IslamicFinance.de

Abu Dhabi-based Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) received cash injection of over Dh2 billion from the government in 2013, Fitch Ratings said. The state has consistently provided TDIC with substantial direct financial support, including the provision of free land, recognised by TDIC as equity contributions. In 2013, the government provided cash contribution of more than Dh2bn, according to the ratings agency. Fitch also affirmed TDIC rating with stable outlook. The ratings are aligned with the Abu Dhabi sovereign (AA/Stable/F1+), reflecting strong ties with the sovereign. Fitch said TDIC is unaffected by the emirate's recently approved public debt policy.

Arcapita Bank is suing Saudi Arabia's Al Baraka Banking Group BSC and Bahrain-based Alubaf Arab International Bank to recover a total of $45.3 million the investment firm transferred to them just before its 2012 bankruptcy filing. Arcapita is suing two units of Al Baraka for a total of $35.3 million and is going after Alubaf for $10 million in a separate suit. The suits are the biggest of 59 lawsuits Arcapita has filed seeking money it shelled out within 90 days before its March 2012 bankruptcy filing. The rest of the suits are mostly against law firms, consulting groups and vendors such as information services the company paid for. Most of those are for $200,000 or less.

Arcapita Bank is suing two Arab banks to recover a total of $45.3 million the investment firm transferred to them just before its 2012 bankruptcy filing. The suits, filed by the Bahrain-based bank against Saudi Arabia's Al Baraka Banking Group BSC and Bahrain-based Alubaf Arab International Bank BSC, are the biggest of 59 lawsuits Arcapita filed on Monday seeking money it shelled out within 90 days before its March 2012 bankruptcy filing. Arcapita is suing two units of Al Baraka for a total of $35.3 million and is going after Alubaf for $10 million in a separate suit.

Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, has completed due diligence on a proposed merger with Bank Alkhair, a Bahrain-based Islamic wholesale bank. KHCB shareholders were told by chairman Dr Fuad Al Omar that the matter was under discussion and no decision had been taken yet. When compared with 2012 levels, the bank's total assets grew by 14.6 per cent to BD542.2 million last year with the consumer finance portfolio increasing by 66.7pc. However, the provision of an aggregate amount of BD17.7m in impairment provisions and marked to market losses resulted in net loss of BD19.2m. Dr Al Omar said the bank continued to improve its profitability with increase in revenue from core operations and control of costs. On future plans, he said KHCB would launch new products based on customer needs.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House will seek shareholder approval later this month for a potential reduction in share capital and to issue a convertible sukuk of up to $500 million to restructure debt and fund new projects. Under the proposal, GFH will reduce the nominal value of its shares by 13.8 percent to $0.265 per share from $0.3075, according to a notice on GFH's website. As a result, paid-up capital will be cut to $837 million from $972 million. GFH also aims to issue convertible sukuk worth up to $500 million to restructure current liabilities, develop projects and fund possible future acquisitions, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. No timeframe was indicated for the potential offering. The proposals will be discussed during its annual general meeting on March 31.

Dubai’s government will consider establishing the world’s first fully Shariah-compliant export-import bank to promote the emirate’s foreign trade. The bank would provide financing to companies involved in trade while helping them to reduce their risks and gain market access, the Department of Economic Development said in a statement without giving details of the proposed institution’s structure or financing. Noor Investment Group will advise on the project, the department added, but did not give a time frame. Last month the Export-Import Bank of Malaysia said it had issued the world’s first US dollar-denominated Islamic bond issue from an export-import bank; the $300mn, five-year sukuk attracted $3.2bn of investor orders.

A two-day forum with the participation of over 470 businessmen, foreign investors, managers of international companies, federal and regional agencies representatives was held at the Kazan Ski Resort in the Republic of Tatarstan. «Invest in Tatarstan» was organized by Tatarstan Investment Development Agency with the participation of Tatarstan Development Corporation and Tatarstan Export Corporation. Discussions of region’s attractiveness for the foreign companies and business development in the first half of the day continued with several round tables, likec health care, real estate market, and halal industry. The forum not only demonstrates investment opportunities of the region, but also gives an opportunity to discuss specific issues directly with the leadership of the republic.

