IslamicFinance.de

The Board of Directors of Dubai Islamic Bank approved to increase the foreign ownership limit (FOL) from the current level of 15% to 25%. The decision was taken to address the huge demand for DIB shares by large foreign institutional investors. Although a highly liquid scrip on the exchange with approximately 60% free float, the foreign ownership cap was restricting the large global institutional investors keen to participate in the organisation’s success. With the MSCI upgrade taking effect next year, the decision to raise the cap has opened doors for numerous global investors to take advantage of their emerging market allocations and invest in one of the top picks on the exchange. With the Board approval for FOL increase in place, the bank will now proceed to follow the required regulatory process to formalise this decision in due course.

Brandon Short, a former Goldman Sachs investment banking executive for MENA, will join with two former senior executives from Deutsche Bank to form World Business Partners UAE ("WBP"), a small business finance company based in Dubai. The other co-founders of WBP are Doug Naidus, former Managing Director and Global Head of the Residential Lending Division of Deutsche Bank, and former Chairman and CEO of MortgageIT, and Alex Gemici, former Managing Director and Head of MENA Residential Finance for Deutsche Bank. World Business Partners UAE will offer a Shariah-compliant financing solution ranging from AED 35,000 to AED 1.5 million for small businesses seeking working capital. WBP’s ijara asset sale-leaseback program allows SMEs to use the cash equity of their existing assets to fund their businesses’ growth and expansion.

Safa Investment Services - a global Islamic asset manager in in the Gulf region - was launched by Investor for Securities Company. The grand ceremony was held in Four Seasons Hotel, Al Riyadh, on the 8th of October 2012. According to the manager of Safa Investment Services, Mr. John Sandwick, professionally managed assets around the world are worth nearly $80 trillion. Muslims are in possession of about $3 trillion of them. Surprisingly, a huge extent of the money was not invested compliant with Shariah principles. It is a goal of Safa to provide Sharia-compliant investing opportunities and to produces profits larger than those of conventional investing.