IslamicFinance.de

Le ministre algérien des Finances, Aymen Ben Abderrahmane, a annoncé la mise sur le marché des produits de la finance islamique. Ben Abderrahmane a dévoilé que deux banques publiques ont achevé les procédures d’obtention d’une fatwa, afin de faire adapter les produits à la charia et que ces produits seront mis sur le marché à compter du début du mois d’août prochain. Il s’agit de la Banque nationale d’Algérie (BNA) et de la Banque de l’Agriculture et du développement rural (BADR). L’Algérie compte 30 établissements bancaires, dont sept publics, et plus d’une vingtaine d’institutions étrangères, en provenance particulièrement des pays du Golfe et de la France ainsi qu’une banque britannique et une autre espagnole.

Lors du colloque international sur la finance islamique le ministre délégué à la prospective et aux statistiques, le docteur Bachir Messaitfa, avait réaffirmé l'intérêt des pouvoirs publics de voir ces activités financières se développer et contribuer de manière plus importante à l'effort de mobilisation de l'épargne nationale, de financement de l'économie et de bancarisation de la société. Les sukuk étant adossés à des actifs tangibles peuvent constituer une alternative pour toute entité de droit public ou privé désirant lever des fonds à travers des mécanismes de marché dans le respect des principes de la chari'a. En matière de crédit, la formule de vente par tempérament de véhicules préalablement acquis par la banque a suscité un immense intérêt auprès des citoyens.

Sous le thème « L’avenir de la finance islamique à la lumière des développements contemporains en Algérie », le colloque international sur la finance islamique s’est tenu à l’Université de Tipaza les 18 et 19 Février. Le colloque a appelé les autorités Algériennes à accélérer la cadence, notamment sur le volet des dispositifs financiers, afin d’établir des lois relatives à la création de banques et de compagnies d’assurances islamiques. Le ministre délégué chargé des Statistiques et de la Prospective, Bachir Messaitfa avait annoncé lors de l’ouverture du séminaire organisé à l’Université de Tipaza le 18 février, que l’avenir des banques islamiques en Algérie est pionnier et prometteur, qui s’inscrit dans la vision du gouvernement à l’horizon 2035.

L’arrivée de la troisième banque tunisienne sur le segment de la finance islamique pourrait encourager d’autres grandes banques à se lancer sur ce marché. Ahmed Karam, président du directoire du groupe, a indiqué que Amen Bank a déposé une requête à la Banque centrale tunisienne pour ouvrir une filiale spécialisée dans les produits financiers islamiques. La Tunisie compte déjà deux établissements bancaires à vocation islamique: al-Baraka Bank Tunisia et banque Zitouna. Amen Bank possède 154 agences, contre 76 agences pour Banque Zitouna et une vingtaine pour al-Baraka Bank. Amen Bank est la propriété du groupe familial Ben Yedder, qui rassemble une cinquantaine de sociétés présentes notamment dans les banques, l’assurance, l’agroalimentaire, l’hôtellerie et la santé.

Unicom Formation, which specializes in professional training, is to organise Algeria's first trade fair dedicated to Islamic financing in partnership with the Sahel Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the wilaya of Boumerdes.

Bahrain's Salam Bank will launch Islamic insurance products and Visa credit card services in Algeria this year. Salam Bank CEO Hideur Nasser said the lender would open 10 more branches in the country as the market for Islamic products was growing. He added that Islamic banking made up only 15.5% of the private sector in Algeria. The government wants to develop the sector, as the country looks for more ways to offset the sharp fall in oil prices and its energy revenues. For this, technical expertise and new legislation is needed in a country where powerful elites have resisted changes. Nasser said the legal framework had to be amended and sukuk could not be sold under current laws despite great appetite for them.

