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Qatar-based Barwa Bank arranged $863mn of notes in 2012, and is therefore the eighth-biggest underwriter out of 25 for GCC sukuk. Barwa Bank chief executive officer Steve Troop said that there was a space for an institutional Islamic bank to focus on sukuk. Barwa Bank which started operations in the third quarter of 2009 will wait until releasing first-half results before pursuing a credit rating. Moreover, it is preparing to sell shares in an initial public offering and is being advised by QInvest.

Qatar-based Barwa Bank has become one of the top 10 underwriters of Arabian Gulf Islamic bonds within three years of opening and plans to seek a credit rating in the second half before a possible sukuk sale. The bank arranged US$863 million of notes in 2012, and is considering its own issuance of sukuk. In addition to sovereign clients, Barwa helped Dubai-based Emaar Properties and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank sell Islamic notes in 2012. The lender had assets of 21.5bn Qatari riyals at the end of June.

Qatari Barwa Bank has launched a new Islamic product which is to support SMEs - Qotof. This is a suite of financial packages which serves to assist local corporations to achieve their business objectives and, at the same time, to save money. Until now, the products included in the package had been sold separately. By putting the m together in one product, the costs can be held lower and encourage businesses to take advantage of the offer.

Read more on: http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/16260/barwa-bank-launches-new-isla...

Barwa Bank announced it has launched its first collective investment scheme 'The First Investor GCC Equity Opportunities Fund', which is managed by The First Investor, a subsidiary of the 100% Shariah compliant Barwa bank. The main objective of the fund will be to achieve long-term capital growth through investing in a broadly diversified portfolio of equities and equity-related securities listed on GCC markets.

See more under: http://www.international-adviser.com/news/middle-east/barwa-bank-launche...

Qatari-based Barwa Bank considers an initial public offering on the Doha stock exchange. The IPO adviser is QInvest, a local investment bank controlled by Qatar Islamic Bank.

See more under: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/01/us-idUSBRE8900A420121001

The First Investor GCC Equity Opportunities Fund is name of a new 100% Shariah compliant investment scheme, launched by the Barwa Bank. The bank's first Shariah compliant fund will be managed by the investment subsidiary of the bank. The fund's investment goal is to achieve long-term capital growth based on investments in a diversified portfolio of equities that are listed on exchanges of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries. According to the head of Asset Management it is possible to achieve more than 12% growth a year, as their selections have consistently outperformed the market.

The Co-Lead Manager for the Republic of Turkey's debut $1.5 billion Sukuk is appointed to be Barwa Bank of Qatar. Also, a number of high profile arranger positions for the bank follow the appointment. What is more, Barwa Bank has received following ratings by Bloomberg: sixth in international Sukuk, tenth in global Sukuk, and eighth in MENA region bonds and Sukuk. Since Turkey is believed to be one of the most prestigious issuers in emerging markets, it is a further testament for the bank to be apointed by them.

More on: http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/15819/barwa-bank-appointed-co-mana...

It seems that Barwa Bank made plans to apply for a credit rating next year before a possible debt offering. Chief Executive Officer Steve Troop noted that is a good set of results will come up in 2012, they will look for a rating in 2013.
Qatar’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank SAQ (QNBK) raised $1 billion in a sukuk offering earlier this month. Doha Bank QSC, Al Khaliji and International Bank of Qatar have announced plans to sell debt after no sales by lenders in the country last year.

Barwa Bank has made a strategic partnership with Allianz Takaful, to become the first Islamic lender to offer a comprehensive range of Shariah compliant unit linked takaful products to customers.
The new product range contains children education, retirement, life takaful (life insurance / protection) and lumpsum investment plans.
A professional dedicated relationship manager will help the customers in selecting the best suited products taking into consideration their current and future financial needs.

