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The emirate of Sharjah has picked six banks to arrange investor meetings starting next week ahead of a potential dollar-denominated sukuk issue, a document from lead arrangers showed on Wednesday. The sovereign has mandated Bank Of Sharjah, Barclays, Commerzbank, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC and Sharjah Islamic Bank to arrange the transaction. Investor meetings will be held starting Sunday in the Middle East, Asia and the United Kingdom and a deal will follow subject to market conditions, the document added.

Standard Chartered has appointed Rehan Shaikh as chief executive of its global Islamic banking business, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Shaikh moves to Standard Chartered Saadiq from Dubai Islamic Bank, where he was senior vice president and business head, private sector and transaction banking. He previously worked for StanChart in Pakistan from 1998 to 2007, the statement said.
He takes over from Sohail Akbar, who was interim chief executive of the Islamic banking operation after the departure of Afaq Khan earlier this year.
StanChart remains committed to the business despite a period of hiatus across other parts of the bank as global chief executive Bill Winters moves to restore profitability. It announced plans this month to reduce costs by $2.9 billion by 2018 and cut 15,000 jobs.
"Islamic finance is an integral part of the business at Standard Chartered and we continue to see growing demand from clients in many of our markets," said Sunil Kaushal, the bank's regional chief executive for Africa and the Middle East.

Institute of Business Administration (IBA) announced the establishment of the Centre for Excellence in Islamic Finance at IBA. IBA has launched IBA-CEIF in collaboration with Meezan Bank and Dr Ishrat Hussain will be Chairman CEIF, while Irfan Siddiqui, CEO Meezan Bank Ltd, Hassan Bilgrami CEO BankIslami Ltd, Shafqaat Ahmed CEO Al Barkah Bank Ltd, Junaid Ahmed CEO Dubai Islamic Bank, Dr Imran Usmani, Shari'ah Advsior Meezan Bank Ltd, Samar Hasnain Executive Director, Development Finance Group State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Founding Director of CEIF, are founding members of Board of Management (BoM).

Talking to newsmen here on Friday at IBA city campus, Dr Ishrat Hussain, Chairman CEIF, said that the Center had been set-up with the objective to bridge the gap between trained human resource and industry's growing requirement. He hoped that IBA-CEIF will play a vital role for providing skilled and qualified workforce to the Islamic Banking Industry of Pakistan. On the occasion Ahmed Ali Siddiqui, Founding Director of CEIF and Dr Zeeshan was also present.

Turkish Islamic bank Kuveyt Turk has mandated six institutions for a sukuk with a value of up to $400 million with a maturity of 10 years, it said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange late on Thursday.
Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank, which is 62 percent owned by Kuwait Finance House, said it had mandated KFH Capital, Dubai Islamic Bank, HSBC, Noor Bank, QInvest and Emirates NBD as joint lead managers. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in September that seven banks had been picked to arrange a potential deal.

Dubai Islamic Bank will require capital in 2016 to boost its capital adequacy ratios, the bank's chief executive said on Wednesday. DIB's total capital adequacy ratio, a combination of Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital -- regarded as one of the key indicators of a bank's health -- stood at 16.5 percent at the end of the third quarter, up from 14.9 percent at the end of 2014, Adnan Chilwan said in an analysts' conference call.

Dubai Islamic Bank is exploring an entry into India as it seeks to benefit from the funding needs of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. India presents huge opportunities as an emerging economy because of infrastructure development and growing trade with the Middle East, Chief Executive Officer Adnan Chilwan said. Indians make up nearly a quarter of the U.A.E.’s population, and India is its biggest trading partner, with combined exports and imports of $63.7 billion in 2014. The two countries plan to create a $75 billion fund to invest in Indian infrastructure, according to a joint statement at the end of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.A.E. in August.

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC has reportedly obtained an approval from Indonesia's Financial Services Authority to increase its stake in PT Bank Panin Syariah Tbk to 40 percent from 24.9 percent currently, according to chief executive of Dubai Islamic Bank, Adnan Chilwan.

In an unexpected move, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) pulled out of Albaraka Türk's latest $450m murabaha loan because it did not think the loan was Shariah compliant, according to two bankers on the deal. Turkish participation bank Albaraka Türk has signed a $450m-equivalent one year loan, which it increased from the $400m launch size.

State-owned Investment Corp. of Dubai is reportedly raising a $500 million loan. The facility will be provided by Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank. The money will fund the expansion of its Atlantis, The Palm resort in Dubai. ICD and Kerzner International Holdings, a developer and operator of destination resorts and luxury hotels, plan to spend $1.4 billion to build The Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences. The development on Dubai’s man-made island will add nearly 800 guest rooms and 250 luxury residences. ICD acquired Atlantis, The Palm from Dubai World in December 2013.

Dubai Islamic Bank will reportedly advise Pakistan on selling its 40 per cent stake in Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco) as the country’s economic upsurge lifted its benchmark stock market index to a record this month. The emirate’s biggest Sharia-compliant lender would lead an advisory group that includes Deloitte, Lummus Consultants International, and Mohsin Tayebaly and Company. Pakistan has rejuvenated its economy in recent years after the IMF provided a US$6.6 billion bailout loan in 2013. The country, a net energy importer, is also set to gain from the collapse in oil prices and China’s $46bn investment plan to build transport infrastructure connecting the two countries.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) secured a 13-month US$300 million Islamic Murabaha financing facility (the "Facility") from Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC , First Gulf Bank PJSC , Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and Mizuho Bank Nederland N.V. in early June 2015. Dubai Islamic Bank acted as the sole Coordinator of the Facility, in addition to being the Mandated Lead Arranger along with First Gulf Bank, Mizuho Bank Malaysia and Mizuho Bank Nederland. The Facility, the largest to-date for ICD, is part of ICD 's US$1.2 billion global resource mobilization program for 1436H (2015). The proceeds of the Facility was deployed for use of ICD 's ordinary operations.