In Algeria, three public lending institutions will start offering Islamic finance services before the end of the year. They are the Banque de l’agriculture et du développement Rural (BADR), the Caisse Nationale d’Epargne et de Prévoyance (CNEP) and the Banque de Développement Local (BDL). Currently, in Algeria only Al Baraka Bank and Salam Bank are allowed to offer participative finance products to their clients. They are in fact competing in this sector with private lenders that offer both traditional and Islamic banking services. Boualem Djebbar, president of Algerian banks and financial institutions’ association, said a democratization of Islamic finance by 2018 should be expected in the country.

Algeria plans to issue its first sukuk next year as it seeks new funding sources after a fall in energy earnings. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said the government would introduce Islamic financial services at two state banks before the end of this year and four others in 2018. The North African country had rejected sharia-based financing options after a war with Islamist movements that killed about 200,00 people in the 1990s. But financial difficulties have prompted the government to speed up implementation of reforms. Algerian firms rely heavily on state spending, which in turn depends on the hydrocarbons sector. The government also aims to modernise the stock market, which is now smaller than those in neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia.

Algeria’s Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, announced that Islamic banking is to be approved in two public government banks before the end of this year and will be approved in four other banks in 2018. According to Ouyahia, this funding was inevitable because of the country's difficult economic and financial situation, and it will be limited in time because it will continue till no later than 2022. Algeria has about 29 banking institutions, seven of them are government-owned public banks, and more than 20 foreign banks from the Gulf countries, others are French and one is British. The Algerian government has applied Islamic banking in a limited way through the Zakat Fund of The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, that was launched in 2003. The country has been facing an economic crisis for three years due to the fall in oil prices. Its foreign exchange earnings fell from 60 billion dollars in 2014 to 27.5 billion dollars at the end of last year.

Algeria’s new government will introduce Islamic finance and develop its stock market to draw more investment into the economy. The country currently struggles to cope with a sharp fall in energy earnings. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia plans wider reforms and the start of fracking for shale hydrocarbons to boost oil and gas revenue. Algeria's finances have been hit by a more than 50% drop in crude oil prices since mid-2014, the government said 2017 would end with real difficulties, while 2018 looked to be even more complex. Algeria has failed in the past to modernise its stock market and has a very low level of liquidity. Its firms currently rely on state finances, which in turn depend on the oil and gas sector. The government plans to continue spending cuts, including subsidies, but analysts say spending cuts alone may not be enough to tackle the crisis. Foreign exchange reserves fell to $105 billion in July this year from $193 billion in May 2014.

Algeria is edging slowly towards offering banking services to suit more religiously conservative investors. The country is now looking for more ways to offset the sharp fall in oil prices and its energy revenues. Six state-run banks plan to start Islamic financial services by the end of the year or in early 2018, and a national Shariah board that would oversee Islamic banking is also planned by the end of 2017. However, Algeria’s Islamic finance plan still faces huge barriers. It lacks a legal framework and technical expertise. Algeria is far behind North African neighbours Morocco and Tunisia, which have started to develop legislation for Islamic finance and sukuk bonds, overseen by a central religious board. Algeria is targeting domestic savers rather than foreign investors. Many local people distrust the state-owned banks and keep large sums at home, untaxed, in Algerian and foreign currency.

Algeria is edging slowly towards Islamic banking services to suit more religiously conservative investors. Finance Minister Hadji Baba Ammi has already announced plans for the country's first local bond. Now six state-run banks plan to start Islamic financial services by the end of the year or in early 2018 and a national sharia board that would oversee Islamic banking is also planned by the end of 2017. Algeria's Islamic finance plan still faces huge barriers. It lacks a legal framework and technical expertise. Algeria is far behind North African neighbours Morocco and Tunisia, which have started to develop legislation for Islamic finance. The country is targetting domestic savers rather than foreign investors. Many local people distrust the state-owned banks and keep large sums at home in Algerian and foreign currency.

Algeria plans to raise money from an interest-free local bond in order to offset the huge fall in its energy earnings. The North African OPEC member has already cut public spending, introduced new taxes and reduced government subsidies on fuel. Finance Minister Hadji Baba Ammi said the new bond would not bear interest, which may help attract a greater number of Algerian buyers. The minister said bondholders would receive a share in projects that the issue would finance as an incentive. The government launched its first local bond last April, but it was harshly criticised by the religious community. While neighbours Morocco and Tunisia are developing laws for Islamic finance, Islamic banks and sukuk bonds, Algeria still has no legal framework for such operations.