Kuwait’s Noor Financial Investment Company said the proposed sale of its stake in Karachi-based Meezan Bank had been blocked by Pakistan’s central bank, which felt the prospective buyer had not met its standards for suitability. Little is known about the prospective buyer, identified only as Vision Financial Holdings Limited in a separate filing by Meezan Bank. Noor Financial said the prospective buyer would continue to seek approval from the regulator, with the offer set to expire on April 15, 2014. However, ownership of Meezan Bank may be a sensitive issue for regulators as they seek to develop Islamic banking in the country. Last December, Noor Financial said it planned to sell its 49.1% stake in Meezan for $190 million and expected to book a $24 million profit.

Saudi investment and asset management firm Alkhabeer Capital has hosted a roundtable on ‘Family Businesses and Private Equity’ in Jeddah. The event was attended by clients, partners and a select group of prominent industry leaders and was chaired by keynote speaker, Dr. Benoit Leleux, a professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at IMD Business School in Switzerland. Dr. Leleux presented two key sessions which addressed the relationship between private equity and family businesses, the first titled “Family Business and Private Equity – Valuable Partnership or Conflicts of Interest” and the second addressed “The Impact of Governance and Presence of Non-Family Executives on Family Businesses’ Entrepreneurial Wealth Creation”.

Bahrain's Gulf Finance House (GFH) will start building a $3bn financial park and real estate development north of Tunisia's capital, a project that had been suspended for five years. The project will be one of the largest private foreign investments in the North African state. GFH's project was scheduled to begin in 2009, but financial difficulties at the Islamic bank and Tunisia's 2011 uprising froze several large-scale projects. The $3bn project will start on 15 March, and an agreement has been signed with the Tunisian contracting companies to start practical implementation of the project in a few days, according to Lotfi Zar, the executive director of the project.

Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co. (Aman) has announced a loss of AED 51.6 million at year-end 2013 that has impaired its capital adequacy. Given that this loss represents about half of Aman's shareholders' equity, S&P consider that Aman's capital and earnings position and overall financial profile have weakened significantly. The rating agency is therefore lowering its ratings on Aman to 'BB+' from 'BBB-' and placing them on CreditWatch negative. S&P also believes that Aman's retained earnings over the next two years are unlikely to be sufficient to rebuild its capital adequacy to levels consistent with higher ratings.

Qatar International Islamic Bank (International Islamic) is exploring investment opportunities overseas, especially in some African countries. However, Abdulbasit Ahmed Al Shaibei, CEO and member of the board of directors of QIIB, did not to disclose the details. Moreover, the bank is working to open seven new branches in different parts of the country, including one each at The Pear Qatar and Al Khor very soon. The bank’s total revenue for 2013 stood at QR1.458bn, and the net profit reached QR750.3m, with a growth of 10.5 percent compared to 2012, and earnings per share reached QR4.96.

A cooperation agreement between the bourses of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia – the world's two largest Islamic financial services markets – stands to help the industry grow at a greater clip in both countries. The deal, signed on February 20, will see the exchanges in Kuala Lumpur and Riyadh share expertise and develop human resources jointly. It covers topics such as equities, mutual funds and sukuk. Combined, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia hold $682bn in Islamic banking assets. The Saudi exchange, Tadawul, lists the world’s biggest Islamic banks, while Bursa Malaysia hosts the largest and most liquid market for sukuk.