Barwa Bank has oficially announced that subscription applications have been mailed to all share holders. Subscription will start on December 6 and close on December 29, 2011.
The bank is presenting six shares for every ten shares held. The new shares are given at QR16 per share, which includes the nominal value of QR10 and a premium of QR 6.
Following documents must be attached to the application form:
- Individuals: ID card
- Minors: ID card or birth certificate stating the national number in addition to the ID card of the parent or legal custodian
- Corporates: a recent copy of the Commercial Registration, ID copy of the authorised signatory and an authorisation letter from the company

Barwa Bank’s launched capital will rise to QR3bn from QR1.9bn following shareholder authorization for a rights issue.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani explained that the additional capital comes from the fact that they want to demonstrate a high level of financial strength, both in their domestic market and abroad. He added that additional capital allows us to supply for the needs of Qatar’s largest companies, that being an important consideration as they move onto the development and construction programmes outlined in Qatar National Vision 2030.

The following borrowers are anticipated to sell Islamic bonds, which use asset returns to pay investors to acceed with the religion’s ban on interest: MAJID AL FUTTAIM HOLDING LLC, ALBARAKA TURK KATILIM BANKASI AS (ALBRK), ASYA KATILIM BANKASI AS (ASYAB), GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. (GS) , ALMARAI CO, MYDIN MOHAMED HOLDINGS BHD., BARWA BANK, ISLAMIC BANK OF THAILAND, PALESTINE MONETARY AUTHORITY:, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT CORP., AL BARAKA BANK EGYPT ESC and many others.

I seems that the assets of Islamic financial institutions in Qatar have traversed the QR100bn mark.
After this, many of the European banks and international financial institutions have decided to open Islamic banking windows to collect the benefits and advantages of Islamic banking system.
Barwa Bank will register in Qatar Exchange after the bank completes the pre-requisites and other necessary formalities as it is waiting for the approvals from the concerned authorities for this. The statement came from Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of the bank.

Barwa Bank was advised by Eversheds to procure Al Yusr.
This is the first purchase of an Islamic finance window by an Islamic bank in Qatar, and also the first deal of its kind in the region.
The development is now that Barwa Bank is able to accelerate its growth and expansion plans in the local market to position itself as one of the leading Islamic banks in Qatar.

It seems that International Bank of Qatar has sold off its Islamic unit to Barwa Bank.
There are no reports about what the other conventional banks, mainly giants like the Qatar National Bank (QNB), are doing with their Islamic operations.
Someone familiar with the mather said, however, that acquisitions of Islamic units of commercial banks are expected to follow Al Yusr's buyout by Barwa Bank.

Barwa Bank and National Petroleum Services Group (NPS) made an agreement to refinance an existing syndication and support its expansion and working capital. All this will be worth QR529m.
NPS group provides drilling and well services to customers in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries in the Middle East, North Africa, Far East, and Europe.
Its state-of-the-art equipment and sectorial services are embracing Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Syria, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Libya, and Iraq.

Steve Troop, CEO of Barwa Bank, reveals that the bank is focused on providing a ‘different kind of customer experience’. In his oppinion, the bank must fit around the customers. He added that they will not become a big network bank, the branches will be added selectively.
Barwa Bank’s strategy is to grow its customer base and become a leading Shariah-compliant financial group in the region.

Mohamed bin Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani sustained that Barwa Bank will be able to consolidate its position on the strong foundation built and the strong leap it made in 2010.
Sheikh Mohamed's statement reveiled that Barwa Bank’s strategy is to grow its customer base and to become a leading Shariah-compliant financial group in the world. The bank has also acquired First Finance and First Leasing companies following its 2009 acquisition of The First Investor Company. These will all be consolidated under the Barwa Bank Group

Barwa Bank will participate in Qatar Real Estate and Investment Exhibition (QREX 2011) from March 22 to 25, to highlight its new home finance offering, which is arranged through the “Ijara” instrument.
Visitors of Barwa Bank’s stand in QREX 2011 can apply for home financing of up to QR10m, allowing them flexible, Shariah compliant repayment options of up to 20 years. Repayment terms are highly competitive and linked to the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) lending rate, meaning that customers will benefit from having their rates track the market conditions.

Barwa Bank, the Qatar-based Islamic finance house, is thinking about a plan to make its trading debut this year.
Barwa CEO Steve Troop indicated that Qatar’s recent decision to terminate the Islamic finance operations of the country’s conventional banks was an “exciting move”.