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Qatar’s Masraf Al Rayan is eyeing a debut in the debt capital markets this year after inviting bankers to pitch for arranger roles on a potential U.S. dollar-denominated benchmark sukuk issue, sources said on Monday. The sharia-compliant institution is expected to raise funds before end-April. Masraf Al Rayan is “very close” to mandating arrangers for the upcoming sukuk issue, two sources said. Masraf Al Rayan joins a growing pipeline of potential Gulf issuance as borrowers want to obtain funds from the dollar debt markets before a possible increase in interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this year.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korea's Woori Bank, aimed at further strengthening co-operation and sharing business opportunities. The signing ceremony held in Doha was signed by QIB's group CEO Bassel Gamal and Lee Dong-Gun, deputy CEO of Woori Bank, and attended by senior executives from both the banks. The partnership is aimed at servicing both Qatari and South Korean entities that are currently engaged in business activities in Qatar and/or South Korea; and companies that are intending in the future to set up such type of business arrangements.

Qatar’s low insurance penetration is “a revealing factor” of great opportunities, Qatar Central Bank Governor HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani has said. The country’s current level of penetration is around 0.5% of GDP and 1.6% as share of the insurance as part of the global business sector, Sheikh Abdullah said in his keynote address at the ninth MultaQa conference. Asserting that it is the desire of Qatar to reduce reliance on energy, Sheikh Abdullah, who is also the chairman of the Qatar Financial Market Authority and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, said the country’s insurance sector has been undergoing significant evolution and is in the process of establishing a committee for supervision of risk management.

International Islamic (QIIB) was honoured for its distinctive role in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at a ceremony held at the Qatar University. QU’s College of Business and Economics partnered with the Qatar CSR Network in organising the event, which also saw the launch of the ‘CSR Report Qatar 2014’. Ali Hamad Al Mesaifri, Chief of Human Resources and General Services at QIIB, received the honorary award from the President of Qatar University, Dr Sheikha Al Misnad. The Bank has cooperated and still is cooperating with major and active institutions engaged in community services at various spheres such as health, education, charitable and social activities, and culture and sports.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has announced the opening of its new headquarters in the United Kingdom for its subsidiary QIB -UK. The new five storey office is located at 43 Grosvenor Street in the Mayfair district. QIB -UK's focus is on supporting the investment and trade flows between Qatar and the UK. The firm offers real estate investment opportunities for clients looking to purchase premium properties in London. QIB -UK has assembled a team of real estate specialists to ensure clients are well placed to get premium real estate opportunities in the market. QIB -UK, was fully authorised as an Islamic Bank by the UK Financial Services Authority in January 2008, and is fully owned by Qatar Islamic Bank .

Qatar Islamic Bank said on Monday its shareholders had approved the issuance of up to 5 billion riyals ($1.37 billion) of Tier 1-boosting sukuk. The sale would be in accordance with Basel III banking rules and the final amount and currency of the offering would be decided by the board at a later date, the bank said in a bourse filing. The bank said on Jan. 18 it planned to raise up to 2 billion riyals through a sukuk which enhanced its Tier 1 – or core – capital.

Dr. Kaldari Surgi-Art Centre, a cosmetic surgical facility in Qatar, has tied up with Tajmeel, the Qatar International Beauty Academy, for the sharing of expertise to both the Centre’s staff and Tajmeel’s students. As part of their collaborative effort, Tajmeel will be hosting staff members of Dr. Kaldari Surgi-Art Centre in attending some of its sessions, while the Centre will be providing students of Tajmeel with an Observer Program that will enable them to observe, witness and attend procedures and treatments at the facility.

The Qatari bourse is all set to list one of the four planned investment funds soon. CEO of Qatar Exchange (QE) Rashid Al Mansoori said they were just waiting for the necessary approval to list the fund, while the approval process for listing the second fund is also ongoing. The remaining two proposed funds are under study, he added. One of the four funds is Al Rayan Islamic, while another one will be bonds-based. Details of the four funds are yet to emerge. Al Mansoori said several new companies would be listed on the QE this year. A number of companies have applied for listing and their requests are being looked into by the regulator.

Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan announced it will be launching two debut funds. Of these, the Shariah-compliant Qatari equity ETF, to be listed on the Qatari bourse , is targeting foreign investors. A sukuk fund will be focused on sukuk in the GCC. Both funds will be managed by Masraf Al Rayan 's wholly-owned subsidiary, Al Rayan Investment. Al Rayan Investment manages the Sharia-compliant Al Rayan GCC Fund which invests in select companies across the GCC based on a 24-month investment horizon. The fund has two classes, 'Q' and 'F'. The Q-Fund is denominated in Qatari Riyal and is open to Qatari individual and institutional investors, while the F-Fund is denominated in US Dollars and is open to all investors, resident in any part of the world.

Vodafone Qatar has completed the process to become a fully Shariah-compliant company. Professor Dr Ali Qaradaghi, commissioned by Vodafone Qatar 's Board of Directors with the responsibility of transforming the company, said Vodafone Qatar successfully refinanced its conventional interest-bearing borrowings with a Shariah-compliant 'wakala' investment agreement in December. A Shariah compliance review was conducted by the Islamic Finance consultant. Vodafone Qatar said all these activities have been performed under the supervision of Prof Qaradaghi, followed by a comments review and the arrangement of Shariah-compliant alternatives when necessary. All non-compliant activities have been discontinued.