Dubai Islamic Bank on Sunday said its $750 million sukuk issuance maturing in June 2020 carries a profit rate of 2.921 per cent and saw a strong oversubscription. The bank had held road show in London, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for the issuance which is part of its $2.5 billion sukuk programme. The order book was driven by strong demand across the globe, and given the fact that it was oversubscribed nearly three times. Dubai Islamic Bank, First Gulf Bank, HSBC, Maybank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint lead managers. Arab Banking Corporation, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Union National Bank acted as co-lead managers.

CEO Dr. Adnan Chilwan, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) says that the Islamic finance sphere demonstrated a greater degree of resilience when compared to conventional banks during the most recent financial crisis. The bank also noticed an upswing of fresh clients, partly due to what he considers a shift in perception. DIB recently launched a comprehensive SME offering targeted towards the SME sector in the UAE. The product and services suite primarily focuses around the liquidity management and working capital finance needs of the customers across this segment, Mr. Chilwan explains. DIB is also pursuing a growth strategy, looking at opportunities in Indonesia and Kenya.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has picked six banks to arrange fixed income investor meetings from Thursday for a potential benchmark size, U.S. dollar-denominated senior sukuk issue, a document from lead arrangers showed. DIB has mandated First Gulf Bank, HSBC, Maybank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Standard Chartered Bank and itself to arrange the meetings in Asia and Europe. Meetings will be held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday and Singapore on Friday before concluding in London on Tuesday, the document showed. The offer will be under DIB's $2.5 billion sukuk programme, subject to market conditions.

Dubai Islamic Bank said its first quarter profit rose 34 per cent as the biggest Islamic bank in the UAE by assets shrugged off a sharp drop in the price of oil and continued to gain market share in Sharia-compliant financial services. Net income rose to Dh850 million in the first three months of 2015 from Dh637m in the same period last year. Revenue increased 20 per cent to Dh1.56 billion from Dh1.3bn in the same time frame. Chief executive Adnan Chilwan said that he expects 15 to 20 per cent growth in loans this year. He said this year that loan growth would continue to come from corporations and individuals.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) is set open operations in Kenya, in what could be the start for Gulf-based lenders scouting for growth outside their home markets. The Emirate's largest Sharia-compliant lender has started head-hunting top managers for its Nairobi unit. DIB Kenya said it is obtaining a banking licence from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). DIB Kenya Ltd has been issued with an approval-in principle- to operate pending completion of the licensing process. The lender is seeking qualified persons in multi-nationals and local banks in Kenya to fill some 36 top and middle level positions within the bank.

Islamic International Rating Agency ( IIRA ) has assigned ratings of 'A/A1' (Single A / A One) to Dubai Islamic Bank ( DIB ) on the international scale. On the national scale, ratings have been assessed at AA-(ae)/A1+(ae) (Double AMinus / A One Plus). Outlook on the assigned ratings is 'Stable'. Ratings are supported by DIB 's strong franchise and retail market presence, ensuring steady access to cost effective funding. The recent tier-1 capital issue in early 2015 has reinforced capital adequacy ratio to 18.5%. The fiduciary score has been assessed in the range of '76-80', which indicates strong fiduciary standards, wherein rights of various stakeholders are well defined and protected.

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has offered 1.25 dirhams per share in cash to buy the remaining shares in its mortgage unit Tamweel. The offer will be open for one month until it expires on April 30. DIB currently holds 86.5 percent of Tamweel and is in the process of buying the remaining 13.5 percent. It took a 57.33 percent stake in 2010, a move that rescued the mortgage lender, which was struggling during a crash of Dubai's property market. The bank's board in January 2013 approved plans to fully acquire Tamweel.

Dubai-based Emirates REIT announced that Eiffel Management has acquired a 25 per cent in the REIT manager that was previously held by Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB). The value of the transaction was not disclosed. The REIT Manager is responsible for running the property portfolio of Emirates REIT and all the operations concerning the REIT. It is incorporated in Dubai international Finance Centre and licensed by DFSA. Following the deal, Eiffel Management will own 100 per cent of REIT manager’s total issued share capital. Emirates REIT reported a net profit growth of 39 per cent to reach $48.5 million in 2014 from $34.8 million in 2013.

Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is set to meet fixed income investors starting Sunday ahead of a potential dollar-denominated sukuk transaction. The AAA-rated IDB has picked nine banks to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East and Asia, a benchmark offering will follow, subject to market conditions. CIMB, Dubai Islamic Bank, GIB Capital, HSBC, Natixis, NCB Capital, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, RHB Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered have been chosen to arrange the sukuk sale. IDB, which last issued $1.5 billion in five-year Islamic bonds in September, is looking to increase its issuance of sukuk, partly to raise its profile among international investors and to secure similar pricing levels to other development banks.