Indonesia’s central bank hopes to attract a local bank to sign up as primary dealer for short-term sukuk issued by the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM). Bank Indonesia is one of 10 shareholders in the Malaysia-based institution, but it still lacks a local dealer bank for IILM sukuk. IILM sukuk just got issued recently, with limited outstanding, its illiquid and does not have secondary market. Hence, IILM sukuk is not yet well known by Indonesia-based primary dealers. A domestic primary dealer could help address this problem, even though other dealer banks have an indirect presence in the country, such as CIMB Islamic, Maybank Islamic and Standard Chartered Bank. Moreover, it could help the central bank justify its $5 million shareholding in the IILM.

Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB), the Istanbul-based lender caught in a feud between the government and an Islamic movement, fell to its lowest in more than three weeks as Turkish Airlines (THYAO) said it was no longer using the bank. THYAO didn't say where it had transferred its deposits. As a result, Bank Asya’s shares declined 4.1 percent at 12:24 p.m. in Istanbul. The market may be concerned that Turkish Airlines removing deposits may have a negative impact on the funding structure of the bank. However, it was known in the market that THY took out large deposits before, so the market’s probably overreacting at the moment. The bank has lost 41 percent since Dec. 16, and its price-to-book ratio of 0.43 is the lowest in an index of 16 listed Turkish lenders.

Oman's Bank Nizwa has partnered with the Ministry of Endowment and Religious affairs to create a seamless opportunity for customers to pay their Zakat. Customers can now easily transfer the required amount from their accounts into the allocated Ministry of Religious Affairs account at Bank Nizwa . They can also deposit cash directly into this account. Customers who regularly wish to transfer Zakat can set up a standing order. Bank Nizwa customers who choose to pay their Zakat through the afore mentioned Bank Account are assured of a waiver of fees on all standing orders linked to this account. There are also fee waivers on internal, local and International transfers associated with this account.

Dubai World has prepaid $284.5 million (Dh1 billion) to creditors under its $25 billion debt restructuring plan. The conglomerate reportedly obtained money for the prepayment from asset sales. Under the terms of the restructuring deal, cash raised from asset sales above a threshold of $300 million is to be distributed as early repayments to creditors, which include big Western and Gulf banks. Last December, a unit of Dubai World sold its 50 percent stake in Miami Beach's landmark Fontainebleau hotel. The price was not disclosed, but Dubai World originally had paid $375 million for the stake in 2008. Moreover, Nakheel said last month it was repaying Dh2.35 billion ($640 million) of bank debt 18 months ahead of its maturity in September 2015.

Saudi-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Morocco’s Al-Ajial Funds (Al-Ajial). Through this partnership, ICD and Al-Ajial Funds will establish a framework of cooperation in order to co-invest in potential projects within Morocco’s private sectors. The ICD is particularly interested in Al-Ajial Funds’ experience in supporting Morocco’s private sector, according to ICD chief executive Khaled Al-Aboodi.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has denied allegations of a link between his recent settlement with Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) over a RM66 million loan and a controversial water restructuring agreement between Selangor and Putrajaya. Last month, Khalid told The Malay Mail Online he had reached an out-of-court settlement with BIMB over a US$18.52 million (RM66.67 million) loan settlement suit, without compromising PKR or the PR coalition. He declined to give further details but it is understood that the settlement was for an amount much lower than RM66.67 million. The hastily signed MoU on the water restructuring plans between Selangor and Putrajaya has added to the intrigue surrounding the March 23 Kajang by-election, with some PKR leaders questioning the timing of the deal and Khalid’s suit settlement.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has suspended the governor of the country’s central bank, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, on charges of “financial recklessness and misconduct” and “far-reaching irregularities.” The dismissal followed by days Sanusi’s claim that $20 billion in oil revenues was missing from government accounts. The president’s insistence that the move had nothing to do with Sanusi’s whistleblowing is not convincing. An investigation 18 months ago reportedly concluded that tens of billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue was missing from 2002 to 2012. No investigation followed up on these allegations and no prosecutions resulted. Not surprisingly, there has been an outflow of currency since the dismissal of Sanusi and a sharp plunge in the value of the national currency.