IslamicFinance.de

It appears that Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone is discussing with banks how to repay its Dh7.5 billion ($2bn) Islamic bond until November, with most of the liability set to be given up by using a syndicated loan and a new sukuk. The banks that are taken into consideration are: Dubai Islamic Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Standard Chartered.
Although no details have been set up, the majority of the sum will be capitulated into new facilities, with a small amount coming from internal cash reserves.

Global Donors Forum is the annual convening of World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists to promote effective giving and forge strategic partnerships for high-impact social investment.

The dates for the Global Donors Forum are now confirmed. The Forum will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from April 26-28, 2012. The Global Donors Forum is pleased to announced that Forum will be declared open with a keynote address by Dato' Sri Najib Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

It seems that Dubai’s Noor Islamic Bank is the only institution in the United Arab Emirates that has been targeted by the US for dealings with Iran. Moreover, it appears that the bank had been a primary conduit for returning foreign-currency oil receipts to Iran, until it agreed in December to end dealings with Iranian entities that have been sanctioned by the US and the European Union, including Iran’s banks Saderat and Melli.
Meanwhile, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s largest bank by assets, noted it is reducing banking activities with Iran because of mounting international sanctions against the country.

Dubai Islamic bank with ties to the emirate’s ruling family stopped doing business with Iranian banks in December, shortly before the United States approved new sanctions targeting the country’s financial system.
The decision by Noor Islamic Bank cuts off another of Iran’s links to the international banking system. Noor appears to have acted indirectly in response to Washington’s efforts to compress the screws on Tehran.
The Iranian economy is under increasing pressure from a growing series of U.S. and European sanctions pointed at stopping its disputed nuclear program. Washington and its allies fear Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Dubai developer Nakheel wants to begin the selling of properties in its Palm Jumeirah project next month. These will be the first properties to be sold on the development since the property crash of 2008.
The Palm Residence project will test request for property in a market where prices have dropped more than 65% since their peak in the middle of 2008.
Most of the Palm project will be financed by off plan sales, meaning sales agreed before construction begins, a method that was common before the property slump and that has been criticised for being responsible for flipping and the price boom that led to the property crash.

Capinnova Investment Bank went back into the black last year. The bank had a net profit of $86,000 for the fourth quarter compared with a net loss of $2 million for the same period in 2010.
Chairman Abdul Kareem Bucheery noted that they will continue to capitalise on these opportunities in 2012 and the following years by introducing good Islamic banking products that meet our investors requirements and expectations. He added that Islamic banking industry in Bahrain is one of the important sectors with an array of opportunities that are yet to be exploited.

Islamic bonds are falling behind developing-nation debt for a second quarter as investors search for higher yields in non-investment grade securities.
According to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index, Shariah-compliant notes returned 1.5 % this year and non-Islamic bonds in emerging-market countries gained 4.1 %.
Sales of Islamic debt are intensified in Indonesia, Malaysia and the GCC, while lower-rated nations such as Egypt and the Philippines are still planning issuance.

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.

Takaful Emarat will reveal the first investment fund conceived and developed in-house, which the company sees as a milestone in its fourth year of operations. All the necessary approvals have been gained, including the crucial one from the company's Sharia board.
The open-ended fund has a multi-year tenure and will be managed by Riyadh Capital.
This is a crucial year for the Islamic insurer, being a joint venture between Al Buhaira National Insurance Co and Austria's Uniqa Group.

CALL FOR PAPERS - Islamic capital markets, Deadline: Submission of Abstract: March 15, 2012
Islamic Research and Training Istitute – Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Islamic capital markets are to become an important part of the Islamic financial system. While new products are steadily coming into the market and the Islamic investment instrument are growing, Islamic capital markets still constitute a very small niche. For a discernible impact on the investment promotion, market stability, and equitable socio-economic development there is a growing need to accelerate the process of product development, to create conducive regulatory environment and to improve the market practices. This task requires development of new human capital and knowledge base.

With this larger objective, the immediate focus of this conference is on three issues:
• Design and use of Islamic financial products for Islamic capital markets.
• Identification of the needs for and the implications of market regulations for development of Islamic capital market.

In its 2012 Islamic Wealth Management Report illustrated by masterpieces of Islamic calligraphy, by the Chinese Muslim master Hajji Noordeen, deals with the theme “The path to corporate transformation – converting a company to Islam”.

