IslamicFinance.de

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House (GFH) expects to complete a proposed capital reduction by the end of the second quarter. Under the proposal, which still requires regulatory approval, GFH will reduce the nominal value of its shares by 13.8 per cent to $0.265 per share from $0.3075. As a result, paid-up capital will be cut to $837 million from $972m. The cash reduction will not involve any cash transfer and will not change the bank's net equity. However, under accountancy rules, it will help remove accumulated losses from GFH's balance sheet.

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to issue a benchmark-sized Islamic bond in around May next year, the bank’s President Ahmad Mohamed Ali said. In February, AAA-rated IDB already priced a $1.5 billion, five-year sukuk. The new issue will reportedly be close to this year’s issue. Besides, IDB is considering whether to guarantee Tunisia’s proposed 700 million dinar ($431.79 million) debut sukuk. The Tunisian issue is aimed at helping the North African economy recover after being hit by the 2011 uprising. Moreover, IDB’s insurance arm, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), is also debating whether to extend a sukuk insurance product to boost the credit rating of Tunisia’s sukuk.

The Islamic Development Bank's (IDB) Board of Executive Directors has approved new fundings totalling $670.9 million for development projects in member and non-member countries. The Executive Directors approved $312.8 million to finance electricity projects in Egypt and Senegal; $110 million to fund the development of a major road in Uganda; $48 million to fund pearl preservation and economic revival projects in Bahrain; $44 million for an underwater communications cable in Bangladesh; and $12.4 million to finance fish farms in Mozambique. Moreover, the executive directors gave their approval for four donations for Muslim communities in non-member Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, India and Thailand while funds will also be channelled into development projects in Africa.

The demand for real estate in Saudi Arabia is expected to remain healthy as the rising Saudi population and evolving lifestyles are expected to keep real estate demand positive in the years to come. This is anticipated across the Kingdom, but especially in the major urban centers of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Al-Khobar and Dammam. According to recent reports, current demographics require that around three million housing units need to be created by 2040 to meet the needs of the growing population. However, a significant rise in building costs is hampering attempts by developers to meet a target of building up to 500,000 low-cost homes. As a result, rental inflation is expected to remain high over the coming years.

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) announced a net profit of US$ 67 million for the first quarter of 2014, reporting an increase of 1% over the net profit of the same period of last year. While total assets increased by 1%, total financing and investments by 2% and customer accounts by 1% at the end of March 2014 compared to the end December 2013. Towards the end of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, the subsidiary units of the Group continued their expansion plans by opening new branches, with 54 new branches in 2014. The group plans to open another 84 new branches in 2014, which will raise the total branch network to 569 branches, spread over 15 countries and providing employment to over 10,000 employees.

The first UK-Bahrain Islamic Finance Summit was held in London and highlighted the importance of co-operation in the area of educational and training development in Islamic finance. The BIBF presented a paper on that topic, saying that a million professional Islamic finance jobs are expected to be created worldwide by 2020. The paper highlighted several trends and facts within the Islamic financial sector. It also highlighted that this has produced a paradigm shift from an educational standpoint in Organisation of Islamic Co-operation countries and will generate multiple specialised training opportunities for human capital development within the sector. The BIBF team also participated in many panel discussions during the event, focusing on investment, education, and regulation.

In early March, the Saudi Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) announced a decree giving all companies five years to meet new air, water and noise pollution standards. All projects must fit into Saudi's plan for international development, and must meet international benchmarks standards as part of the PME's environmental plan to protect Saudi's health and natural resources. The new regulations are wide-reaching, addressing soil and land preservation, noise pollution from operating machinery, hazardous and radioactive waste that enters Saudi Arabia's coastal waters and other harmful pollutants. Companies refusing to comply with Saudi Arabia's new standards within five years will see their projects shut down and suspended for three months.

The book Startup Rising, from the author Christopher Shroeder, is perhaps the first major portrait of the startup scene in a region that is often deeply misunderstood. It describes the desire of young people in the GCC and MENA regions to have social impact through their business ventures. It also tells the story of how businesspeople have used technology to work around cultural barriers and institutional challenges. Most importantly, the book attempts to map out the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the region. Shroeder sees three groups of people shaping the MENA entrepreneurship ecosystem: Investors, Conveners and Recognizers. They are all engaged in their societies, because they feel a sense of national pride and a desire to level the playing field for all businesses to compete.

Kingdom Tower, the Saudi skyscraper set to be the world’s tallest building, will probably have construction funding in place by the end of the first half. The developer Jeddah Economic Co. is in talks to bring in Riyadh-based Alinma Bank as an adviser and lender. BNP Paribas (BNP) SA is currently advising the company, but the size of loan being sought hasn't been disclosed. The builder has been looking for financing since at least April 2012. Kingdom Holding Co. and partners, including tower builder Saudi Binladen Group, are trying to arrange funding after investing 8.7 billion riyals ($2.3 billion) in the project. They are seeking a bank loan with a maturity of five to seven years.

In principle, Islamic banks act as financial brokers between the investors (depositors) and companies or individuals seeking finance solutions that are sharia compliant; sharing the profit/loss. One of the most important principles of Islamic banking is to play an active role in achieving social development. Islamic banks should be able to provide financing solutions for the different investment and commercial projects in a way different from the traditional commercial banks. However, Islamic banking institutions in the world in general and GCC in particular face many challenges on the foremost of which is the inability to attract leaders and manpower specialised in Islamic banking. They are therefore required to provide high quality and intensive training for their staff.

