IslamicFinance.de

After the Government of Dubai obtained 100% shares in Dubai Bank, bankers and analysts think that the merger is more acceptable.
One of the reasons is that they now don't have to fear for value destruction stemming from acquisitions.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is going to issue a benchmark dollar-denominated Islamic bond. So far they have limited to government-linked and high-rated bonds.
Arrangers are : BNP Paribas, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank.

Al Baraka Banking Group wants to sell sukuk worth $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) in September if possible, in order to try to clear up its balance sheet. It also aims at a target of a 15 per cent jump in profit this year by attracting new customers.

Dubai’s government took over Dubai Bank in order to avoid a collapse undermining the state’s banking sector. The options were to run the bank on a stand-alone basis or merge it with another state-owned bank.
At the end of 2009, Dubai Bank had total assets of AED17.4 billion ($4.74 billion) against total liabilities of 15.7 billion dirhams. It made a loss of AED290.6 million.
The government promised that the bank’s current management team will not be affected by the takeover.

Sharjah Islamic Bank's investors want to sell as much as $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) of sukuk.
Bloomberg's dates show that sales of Islamic bonds from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) slumped 58 per cent to $964 million so far this year, compared with the same period of 2010.
The HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai GCC Sukuk Financial Services US Dollar Sukuk Index reveales yields on Islamic bonds of GCC financial services groups fell to a record 3.29 per cent on May 5. The rate was at 3.33 per cent Thursday.

The first to receive the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry CSR Label during a special ceremony held at the Dubai Chamber’s premises recently were the following three: Dubai Chamber CSR Label to representatives from Emirates Gas, Intercoil International LLC and Mashreq bank for demonstrating commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the areas of environment, marketplace, workplace and communities.

Dubai's ICD sovereign wealth fund has launched its largest loan since its financial crisis, containing a US$2.8 billion, five-year loan refinancing.
The leaders of an Islamic tranche will be: Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered, while Citigroup, Emirates Bank and HSBC Bank have been appointed to co-ordinate a conventional tranche.

It seems that Arabian Gulf companies are arranging their first Shariah-compliant real-estate investment trusts.
The city-state’s Sabana Shariah Compliant Industrial REIT has advanced 2.2% to 94 Singapore cents since the shares reached a low of 92 cents on March 31.
Dubai' purpose is to list its REIT on the local exchange in less than a year, while two UAE companies plan offerings in Malaysia.

It appears that Oman has finally decided to open the door for islamic banking.
Reuters received a statement from a central bank official that said that everything is ready for the beginning of Oman's first standalone Islamic bank.
In spite of this, the banks that already exist are not allowed to become islamic banks.

In order for firms from the UAE to enter the largest economy in Europe, a mission was launched in partnership with the German Emirati Joint Council for Industry and Commerce (AHK).
Leading firms from the UAE's sector followed this mission with the purpose to connect the participants with potential opportunities in Germany and to show he high level of expertise in the area in Dubai.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 23, 2011 – The Muslim Philanthropy Award winners were announced at the 4th annual banquet of the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists in Dubai, UAE.

Every year, the Muslim Philanthropy Award honors an individual, a grantmaking institution and a corporation for their distinguished contribution to the field of philanthropy.

The Muslim Philanthropy Awards for 2011 were awarded to H.R.H. Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (Personality) for demonstrating outstanding civic and charitable responsibility; Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Arabia (Grantmaker) for showing long-standing commitment to economic empowerment, human dignity, and institutional building; and Abraaj Capital, UAE (Corporation) for demonstrating longstanding leadership in advancing strategic philanthropy, creativity in responding to societal problems, and having significant positive impact on corporate giving in MENA region.

It appears that the debut sukuk of Senegal in 2011 will be around $200 million.
Although the madate has been signed, the time is unknown yet.

Noor Islamic Bank doesn't plan to extend for now.
The deal size on the two issues owned by Noor Islamic Bank, one in the Gulf region and another one in Turkey, is between $250 million to $300 million.

Dubai Group is one step away from signing a restructuring deal with lenders.
Hussain Al Qemzi, the chief executive officer of Noor Islamic, one of the creditor banks, stated that an agreement could be signed in the second quarter of 2011.
A bank committee for debt restructuring at Dubai Group was established since last year. Noor Islamic Bank has two Islamic bond mandates, one each in the Gulf region and Turkey. The deal on both issues would be between $250 million to $300 million.

Dubai’s Department of Finance has developted a plan to raise $800 million. It wants to monetize road toll receipts. The aim is to fund infrastructure projects.
A six-year financing could support the Roads and Transport Authority’s infrastructure projects.
Th main arrangers and book-runners for the financing are: Citibank, Commerical Bank of Dubai, Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank.

Altough Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) has delayed its pregrammed launch because of the political unrest, the firm plans to begin tradings in two weeks.
BFX offers trading in both conventional and Islamic products in equities, derivatives, commodities and currencies.
Arshad Khan, managing director and chief executive of BFX, assures that the company will stay in Bahrain inspite of the political situation.

The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the Dubai Financial Services Authority made an understanding through a memorandum of understanding. The MOU was signed by Cindy Scotland, CIMA’s Managing Director.
This MOU adds to a list of other 20 existing MOUs and will help the cooperation and the exchange of information between the organisations.

In the annual report of Dubai Islamic Bank there was stated that while UAE's biggest Islamic lender tried to push mortgage financing in Dubai, the lender paid $102m in order to buy a controlling stake in Tamweel. This information was given by Bloomberg.

Nakheel has made payments of Dh4.6 billion to its trade creditors so far. The statement also announced that the property developer is expecting to finalise its restructuring before the end of first half of 2011.

Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank (KTPB) has set the tone by venturing abroad into Germany, Dubai, Bahrain and Kazakhstan and by pioneering new products based on physical gold and exporting them to markets in Malaysia and elsewhere through the global network of KFH. These include gold-backed exchange traded funds (ETFs), gold-backed banking accounts and sukuk. Ufuk Uyan, CEO of Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank has been at the forefront of the expansion of KTPB, taking it to the top 10 tier of Turkish banks. Here Ufuk Uyan discusses with Arab News the state of the participation banking sector in Turkey, the performance of KTPB in 2010 and the prospects and challenges for the industry in 2011 and beyond.