IslamicFinance.de

The Islamic bond market has seen some improvement in recent months but its overall performance in 2020 will remain weaker than last year, pulled back by a lack of issuance from corporate borrowers and central banks. According to Mohamed Damak, global head of Islamic Finance at S&P Global Ratings, the sukuk market will be down compared to 2019. Although sovereigns, banks and multilateral lenders may issue more sukuk in foreign currencies, corporate borrowers have remained on the sidelines as they try to hold onto cash and reduce capital expenditure. Sukuk issuance volumes had fallen 27% on an annual basis in the first six months of this year. S&P expects overall issuance of Islamic bonds to reach around $100 billion (Dh367bn) for 2020, which will be about 40% lower than the $162bn recorded in 2019.

The UAE's first exchange traded fund tracking a Sharia-compliant index began trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market. Bourses in the the region are ramping up efforts to diversify their product offerings to attract more foreign direct investment. Chimera Capital listed its Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF, which is designed to replicate the S&P UAE Domestic Shariah Liquid 35/20 Capped Index. The Chimera S&P UAE Shariah ETF is structured and built by S&P and monitored by a Shariah board that meets regularly to review and re-balance the index quarterly. Currently the index has ten securities across the two UAE markets. The fund has a total market capitalisation of Dh234 billion and assets under management of Dh934,839.

Saudi Arabia’s mortgage lender Amlak International for Real Estate Finance starts trading shares on the Tadawul stock exchange. The company is floating 27.18 million shares, or 30 per cent of its total, with an indicative price range set at 15-17 Saudi riyals (Dh14.7-Dh16.6) per share. Proceeds of the offer are being used to repay selling shareholders. Amlak International was set up in 2007 and is a non-bank lender, mainly of property loans. Shares in Amlak International's IPO will be allocated on a pro-rata basis to individuals who subscribed to the offer, depending on the size of their request.

FinTech has spurred the evolution of the Islamic finance industry over the last year. It helps to address the need for simplification and innovation in the sector. It also provides a great opportunity for the sector to streamline services and attract new segments, with the key being digital-savvy millennials. Dubai and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) are key players in the Islamic finance sector. DIFC and Dubai Financial Market have launched the first Dubai Sustainable Finance Working Group to create a sustainable financial hub in the region in line with the UAE Sustainable Development Goals 2030. They are encouraging the use of green financial instruments and responsible investing.

The CEO of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) outlined the phases for the development of a unified legal framework for Islamic finance. Abdulla Al Awar said that once complete, the project would bring standardisation to the Islamic finance sector and reduce discrepancies in practices across the globe. The DIEDC signed an agreement with the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions for the use of its standards as a reference point in building the international legal framework. The Sharia-compliant segment of Dubai’s economy contributed Dh41.8 billion to the emirate’s gross domestic product in 2018. Dubai continues to pursue its goal of becoming the top Islamic economy hub in the world.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) closed a $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) 5-year sukuk with a profit rate of 2.95%. The sukuk attracted more than 170 investors with the order book rising to over $4.5bn. The sukuk was issued as a drawdown under DIB’s $7.5bn Trust Certificate Issuance Programme, which is listed on Euronext Dublin and Nasdaq Dubai. It is the first public benchmark sukuk issuance from a regional financial institution after the Covid-19 outbreak. Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC, ICBC, The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, KFH Capital, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners on this transaction.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said it invested in four innovative FinTech start-ups on Monday. The companies receiving funding are: Sarwa, a roboadvisory wealth management firm; FlexxPay, a cloud-based B2B employee benefits platform and two financial services platforms for migrant workers, Now Money and Go Rise. DIFC CEO Arif Amiri said the investments strengthened the free zone’s position as one of the world’s top 10 FinTech hubs. DIFC has rolled out a number of changes in recent months to attract top financial firms and strengthen its credentials.

Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group plans to expand into India, China and Indonesia as the coronavirus pandemic pushes valuations down. The pandemic, which has tipped the global economy into a recession, slated to be the deepest since the Great Depression, has dented lending. Al Baraka Banking Group plans to setup a small commercial bank in China focusing on trade financing to capitalise on growing commercial ties. In Indonesia, the lender has already explored the possibility of taking a stake in Bank Muamalat three years ago and will continue to look for further opportunities. Al Baraka currently operates in Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

Oman's Taageer Finance and Sohar International Bank disclosed they have exposures to NMC Health. Taageer has a 1.23 million rial (Dh11.72m) exposure to NMC, while Sohar International Banke's exposure stays at 3.45m rials. Last week NMC was placed in administration by a UK court on the application of one of its biggest lenders, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. The joint administrators from turnaround advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal will take immediate control of NMC Health and will work on behalf of all stakeholders. In February, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation into NMC's activities after the company's shares were suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Abu Dhabi's biggest healthcare company is heading for administration as the company revealed it had been unable to secure an agreement on its debt. NMC Health has made a series of damaging disclosures in the past few months after a report by activist investor Muddy Waters in December alleged it inflated cash balances, overpaid for assets and understated its debt. Following the disclosures, chairmen and executives departed from the firm. According to a disclosure from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), NMC Health owes money to more than 80 local, regional and international lenders. ADCB said it expects joint administrators to launch a full, transparent and independent investigation into the company's affairs and the misrepresentation of its finances.

According to Moody’s Investors Service, Islamic finance is poised to expand in 2020 and beyond, helped by growing use of Shariah-compliant products in the GCC region and Malaysia. Moody's vice president Nitish Bhojnagarwala expects sukuk issuance to remain stable at around $180 billion (Dh661bn) this year, and the takaful insurance market will see steady growth as insurance premiums pick up in newly-penetrated markets. However, downside risks are rising because of the coronavirus outbreak. Mergers between Islamic and conventional banks in the GCC will drive one-off increases in assets, as they did in 2019. Saudi Arabia will remain the world's largest Islamic banking market, while the sector will continue to expand rapidly in Malaysia.

The British Museum has emerged as one of the foremost sites for collecting and exhibiting Middle Eastern art in the UK. Much of the museum’s prominence is due to Venetia Porter, its curator of Islamic and contemporary Middle East art. The 150 works on paper that the museum will show are not loans, they have been acquired by the museum. The exhibition in the autumn will be accompanied by a major catalogue of the acquisitions and a conference. Among its subjects will be those of conflict and exile, two key areas for recent art of the region, explored by well-known artists such as Dia Azzawi, Hanaa Malallah, and Hayv Kahraman. There are also works of Syrian artists affected by the country’s civil war and more recently from Lebanon.

GFH Financial Group, the Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank, plans to invest $200 million (Dh734m) in the privately-owned schools sector through its new investment platform, Britus Education. Developed and emerging markets have both seen a surge in private education during the last decade. Britus Education will invest in mid-market schools that can be improved through maximising student capacity, improving academic outcomes and optimising fee structures. According to a report published by Alpen Capital, the total number of students in GCC schools is set to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.3% per year to reach 14.5 million in 2022. Enrolment in private schools is expected to grow at a compound rate of 4.1% per year until 2022, much faster than the 1.3% growth anticipated for public schools.

A new trend is emerging among consumers, one that emphasises the importance of ethical consumption. Over the past 20 years, Muslim consumers have been searching for brands and products that speak to their religious identity. According to the seventh edition of the State of the Global Islamic Economy report published last week, Muslims spent $2.2 trillion last year on food, pharmaceuticals and lifestyle products and services. This is set to rise to $3.2 trillion by 2024. With the majority of Muslims under the age of 30 and many living in countries with large consumer markets, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the UAE, there is immense potential for the global community. Halal brands are now finding their way into a wider consumer beauty movement seeking cruelty-free, animal-free products.