Qatar Islamic Bank ( QIB ) plans to raise up to 2 billion riyals ($549.4 million) through a capital-boosting sukuk. Qatar's largest sharia-compliant institution by assets announced the sukuk after reporting fourth-quarter net profit that was up an estimate-beating 30.4 percent year on year. On Sunday QIB said that its board had proposed a Basel III-compliant Tier 1 sukuk worth up to 2 billion riyals, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. QIB's total capital adequacy ratio, a combination of Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital, stood at 14 percent at the end of 2014, against a 12.5 percent minimum prescribed by Qatar's central bank.

The sixth World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), which recently concluded in Qatar’s capital city of Doha, tackled a number of education issues on a global level. In recent years, WISE has launched a series of on-going initiatives, including the Learners’ Voice Program. It is designed to equip young people aged 18 to 25 with the relevant soft skills, tools, and know-how to address global education issues. This year, 34 young men and women were chosen from hundreds of promising applicants to take part in the 2014-2015 Learners’ Voice Program , launched at WISE 2014 with a series of workshops.

Barwa Bank's profit reached QR641mn in the third quarter of this year, up by 43% on this time last year. The bank registered a third-quarter net profit of QR447mn in 2013, with total assets increasing to QR36.6bn, a 28% rise over the same period in 2013. Financing assets showed a 31% growth to QR22bn in the third quarter and customer deposits grew by 30% to QR22.1bn. Earnings-per-share improved to QR2.12 compared with QR1.9 for the same period last year. The bank's acting group chief executive officer, Khalid Yousef al-Subeai attributted the growth to improvment in processes and managment practises, which has led to greater efficiency and improved profitibilty.

Qatar's Barwa Bank has been appointed by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation Company (IFFIm) as Joint Lead Manager (JLM) and bookrunner for a benchmark medium term sukuk issue. Rated AA by Standard and Poor's, Aa1 by Moody's and AA+ by Fitch, IFFIm, for which the World Bank acts as Treasury Manager, has mandated Barwa Bank , amongst four other banks, to arrange investor meetings in the Middle East, with a sukuk expected to follow the roadshow. The proceeds of the sukuk will be used to provide free vaccines and related health system strengthening support to many of the world's poorest nations.

Reach Out to Asia (ROTA), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, held its fifth Gala Dinner and charity event on Sunday night in Doha. This year’s Gala Dinner theme was “Plant a Book, Harvest a Future.” The event aimed to raise funds for ROTA’s educational activities and projects in Asia and to support the educational needs of children who have been affected by wars and political conflicts in Asia. Collected funds are used for building and renovating schools, encouraging their reentry into education as well as providing employment opportunities for workers in the field of education. The charity auction was also held for the first time to support, through pledges, ROTA’s education projects in Syria, Palestine, Tunisia, Nepal and Pakistan.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has introduced a child education plan, Walady. It is a long-term savings and investment plan coupled with Takaful protection for the parent, and offers a return on contributions depending on the fund’s performance. Upon maturity of the contract, the outstanding value of the participant’s investment account is paid in a lump sum to take care of the education needs of the child; in the case of the early death of the parent, the amount of life cover is paid upfront to the nominee as per the terms and conditions of the contract; and in the event of the parent’s total disability, regular contributions will be paid until maturity of the plan subject to satisfying the claim conditions. Walady was underwritten by Medgulf Takaful.

The Middle East conflict raises concerns over the general outlook for the sukuk market. But portfolio managers remain positive both on fundamentals and technicals for sukuk as they also offer a potentially attractive alternative amid prospects of rising interest rates. Sukuk are considered as an attractive option for those whose mandate allows to test new boundaries. Mohieddine Kronfol, chief investment officer of Global Sukuk and MENA fixed income at Franklin Templeton Investments said, that "the lower duration and persistent strong demand from Islamic financial institutions should continue to support the market and allow it to perform well relative to other fixed income sectors, particularly those that have higher average durations."

The Bahrain’s stock exchange has plans to launch a financing tool and real estate investment trusts. The range of Islamic investment products will include a novel equity-based murabaha financing tool and Islamic real estate investment trusts. It is seeking to attract regional funds from bigger markets such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates; Islamic financial products are a major part of the strategy. The exchange aims to host trading of sukuk (Islamic bonds), which at present is mostly done over the counter, said Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa.

Sukuk issuance and investing is expanding outside of the Islamic world. The asset holders range from sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth-individuals in the Arab Gulf, to retail investors in other Muslim majority countries such as Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia. According to Moody’s Investors Service, Malaysia at present dominates the sukuk market when it comes to both sovereign and corporate issuance. Other major issuers include the governments of Indonesia and Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The overall outstanding amount of sukuk will probably reach around $115 billion this year.

Fitch Ratings has cautioned that the ratings of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) privately-owned corporates are being constrained by relatively weaker corporate governance than their developed market peers. The ratings agency said in a statement that this is mainly due to the absence of an effective independent board, weak transparency and limited disclosure practices and a move in this direction will still take time.