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The Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on July 9 to promote SME growth in Bahrain. Under the terms of the joint partnership, the ICD will establish an Islamic Ijara Company in Bahrain to help SMEs succeed by offering Sharia-compliant financing products. The proposed Ijara Company will also be used as a training centre to help Bahrainis in the area of Islamic finance. In addition, ICD plans to set up a software development centre in Bahrain for software solutions for Ijara, Takaful, Mortgage and Islamic Banking, for export to the international market. Moreover, the ICD will assess the feasibility of establishing an SME Fund in partnership with the EDB, with the aim of supporting and investing in SMEs based in Bahrain.

Sharjah, the third-biggest sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates, is getting bigger in Shariah finance. The emirate has reportedly approached banks about a debut sukuk sale. Moody’s Investors Service last week gave state-backed Sharjah Islamic Bank PJSC an A3 rating, citing its strong capital buffers. While Moody’s said that Sharjah’s economic growth this year is expected to be only 0.5 percent, the ratings company also pointed to the government’s low levels of debt and strong finances. Sharjah’s economy is well-diversified, with strong manufacturing and a more affordable cost of conducting business than in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

The Board of Directors of Alizz Islamic Bank has announced the appointment of Salaam Said al Shaksy as the Chief Executive Officer of the bank. Al Shaksy comes with over 22 years’ experience in retail as well as wholesale banking. He previously held the position of CEO in several local and international banks and financial institutions such as National Bank of Oman, Dubai Bank and Dubai Islamic Investment Group. Currently, Al Shaksy is Chairman of Oman’s Investment Stabilization Fund. He is also a member of the Board of Directors; member of the Board of Executive Committee and Chairman of the Tender Committee of Al Rafd Fund (Oman’s Government funded SME fund); and a Board Member of the College of Banking and Financial Studies set up and supervised by the Central Bank of Oman.

Barwa Bank , Sharia compliant banking service provider from Qatar, has announced the opening of a representative office in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). ?Currently in its fifth year of operation, Barwa Bank enjoys strong relations with major corporates, an increasingly growing SME portfolio and one of the fastest growing retail banking activities in Qatar. This momentum is expected to increase in 2014, as it continues to build up activities. This is the first time Barwa Bank has opened an office overseas and is in line with the bank's plans to develop the Sharia-compliant financial market outside as well as within Qatar, said Khalid Al Subeai, Acting CEO at Barwa Bank.

The DIFC is considering creating a single centralised Sharia board for the DIFC , in order to widen the acceptability of any one Islamic institution’s offerings and overcome the problems created by every institution having its own Sharia board and, therefore, limiting the liquidity of the market. Regulatory arbitrage is a problem in the global Islamic financial markets where every institution has its own Shariah board. A centralised DIFC Shariah board would help standardize the Islamic financial products and widen the number of people participating. Still there is not one global standard and every country has its own requirements which is not helping the development of Islamic finance.

Saleh Kamel, chairman Board of Trustees Iqraa Waqf for Employment & Business Expansion, has highlighted the worsening situation of endowment properties in Muslim countries as a result of interference of governments. Kamel who is also chairman of the board of trustees of Iqra Endowment, emphasized the role of development in fighting poverty while speaking at the 35th Albaraka Symposium for Islamic Economics. He urged the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to strengthen its efforts in developing endowment properties in the Islamic world. Other speakers presented a number of models for endowments from different parts of the world, and emphasized the need for transparency.

Emirates NBD has announced that its Investment Bank is ranked as the leading arranger of US dollar denominated sukuk globally. According to league tables published by Bloomberg, from January 2014 to June 2014, Emirates NBD Investment Bank arranged 10 dollar sukuk issuances aggregating to $5.4 billion, which is the highest number of dollar denominated sukuk issuances led by any arranger during this period. This achievement is the latest in a series of recognitions for Emirates NBD Investment Bank, which has also recently been named the “Best Regional Bank of the Year” by IFR Middle East (Thomson Reuters) and “Best Debt House” by EMEA Finance.

AlKhair Capital Dubai has successfully managed the last listing of Sukuk by the Saudi property developer Dar Al Arkan Real Estate & Development Company. AlKhair Capital Dubai was the financial advisor for the Sukuk listings program on Nasdaq Dubai, with a total value of $1.15 billion. The Sukuk program, in US dollars, included a $400 million, listing - the third tranche which was issued last month and orders opened on May 20, 2014. The value of the orders was 2.3 oversubscribed the size of the tranche exporters. The third tranche was issued for five years and will mature on May 28, 2019 at a coupon rate of 6.50%.

Standard Chartered Saadiq, the Islamic banking division of Standard Chartered Bank, opened its first dedicated Islamic Banking Centre in the UAE at the Al Khalidiya Branch in Abu Dhabi. The launch of Saadiq Islamic Banking Centre comes in response to the increasing demand for Islamic banking service, the bank said. Standard Chartered has the largest retail distribution network among international banks operating in the UAE with 11 branches, five Electronic Banking Units and more than 90 ATMs and Cash Deposit Machines spread across the country. Standard Chartered Saadiq is the only international bank offering Sharia-compliant retail banking services in the UAE.

Nakheel has said that it will not sell Sukuk to fund its growth plans, in the hope that its recovery from the risk of default in 2009 will help it secure cheaper funding from banks. Chairman of Nakheel, Ali Rashed Lootah, said the firm will not go for a bond because bonds are more expensive than commercial lending from the banks actually. He considers Nakheel being in a strong position to negotiate with lenders, with banks, and get good terms especially after what they have achieved.