The asset management industry in the Arabian Gulf is set to grow, as regional governments overhaul their hydrocarbon-dependent economies and ease regulations. According to Moody’s Investors Service, investment managers in the six-member economic bloc of the GCC had $260 billion (Dh954bn) of assets under management at the end of last year. The Gulf states are trying to overhaul their economies and cut their dependence on oil. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pursuing their own economic reforms to develop alternative lines of revenue. Both countries have introduced laws to broaden their appeal to foreign investors. Moody’s expects global market leaders to expand their presence in the Saudi Arabia due to a relaxation of foreign ownership limits coupled with more transparent regulations.

The boards of Kuwait Finance House and Ahli United Bank agreed on a share swap ratio. AUB said its board approved a final exchange ratio between the two lenders of one KFH share for every 2.325581 AUB shares. A final decision on the deal is subject to approval from shareholders of both banks, central banks and other authorities in Kuwait and Bahrain. The approved ratio is the same as the one announced in January, when the lenders hired HSBC and Credit Suisse as advisers to carry out financial and legal due diligence of each other’s accounts. According to equity analysts Mohamad Al Hajj and Elena Sanchez-Cabezudo, this merger would increase KFH’s expected weight within MSCI Emerging Market Index by 8 basis points and increase expected flows in May 2020 by $370 million. KFH has tried to acquire AUB in the past, but talks stalled over a difference in valuation.

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) is trying to fill a gap in the absence of third-party guarantees, which has affected liquidity and hindered growth of Sharia-compliant financing. ICIEC head Oussama Kaisi said the group was engaging with central banks of several countries to find ways to increase liquidity for Islamic financing and allow more third-party guarantees. He added that by accessing the sukuk market companies can increase their investor base through stronger ratings, raise loan tenors and decrease borrowing costs. The value of sukuk issuance in 2018 was $115 billion (Dh422.33bn) and the market looks set for a similar amount this year. According to Standard & Poor’s, the UAE may sell $8bn worth of sukuk this year, slightly lower than $9.1bn recorded at the end of 2018, with private-sector corporations dominating the issuances.

According to Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes, the potential acquisition of Noor Bank by Dubai Islamic Bank would be a positive move for the buyer. Also, there is room for more consolidation among local lenders as the UAE is overbanked, with 22 local and 38 foreign banks, most of which have "sub-optimal" market shares. EFG-Hermes expects a potential transaction to be made through a share-swap. It estimates a share-swap of 1 DIB share for 7.8 Noor Bank shares that would lead to a 1% earnings per share dilution for DIB. The merged entity would have an assets market share of 10%, as Noor Bank's assets amount to Dh51 billion or 2% market share and DIB’s assets amount to Dh224bn or 8% as of 2018.

Dana Gas has completed refinancing its $700 million sukuk which has been sized down to $530m. The issuance of the debt instrument had been completed and listed on the Euronext Dublin, previously known as the Irish Stock Exchange. Dana has paid $235m in redemptions, profit payments and early participation fees bringing an end to its long legal battle. Dana Gas CEO Patrick Allman-Ward said the new sukuk represented a fair consensual deal for all sukuk holders. The new sukuk will have a three-year life, maturing in October 2020, with a new profit rate of 4% per annum. Legal proceedings in courts in the UK and UAE have been brought to an end by all parties. Last month, Dana Gas received about $44m in dividends from Kurdistan Region of Iraq for the first half of the year and expected its output from operations there to rise by 25% in the third quarter.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) plans to maintain growth and pay off some of its old debt. The board of ADIB is recommending to increase the bank’s issued capital through more than a Dh1.16 billion rights issue. The proposed deal includes issuing 464 million new shares at a nominal face value of Dh1 per share. The bank’s board has also proposed the issuance of a $750m (Dh2.75 billion) perpetual tier 1 sukuk, and the repayment of its $1bn hybrid tier 1 sukuk issued in 2012. ADIB’s vice-chairman Khamis Buharoon said the pace of the bank's growth has been fast, increasing its number of customers to 1 million in the UAE, nearly double the number it had five years ago. He noted that the bank was raising capital to maintain its growth trajectory, while maintaining a capital buffer.