Bank Sarasin reviews the complexities of converting a business to Islam, a topic which is rarely discussed or written about. Conversion is complicated by the need to address every aspect of a business, the lack of broadly accepted standards and regulations, and differences in the Muslim world itself. The Report, released today, is the Bank’s third on Islamic Wealth Management.

Converting a business to Islam can increase the value of a company by 18-25% due to the scarcity of genuine Islamic investments. But the conversion process is arduous, extending from the design to distribution and beyond, to how the company spends its profits. As Sarasin notes, the market potential is massive, with the global Muslim population expected to increase by 26% to 2030, to 2.2 billion, rivalling China and India in terms of market size.

It seems that a long-awaited mega Islamic bank with the headquarter in Bahrain may be launched this year and $600 million of its $one billion capital will be contributed by Islamic banks in the Arab region.
The remaining capital will be subscribed by local sovereign wealth funds and other financial institutions and investors.
According to Adnan Youssef, chairman of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB), first noted that the bank would have a capital of $10 billion and would be a joint venture between regional Islamic banks and other investors.

Indonesia’s Islamic finance industry is attracting investment from Middle Eastern and European banks as regulator is searching to double Shariah-compliant assets to 10% of the total this decade.
According to Mudassir Amray, the head of wholesale banking in Kuala Lumpur, Al Rajhi Bank is pursueing investment banking business in Indonesia and may open branches when the right time comes.
Moreoever, Bank Indonesia is proposing tax breaks to raise the industry, which has grown an average 38% annually over the past five years.

The Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)’s move to push Sharia-compliant Takaful risk coverage in Pakistan is probable to benefit millions and to triple the percentage of citizens with insurance coverage, in which Pakistan ranks lowest in South Asia.
Islamic insurance can benefit those who do not subscribe to conventional insurance, which is forbidden by Sharia Law.

Dubai Financial Services Authority highlighted the advantages of listing conventional bonds and Sukuk on the region's international exchange, at a forum attended by leading investment banks and law firms.
After the transfer of NASDAQ Dubai's Official List of Securities to the DFSA in October 2011, the event that took place at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) gave away details of the new listing and admission framework, giving issuers the ability to list debt in a streamlined manner under an aggressive timetable, comparable to listing regimes on other international exchanges.
NASDAQ Dubai is the only exchange in the Middle East that has direct access to Euroclear, an International CSD, supplying an easy transaction process with the NASDAQ Dubai CSD for international and regional investors.

Investment risk will still be the major rating constraint for Middle East insurers in the next 12 to 18 months. The statement came from Moody's Investor Services.
Moody's highlightes that the key driver behind this constraint on insurers' ratings is that those insurers' appetites for real estate exposure will probably remain strong despite the downturn in certain GCC property markets, and the elevated credit risk associated with real estate in the region.
Analysts anticipate insurers to keep up their relatively high exposure to real estate and equities.

There is a need to help Middle Eastern investors understand Asian sukuk, because if investors from the Middle East become familiar with Asian sukuk, it can be a driving force for more of its issuance in Asia. The statement came from Rafe Haneef, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer.
He stated that infrastructure projects in Asia and the Middle East are anticipated to lead the growth of sukuk issuance this year, adding that Malaysia's biggest toll expressway company has recently launched a US$10 billion sukuk.

AirAsia X Sdn Bhd will put off a US$200 million Islamic bond issue planned for March by at least 12 months after the airline abandoned routes from Kuala Lumpur to London, Paris, Mumbai and New Delhi.
AirAsia X announced Jan. 12 that it was cutting its flights to Europe, justifying the cost of complying with the European Union’s emissions trading system and rising taxes.

There is currently a tremendous opportunity for Kuwait to profile itself as a hub for Islamic finance and Islamic banking, states Belgian academic and economist Professor Laurent Marliere.
He addes that Islamic finance itself is being challenged to redefine its model, the world having great expectations concerning Islamic finance and Islamic banking, which is discipline that does not belong to the Muslims exclusively but has turned into a global phenomenon.
He underlined the fact that Islamic finance is in a riper state in Asian Muslim countries than in Arab Muslim countries.

The primary market recorded a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percent in December, despite the fact that it was a quiet month for issuances outside of Malaysia.
The largest issuance for the month was the third issuance of the year for Pakistan Domestic Sukuk Company Limited which launches on behalf of the government. The $781.1 million Sukuk Ijarah was structured with a three-year tenure.
A burst of Sukuk issues from the Persian Gulf shows borrowers are worried about limited global liquidity and future access to debt markets, and are turning to Islamic finance as a source of money that is rather untouched by the global turmoil.