Middle Eastern investment banking fees reached US$120.3 million during the first quarter of 2014, down 17% from the previous quarter and a 2% decline compared to the first quarter of 2013. Fees from completed M&A transactions totaled US$46.4 million, up 19% from the same period in 2013, and accounting for 39% of this year’s overall Middle Eastern fee pool. Equity capital markets underwriting fees totaled US$39.6 million, more than twice the amount registered during the first quarter of 2013 (US$17.4 million) and marking the best annual start for ECM fees in the Middle East since 2008. Fees from debt capital markets underwriting declined 47% year-on-year to US$17.4 million, while syndicated lending fees fell 49% to US$16.9 million.

Eureeca, a crowd investing platform offering a global solution for growth businesses to raise finance, announced that Sameer Al Ansari has joined the company as a Board Director. Al Ansari is the founder of PE Plus, and the former chairman of Dubai International Capital, and CEO of Shuaa Capital. Al Ansari, who also sits on the boards of Dubai International Financial Centre Authority; Hawkamah Institute of Corporate Governance; and Cedrus Bank, is the company’s sixth board member.

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has joined NASDAQ Dubai’s Islamic financing Murabaha platform, which offers bank customers solutions for processing Sharia’a-compliant financing transactions. SIB is the first bank to join the facility since the official launch of the NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform last month. Through the NASDAQ Dubai Murabaha Platform, individual and institutional clients of SIB will be able to complete financing transactions within minutes. The platform is an alternative to many traditional Islamic financing solutions, which can carry a risk of losses through price movements, spreads and poor liquidity as well as delays.

The UAE's Debt Settlement Fund was set up to rescue Emiratis struggling to meet payments on loans and credit cards. It was launched with an initial budget of Dh10 billion. Heavily indebted Emiratis who receive help by the fund are not allowed to borrow from any banks and their name is centralised in all banks. All banks are required to cooperate, and uncooperative institutions will face penalties. Under the auspices of the agreement, the bank writes off half the outstanding amount of the debt, which must be in dispute. However, in turn, the bank gets closure on a debt that is stuck in litigation. However, only Emiratis who have been taken to court by a bank on account of default as of the date of the launch of the initiative in 2011, qualify for the programme.

Kuwait's Investment Dar has made a settlement-in-kind offer to creditors, in the latest of a long line of restructurings at the company. In a statement, it said the new offer was presented to creditors at a meeting in Dubai on Wednesday, and that it was optional and voluntary. The offer is an alternative to a proposal Dar made under a KD1 billion ($3.6 billion) debt restructuring plan agreed in 2011. There were no details of the type or value of assets offered under Wednesday's proposal. Giving reasons for the new settlement offer, Investment Dar said it had originally hoped that one of its "major assets" would have been returned to it by now through the Kuwaiti judicial system, but that this had not happened. The company has been in a long-running legal battle over a stake it once held in Bouyban Bank.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has appealed a decision by Kuwait's financial regulator to monitor its Kuwait-listed shares after the stock was traded in high volumes ahead of a company disclosure last year. In recent months, Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has been clamping down on what it sees as unusual market activity. Some executives and analysts have welcomed the move but others say the watchdog is being heavy-handed. Kuwait's regulator noticed GFH stock traded in high volumes in May 2013. The regulator notified GFH of its probe into the firm last September and said in April this year that it would monitor the stock for six months.

The Dubai-listed Dar Al Takaful will raise paid-up capital by 50 per cent, or Dh50 million, to Dh150 million through right issues, plunging its shares by nearly 3.5 per cent in the early morning trade of May 8. Rights shares will be offered to shareholders who own shares at the close of trading on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. The right issue will be issued at the par value of Dh1 per share and one ordinary share for every two shares. However, any surplus shares will be allocated to subscribers from shareholders or non-shareholders on a pro rata basis. The Islamic insurance company earlier this year signed a deal with Daman Investments to manage it investment account.

The United Arab Emirates should enact stronger measures to curb real-estate speculation in Dubai to prevent an “unsustainable” surge in prices, the International Monetary Fund said. According to Masood Ahmed, head of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, there is evidence that prices of real estate have been rising at a very rapid pace over the past 18 months. However, not everybody shares the same view. The Institute of International Finance, a Washington-based financial industry association, said that the rise in U.A.E. property values probably won’t lead to an asset-price bubble because credit growth remains relatively modest.

The forum "The Best Governance Practices for Combating Corruption in Family Businesses,” was held at the headquarters of the Council of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh. Representatives of a number of international organizations and CEOs of family businesses participated, among others. Speakers at the forum said serious efforts are needed to bring the concept of good governance to family-run businesses in the Kingdom. It was called for generalizing the culture of good governance in private sector firms as well as in government institutions, commissions and ministries and all civil society institutions. Good governance culture should prevail not only in financial aspects, but in all legal, administrative and financial work that combats corruption of all kinds.

The volume of finance provided by Saudi banks to Kafala-supported small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grew by 28 percent to SR 571.8m in the first quarter of 2014 compared to SR 448.3m in the same period last year. The Kafala Program, meanwhile, issued 652 guarantees for SME projects in Q1, an increase of 34 percent compared to Q1 last year. The value of those guarantees stood at SR 311.6 million. The National Commercial Bank ( NCB ) ranked top supporter to the Kafala Program during the first quarter of the year at 36 percent of the total guarantees, followed by Riyad Bank (22 percent), Rajhi Bank (17 percent), Saudi Hollandi Bank and Samba Financial Group (5 percent for each), whereas the remaining 15 percent of finance went to other banks.