IslamicFinance.de

The conference of 'the private sector role in projects development' was held in Kuwait, where participants discussed a large number of important economic issues related to projects development, legislation, incentives and funding sources as well as the obstacles and difficulties they face. Kuwait Finance House KFH received appreciation for their plans for development in Kuwait that aim to build an economic base, create jobs and areas of new production and strengthen the role of the Kuwaiti private sector. Important international financial institutions and Kuwaiti banks expressed their keenness and ability to finance these projects.

According to a recent report by Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Sukuk market is expected to grow by around 30 percent this year, and Sukuk issuance will grow by 20-30 percent. The Islamic capital market now stands aflush with more than US 230 billion in outstanding sukuk papers. Within the corporate sukuk market, USD 26.8 billion worth of papers or 73.5 percent of total issuances were issued in Malaysia, while US 4.2 billion (11.5 percent) was issued in the UAE and USD 3.4 billion (9.3 percent) was issued in Saudi Arabia, the report concluded.

Kuwait's Capital Market Authority (CMA) published a statement on Tuesday about self-regulation by Islamic financial institutions to ensure compliance with Shariah standards. The statement recommends to appoint a sufficient number of legal observers in accordance with the size of the institution and to provide full transparency in their communications with compliance officers. The CMA also urged companies’ sharia boards to take more care to issue rulings that were in line with each other.

A leading regional financial institution are looking for an experienced professional to head up and build their Treasury and Middle Office Function.

The candidate:

- Should have a strong and relevant academic background
- Must have a minimum of 10 years related experience working in Treasury and Middle Office functions dealing with limit management and P&L reconciliation

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Alafco, a Kuwait-based Aircraft leasing group, may list some of its shares on an international exchange. The idea reportedly came from shareholders. However, the size of the stake that could be listed or on which exchange was not announced. Kuwait Finance House owns a 53.69 percent stake in Alafco, the rest belongs to State-run Kuwait Airways Corporation and private investors.

The paper makes an attempt to understand how the balance sheets of various sectors of GCC got impacted due to the financial crisis. There is also an attempt to understand why Bankruptcy laws in GCC are inadequate and what lessons can be learnt post Global Financial crisis to deal with Bankruptcy in GCC region. Estimation has been made to understand the current size of problem in GCC and we have included studies of Investment companies seeking to restructure their debt.

•To oversee the Treasury Division of the Bank and to ensure that the Division manages the Bank's profit rate, foreign exchange and liquidity risks within the limits and authorizations laid-down by the Board, Central Bank guidelines and other guidelines and authorizations issued by relevant committees.

Conceptual understanding of both Conventional structured products and Islamic finance

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The Italian private equity fund Investindustrial bought a 37.5 percent stake of Aston Martin. The deal was financed via a capital increase agreed with majority Kuwaiti owner Investment Dar. According to the carmaker's CEO Ulrich Bez the transaction will bring money for the next generation of products from 2015 to 2025, as well as know-how and experience. Investindustrial plans to expand Aston's model range and to strengthen its global dealership network.

Kuwait’s Alafco Aviation Lease and Finance Co. announced that Ahmad Alzabin will no longer be chief executive officer. The deputy CEO of the company - Abulqassim Abdul Ghaffar - will take over his position. Alfaco has not given any information on whether or not Alzabin has stepped down from his position as a chairman.

The countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have a very high chance of success in the development of their financial markets and promoting their competitiveness. This is shown in a recent research by Deutsche Bank. One of the key factors stressed on in the research report is progress made in corporate governance-related matters. The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf countries has made significant advances in establishing effective financial market regulation and oversight as well as a strong grip on market abuse and financial fraud. Continuing to follow this direction and committing the resources needed to achieve optimal consistency and effectiveness in regulation and market supervision is seen as crucial for achieving the goals of financial development and economic diversification.

According to a study by the National Bonds GCC Savings Index, about 90% of the people in a number of GCC countries feel they are not saving enough for their future. The percentage of people, who do not put away any money for future saving, is 71% of residents in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, 74% in Saudi Arabia and 65% in the UAE. The study further shows that in Saudi Arabia 92% felt they were not saving enough. The percentages in the other countries involved in the study are 91% in Kuwait, 88% in Bahrain, 87% in the UAE, 85% in Oman, and 84% in Qatar.

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) made an announcement about the sale of 16 real estate assets worth KD84m ($298m). Thus, KFH reorganises its property portfolio. No specific locations of the properties released from its portfolio across North America, south East Asia, and Europe were made public. According to Anwar Al-Ghaith, CEO of KFH, the sale aims to ensure better returns for investors and depositors.

Global Islamic banking assets are expected to reach over $1.8 trillion in the coming year. This forecast by Ernst & Young is significantly higher than some industry estimates published earlier. The Islamic banking industry continuously grows worldwide and manages to sustain its quick pace. The top 20 Islamic banks demonstrate growth rates of 16% during the last three years. Saudi Arabia appears to be the largest market for Islamic assets.

Kuwaiti T'azur Takaful Insurance Company has been assigned a first-time Ba1 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) with a stable rating outlook by Moody's Investors Service. The rating is a reflection of the company's good market position within the domestic Takaful market. Its market share is about 8% which puts the company on the 5th position in terms of Takaful contributions. In the last two years T'azur has been growing rapidly - with growth rates of 44% in average.

According to a statement by Mr. Fahad Al-Mukhaizeem - strategy and corporate affairs general manager at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) - KFH-Research together with Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and Central Statistical Bureau intends to prepare economic indicators for the private sector. Moreover, they consider an upgrade to the mechanisms followed in its researches. Such a move will stabilize business and give additional value to the national economy. A documented scientific product will be released which will include a number of indicators in Kuwait's private sector business field.

Kuwait’s The Investment Dar (TID) continues negotiations of the repayment to its creditors in its B-claim group that was due in June but TID missed the deadline for their repayment. The company declined the claim of creditors for an independent adviser to value TID’s holdings. There is still no fixed payment schedule for repayment as the negotiations are still ongoing.

Kuwait Finance House has informed its shareholders about the planned raising of the share capital by 20 pct . This move should help KFH to maintain stable ratings, improve capital ratios and boost fund expansion.

According to the chairman of Boubyan Bank, Islamic banking in Kuwait is growing double as fast as conventional banking. Throughout the Arab region, the demand is expected to be strong. In the first nine months of this year, credit volumes at Islamic banks in the kingdom reached KD11.1 billion ($39.3 billion). This is an increase of 13.2% compared to the same period in 2011. Meanwhile, conventional banks were able to register credit growth of 5.6% reaching KD18.6 billion. This is the reason why Boubyan has no interest in in overseas expansion yet.

According to the chairman of Boubyan Bank, the growth rate of Islamic finance in Kuwait is the double of the one of conventional banking. In his opinion, strong demand throughout the Arab region can be expected. The country's Islamic banks reached credit volumes of 11.1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($39.3 billion) during the first nine months of the year. This is 13.2% more than during the same period last year. Conventional banks on the other hand registered a 5.6% credit growth. Since the demand for sharia-complaint banking is so high in Kuwait, Boubyan has no intention to expand overseas yet. This contrasts with Kuwait Finance House (KFH).

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) showed its support for the Diabetes Day by organizing activities through a small clinic at Baitok Tower. KFH employees and other visitors are permitted to conduct blood tests for diabetes. Also, awareness regarding the disease and means to prevent it is raised in this way. Thousands of patients and their families are targeted by the activities organized by KFH in support of the Diabetes Day. In addition, illuminating Baitok Tower in blue shows support to millions of patients worldwide.