September 2014.

Hawkamah has announced the appointment of Dr. Ashraf Gamal El Din, as the Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2014. He will be based in Dubai with a mandate to cover the MENASA region. With 28 years’ experience, Dr. Ashraf has worked with several companies and educational institutions. Dr. Ashraf has extensive experience in corporate governance and in setting and implementing strategies to raise the level of awareness and application of corporate governance and responsible business behaviour among companies. Dr. Ashraf holds a PhD degree from the School of Economic, Social and Legal Studies, University of Manchester, England.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) announced that the debut Gold Account it had launched last year, has become available for clients at 7 branches as of today. The branches are; Al-Fiahaa, Al-Shaab, Al-Salmyia, Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Alfahaheel, Alqaser, and the headquarter branch. The expansion of the product aims at facilitating the efforts of clients and expanding the service. The gold biscuits each weigh 100 grams and has a purity value of 999.9, the purest form of gold. Each gold biscuit is issued and certified by KFH and the Ministry of Commerce.

The new sample of the Muscat Securities Market (MSM) Sharia Compliant Index, which includes 32 MSM listed companies, will start operations on Sunday. MSM will revise the sample each three months to include companies that are compliant with regulations and exclude companies that are not compliant. Analysts said that the Islamic indicators will attract new category of investors as they meet the needs of investors who prefer to have reliable reference that help them in identifying the investments that meet the requirements of the Islamic Sharia. This in turn will contribute to the development and growth of the Islamic finance market.

Islamic bond programmes from a trio of big conventional banks are set to expand the boundaries of Islamic finance, helping open the market to first-time issuers while testing the banks' ability to win over industry purists. Since June, France's Societe Generale, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) and Goldman Sachs have set up sukuk programmes, aiming to tap the pool of cash-rich Islamic investors. They are treading a fine line, having to reconcile the fact that their businesses mostly depend on conventional banking practices. If the three banks are successful and become regular sukuk issuers, they could help to widen Islamic finance beyond its core markets in the Middle East and southeast Asia.

Kuwait Finance House Investment Company (KFH-Investment) has participated in arranging USD 750 mln debut sukuk for the emirate of Sharjah. Emad Al Monayea, Board Director and Chief Executive Officer, KFH-Investment stated that the sukuk witnessed 10-time oversubscription where order book was about USD7.85 billion from 250 accounts. He added that the government plans to continue to use borrowing to fund priority capital investment. He explained that rating agencies Moody’s and S&Ps assigned sukuk A and A3 ratings supported by the stable future outlook. Talking about the allocation of the debut sukuk, he said that Middle East is 50 per cent, UK 20 per cent, rest of Europe 11 per cent, Asia 14 per cent and others five per cent.