Kader Merbouh, expert en finance islamique penser que la finance islamique est la solution pour capter l’épargne dormante et en dehors du circuit bancaire en Algérie. L’Algérie a été un point d’encouragement à la finance islamique. Tant par les banques conventionnelles qui proposeront dans les prochaines années des produits de la finance islamique pour capter leur clientèle et tant par les banques islamiques comme Salam ou Baraka. Il y a aussi l’arrivée de nouveaux acteurs qui voudront être présents sur le marché algérien. Cela va créer une triple dynamique. L’Algérie est un marché formidable. La loi de modernisation bancaire en Algérie va introduire quelques règlements pour faciliter la finance islamique.

Algeria is preparing to launch Islamic financial services as the OPEC member seeks new ways to raise money after a sharp fall in energy earnings. Algeria’s outdated financial system has been a barrier to investment as the government seeks to diversify its economy away from oil and gas, which account for 60 percent of the state budget. Boualem Djebbar, head of the state-run Banks and Financial Institutions Association, said a legal framework would need to be finalized before introducing Islamic financial services. Djebbar said developing the banking system had become inevitable, with a particular focus on electronic payment systems, which are still little used in Algeria.

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation announced the completion of an innovative Sharia-compliant financing facility for Algeria’s Oil Recovery Services. The financing was arranged in conjunction with Paris-based oil and gas private equity firm 4D Global Energy Advisors. The initial $10 million financing will act as a template for the financing of several contracts of the company.

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) announced the completion of a Shari’ah-compliant financing facility for Oil Recovery Services SAL (ORSsal) with operation in Algeria. The annual MENA Energy Investment Outlook Report issued by APICORP stated total planned energy investments in the MENA region will reach $900 billion over the next five years. According to the report, Algeria will invest $8 billion on gas as it focuses on developing its midstream sector as part of the country’s plan to expand total pipeline-network capacity by 30 per cent.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC is planning expansion in Africa markets to tap demand in countries with a large Muslim population. In Africa, the bank has looked closely at Algeria and Morocco, Chief Executive Officer Tirad Mahmoud said. The bank may consider an acquisition next year as part of the plan, he added. The bank also applied for licenses in Algeria and Libya and is considering Tunisia and Morocco. The bank was among lenders that bid to buy the retail banking assets of Citigroup Inc. in Egypt this year, losing out to Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE last month. Mahmoud believes the banking industry is on the cusp of a historic transformation that will see a convergence between conventional and ethical banking.

La compagnie d’assurance, Salama Assurances Algérie, devra clôturer l’année 2014 avec un chiffre d’affaires en progression de 4,6 milliards de dinars, a révélé son directeur général, Hadjou Abdelhakim. L’assurance automobile représente environ 72% du portefeuille de la compagnie, soit 4% de parts de marché. L’année 2015 sera donc riche, pour Salama Assurances qui compte non seulement de lancer un nouveau produit dédié aux agriculteurs, mais aussi ouvrir avec un partenaire local une nouvelle filiale d’assurance de personnes.

L’assurance islamique, dite “takaful”, débarque en Algérie grâce à la compagnie Salama Assurances Algérie. La compagnie algérienne prévoit de lancer des produits d’assurance islamique, soit l’équivalent de la mutualité, dans un proche avenir, comme l’a indiqué Abdelhakim Hadjou, son directeur général. Selon ce dernier, le fait que la législation algérienne n’encadre pas encore ce type d’assurances ne sera pas un frein à la commercialisation de ce service. Il peut y avoir dans les mois à venir un intérêt. On a même parlé de cela au Parlement avec la participation des banques. Il y a eu débat sur l’opportunité de légiférer sur le takaful, a-t-il ainsi déclaré.