IslamicFinance.de

Al Izz Islamic Bank plans to launch an initial public share offer (IPO) for 40 percent of the bank. the bank has set a goal to raise 40 million rials ($104 million) in this way. The offer will be opened on September 22 and will run for one month. Shares in Al Izz's offering will be priced at 0.1 rials each. Both local and foreign investors can make use of the shares with the condition that foreign investors are only allowed to have up to 70 percent of the offering.

According to KPMG Oman, conventional banks in Oman that do not offer any Islamic banking services will face the threat to lose numerous customers which will prefer a bank that offers Shari'ah-compliant financial services. Khalid Yousaf, Director of Islamic Finance Advisory Services, KPMG Oman, claims that opening an Islamic window operation is a safe strategy. As a reason he points out that it requires less capital while, at the same time, sharing a common cost base with additional business.

Al Izz Islamic Bank has announced the lunch of its IPO by next month. The bank has already received approval from the regulatory authority. According to bank officials, the shares should probalbly be listed on the stock market as soon as in September.

ONIC Holding negotiates with Royal and Sun Alliance to mutually promote takaful insurance company in Oman. ONIC Holding has already obtained an approval from the Oman's Capital Market Authority, after the government decision to allow Islamic banks. However, ONIC has to wait for announcing of a separate set of rules for Sharia-compliant insurance firms, as these are still waiting to be defined by the Capital Market Authority.

UK-based law consultancy company Clifford Chance has prepared and handed over the draft law for forming Sharia-compliant takaful insurance firms and sukuk debt instruments. While a new set of law will serve as the rules takaful insurance companies, amendments will be made in Capital Market Law to accommodate Islamic debt instruments like sukuks. The final draft is expexted to be finished in about a month's time.

As soon as the Central Bank of Oman grants the National Bank of Oman the final guidelines and the necessary approvals, the latter can offer Islamic Banking products. Also, it has launched its own Sharia compliant brand named ‘Muzn’.

A group from Aabar Investments plans to set up the first Islamic bank in Oman - Al Izz Islamic Bank. The promotion of the bank is conducted under the supervision of Abu Dhabi's Aabar , Oman's Huriah Company and Dubai-based Tasameem Real Estate Company. The bank's role will be to provide comprehensive business and retail Islamic banking solutions in accordance with Omani law.

S&P Indices made an anouncement that a new Index will be launched due to increase in the demand for a shariah-compliant benchmark in Islamic countries. The new S&P/OIC COMCEC 50 Shariah Index will measure the performance of 50 leading Shariah-compliant companies from members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Eligible countries and territories for the Index are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Aproximatly 100 investment projects worth 300 billion roubles have been introduced at the 4th International Summit in Kazan.
The organizers of the forum were the government of Tatarstan, the Islamic Business & Finance Development Foundation (IBFD) with the support of the Federation Council of Russia.
The summit is attended by thousands of guests from over 30 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation including: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey, the UAE, Oman, Pakistan.

Family businesses are estimated in the Middle East at around 90% of all companies in the region controlled by families. Furthermore, its importance was underlined with the launch of the Family Business Network GCC, the first of its kind in the area.
The network will be based in Dubai, including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

The latest study on Islamic finance and wealth management shows that the UAE residents are estimated to be third richest in the Muslim world with per capita income of $49,600 (Dh182, 000).
It seems that Qatar leads the Muslims world with per capita income of $79,000 followed by Brunei at $51,600.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries dominate the top list with Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia ranked fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

A study published by the Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services shows that a strong appetite among Omani consumers for Islamic finance existats, with many looking forward to take it up as soon as it becomes available on the market.
The report examines the retail market for Islamic Finance in Oman across all sectors including banking, finance and insurance. As a conclusion, it seems that 85% of consumers in Oman expressed an interest in Islamic Finance products, of which 59% were very interested and 26% quite interested.

The Oman First Islamic Finance & Banking Conference will bring together more 400 high level participants including governors of central banks, other industry regulators, Islamic and commercial banking leaders, fund managers, Sharia and legal experts, and world level consultants.

Further details:
http://www.iktissadevents.com/events/OIF/1

A two-day Oman Islamic Economic Forum will take place on December 17 at Al Bustan Palace Hotel. Amjad Group of Companies will organize the forum. The forum ha sthe purpose to underline the steps needed by the Sultanate to expand its capabilities in the Islamic finance, Takaful finance and the factors in relation to the social responsibility in the Islamic finance sector.
It would gather experts from the Islamic finance sector, academicians, businessmen, decision makers from inside and outside Oman for discussing significant problems in Islamic finance and other relevant issues in the Islamic broad economic system.

Governments in the Middle East were called by Dubai Asset managers in the region to unite their regulations governing the financial services industry.
Top executives stated that each GCC country — the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — posesses its own set of rules, which sometimes don’t conform to each other and make it difficult for them to sell products.

Panel of international Islamic finance experts stated that Oman’s banking and finance sector can learn from other countries’ experiences in Islamic banking, which is a new field here.
Experts gave advice to local members of the finance industry at a seminar hosted by Deloitte at the Intercontinental Hotel. They underlined the fact that Oman can use existing models, thus develop the sector quickly.

Sarasin-Alpen LLC, Oman, is a subsidiary of the private bank, Bank Sarasin & Co Ltd, Switzerland. Capital Market Authority approved that the bank markets Islamic securities, products and services to its clientele, along with its existing advisory services in private banking.
Sarasin-Alpen also influences the existing Investment Banking business of its associate, Alpen Capital LLC (Oman). Sarasin Alpen Group also has offices in Bahrain, India, Qatar and UAE.

Islamic bonds, led by securities in the Arabian Gulf, underperformed emerging-market debt in February as spreading unrest across the Middle East caused the biggest monthly rise in yields since May.
Investors are shunning Middle East assets as protests expanded to Oman, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya, holder of the largest proven oil reserves in Africa. Moody’s Investors Service and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank say Islamic bonds aren’t likely to recover unless demonstrations that have toppled Tunisia’s and Egypt’s rulers and killed hundreds end soon.

HE Maqbool Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Capital Market Authority chaired on Saturday the fourth and last meeting of the Board for 2009, which approved a number of proposed amendments to the Capital Market Law including a new clause on the creation of arbitration centre pertaining to the laws under the jurisdiction of CMA

The full news is available at the link provided.

David Masters reported on 15 April about the new Ernst & Young Report in the Insurance Daily, which says that the GCC countries contribute USD 1 bn to the USD 2 bn global Takaful market, which is supposedly growing at 20 %. Worldwide there are 133 Takaful operators. 59 of these operate within the GCC countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Ernst & Young’s head of Islamic finance is Sameer Abdi.

Source: http://www.insurancedaily.co.uk/2008/04/15/takaful-market-booming-in-gcc/

Full study at E&Y:

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/UK/_Islamic_Financial_Services