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday assigned to Sharjah Islamic Bank ( SIB ) issuer ratings of A3/Prime-2 and a stand-alone bank financial strength rating of D+, which is equivalent to baseline credit assessment (BCA) of baa3. The rating assignment reflects SIB’s very strong capital buffers, relatively low borrower and sector concentrations and satisfactory profitability and liquidity metrics, according to the rating agency. Moody’s assessment of Sharjah Islamic Bank’s franchise takes into account the growing importance of Islamic finance and associated franchise opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, according to the rating agency.

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya has ruled out reports of ending share sales talks with Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB). Several reports on July 2 claimed Bank Asya and the QIB have ended exclusive talks regarding the QIB acquiring a stake in the Turkish lender after failing to agree on price. The reports also quoted sources claiming Turkish state-run bank Ziraat Bank may now be the most likely partner for Bank Asya, but the two banks have not officially begun negotiations. Ziraat Bank officials said there had not yet been any official attempts to move toward Bank Asya, but they did not deny the possibility of such an acquisition either. Meanwhile, on July 1, Bank Asya announced it has moved to sell assets worth around 133 million liras.

United Arab Bank (UAB) has announced the completion of a 3-year syndicated Murabaha facility worth US$100m with four banks based in the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait. The Murabaha deal is the first Islamic syndication completed by UAB. Al Hilal Bank , headquartered in the UAE, served as the Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner for the deal, while the Arab Banking Corporation, headquartered in Bahrain and Sharjah Islamic Bank, were the other Mandated Lead Arrangers. The National Bank of Kuwait also served as a Lead Arranger. The syndicated Murabaha facility which has been taken out for general corporate purposes, was almost twice oversubscribed.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Turkey's Bank Asya have ended exclusive talks over QIB acquiring a stake in the Turkish lender, with valuation concerns said to be behind the decision. Turkish state bank Ziraat Bank may now be the most likely partner for Bank Asya but the two banks have not officially begun talks. It is not clear what size stake has been under discussion. Bank Asya shares slumped 9.9 percent to 1.36 lira, their lowest since April 1, by 1304 GMT, on the news that Asya was no longer holding exclusive talks with QIB. Islamic lender Bank Asya has been under pressure to sell assets, after major investors sympathetic to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan withdrew deposits.

Dubai-based Islamic mortgage provider Amlak Finance has proposed a new deal to restructure about $2.7bn in debt. The company, part-owned by Emaar Properties, said it met lenders last month to present the deal. If the deal is agreed, Amlak will make an initial 20% down payment to depositors worth about Dhs2bon ($545m). The remaining debt to “commercial depositors” will be paid over 12 years, with about Dhs1.4bn turned into a convertible instrument.

Ithmaar Bank has issued an investor report on its Shamil Bosphorus Modaraba (SBM), indicating the fund will not achieve its investment objectives and stating that there is also a low probability that investors will have their entire capital returned. The Bank will be contacting investors to discuss the investor report and to explain available options. The SBM is a $90 million investment fund opened in November 2007 and provided equity for the acquisition, development and sale of a diversified pool of assets that included land, property and development sites in Turkey. During 2013, the Bank attempted to negotiate an exit from Turkey with its Turkish partners and more recently it has been conducting enquiries through its appointed advisers and consultants.

Abu Dhabi-based Al Hilal Bank has issued $500 million Perpetual Additional Tier 1 sukuk. The transaction, which was 9 times oversubscribed, drew demand worth $4.5 billion from over 200 investors. The offering follows Al Hilal Bank’s inaugural senior sukuk offering in October 2013 and has been structured to increase the probability of compliance with Basel III. The issuance was priced at par with a profit rate of 5.5 per cent, which represents the lowest coupon achieved by any bank for a USD Tier 1 issuance outside of the United States since 2008. Joint lead managers for the issue included Al Hilal Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Rayan Investment, Citigroup, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, Sharjah Islamic Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Standard Chartered Bank.

The crowdfunding platform Kiva and Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Ltd. have partnered to launch ‘Change is in Your Hands’. The campaign enables individuals who want to help entrepreneurs with a plan. As part of the launch, Grameen-Jameel is offering up to 13,000 visitors to www.kiva.org/MiddleEast a ‘free trial’, the equivalent of $25 to lend to the entrepreneur of their choice. To double the campaign’s impact, Grameen-Jameel is also matching up to $665,000 in loans made by Kiva lenders. In total, Grameen-Jameel has committed $1 million to this campaign. Loans that meet both traditional and Islamic financing standards are available. ‘Change is in Your Hands’ will focus as a first step on lending to support entrepreneurship among women and youth in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and Turkey.

Around 80 percent of nonoil GDP within the Middle East region is accounted for by family-owned business groups. Typically, these privately-owned organizations span multiple business, are vertically integrated, own sizable real estate portfolios and their operational control is still maintained by the original founding family member or the second generation. Family-owned businesses in the Middle East face a range of challenges that affect not only the success of the business itself, but also the professional and personal goals of their owners and their stakeholders at large. Deloitte's Private Client Services practice (PCS) is a private client-focused practice that offers bespoke and region-specific solutions in the area of family governance, succession planning and generational change, wealth management, tax structures and exit strategies.

The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) announced that its upcoming seventh annual conference will be held on 26-27 November 2014 at the Royal Convention Centre at Le Merdien in Amman. The theme will be food security options in Arab countries, based on a comprehensive report on the subject which AFED is preparing in cooperation with a group of experts at research and policy centers. The AFED Food Security report aims to provide an overview of the state of agricultural resources in Arab countries, and discuss the role of science and technology in enhancing water and food security. Experts are preparing case studies on vital issues such as virtual water trade in the GCC countries, marginal land productivity in the Badia of Jordan, and Morocco green plan, among many others.