IslamicFinance.de

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is considering cutting jobs and closing branches as part of a series of cost-cutting measures. The cutbacks come as ADIB announced a growth of 4% in net profit for 2019 to AED2.6 billion while group net revenues increased by 2.5% to AED5.9 billion. Net profit margin was 4.25%, despite lower rates in the market, helped by the positive impact of the low cost of funds. The UAE economy is coming under pressure from regional geopolitical tensions and weak domestic demand, while business conditions worsened for the first time in over a decade. ADIB joins competitors such as First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Emirates NBD in cutting jobs.

According to a study from Schroders and Maybank Islamic, muslims have been underserved by the asset management industry, with limited innovation in product offerings and low growth in assets. As of June 2019, only US$3 billion was invested globally in Shariah global equity funds. Schroders and Maybank Islamic said the incorporation of sustainability considerations was both complementary in philosophy to Shariah investing, and had the potential to improve investment outcomes. The study further found that if investors were to start with a blank slate using Shariah principles as the anchor for their portfolio construction, sustainability considerations are likely to feature strongly. This implies that this singular focus of the Shariah investment industry is all set for an alignment with sustainable investing.

According to the latest Cerulli Associates research, Shariah-compliant investments are gaining further ground in Asia. Growth continues to be concentrated in South-East Asia, with Malaysia remaining at the forefront with $28.4bn in Shariah mutual fund assets under management (AUM) in 2017. Last year, Malaysia’s Securities Commission launched a five-year blueprint to grow the sector. Indonesia grew its Shariah mutual fund market by 90% to nearly $2bn in AUM in 2017. Besides allowing Shariah funds to fully invest overseas, market regulator Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) recently introduced a framework requiring fund managers to carve out dedicated units to manage existing Shariah funds. The Cerulli survey shows that asset managers in the country expect demand for Shariah investments to come mostly from insurers and pensions over the next few years.

Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group is considering a listing in Saudi Arabia. CEO Hisham al-Rayes said the Group was also keen to participate in Saudi Arabia’s privatisation programme in sectors such as education and healthcare. He added that GFH was looking at asset management and private equity sector as sectors to acquire. Al-Rayes also disclosed that GFH was in talks with an unnamed financial services company in the Gulf. GFH's acquisition of Dubai-based Shuaa Capital was postponed due to a failure to reach acquisition terms and a lack of initial regulatory approval.