IslamicFinance.de

The Saudi mortgage law, once passed would drive Saudi housing demand and prices as more people access the market.

Investors could welcome the commencement of trading of Tamweel stock once the government releases the details of the company's merger with Amlak, analysts said Sunday.

ABC Islamic Bank along with Noor Islamic Bank PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank have been mandated by Turkey’s Bank Asya to arrange a US$75 million (and/or equivalent in Euros) syndicated dual currency Murabaha financing facility (the “Facility”).

The facility which offers a profit margin of 225bps over the applicable benchmark has been structured as a Shari’a compliant dual-currency facility with a one-year tenor. Proceeds will be used to fund Bank Asya’s Islamic trade finance activities.

The Australian government has expressed an interest in creating a Islamic finance hub for the nearly one billion Muslims in Asia-Pacific region and expand the Islamic banking to help Australia become a dominant player in regional financing.

The following borrowers are expected to sell Islamic bonds, which use asset returns to pay investors to comply with the religion’s ban on paying interest:

CAGAMAS BHD
LEBANON
WAHA CAPITAL PJSC
KUVEYT TURK KATILIM BANKASI AS
SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO
LAFARGE MALAYAN CEMENT BHD
QATAR ISLAMIC BANK SAQ
PAKISTAN
TAIBA HOLDING CO
THAILAND
DEVELOPMENT BANK OF KAZAKHSTAN
KHAZANAH NASIONAL BHD

Blom Developments Bank SAL (“Blom”) placed US$10 million with The Investment Dar Company KSCC (“TID”)under a wakala agreement (the “Agreement.

The Agreement was governed by English law and provided that TID would invest the Capital Sum (as the agent of Blom) in a shari’ah compliant manner. The Agreement further provided that at the end of the investment period TID had an obligation to pay to Blom the Capital Sum together with the anticipated agreed profit (the “Profit”).

TID failed to fulfill its obligations under the Agreement to pay to Blom the Capital Sum and the Profit at the end of the investment period. As a result Blom brought a summary judgment application in the English High Court. The Court ordered TID to pay to Blom the Capital Sum (but not the Profit).

Al Rajhi Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank, and Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c), an international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain, announced today the launch of a $500m (SR1.875bn) fund, the ARC Real Estate Income Fund.

Trade between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the UAE has inceased, reaching a total of EUR8m (Dhs42m) in the last two years through investments from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah focusing on finance and real estate sectors.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. or Aramco, the world’s biggest crude producer, and Total SA hired Deutsche Bank AG, Samba Financial Group and Calyon to sell and manage the mainly domestic bond sale, to help fund the construction of a $12 billion oil refinery.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's (ADIB) rating at 'A+' with a Stable Outlook.

A discussion was held between Mr. Peter Casey, Director, Policy & Head of Islamic Finance for the Dubai Financial Services Authority, or DFSA); Dr. Hussein Hamid Hasan (appearing in his private capacity) and Mr. Muddassir Siddiqui, who also heads the Islamic finance Middle East practice for the law firm of Denton, Wilde & Sapte; Messrs. Jawad A. Ali of King & Spalding; Michael J.T. McMillen of Fulbright & Jaworski; Anzal Mohammed of Allen & Overy; and Richard O’Callaghan of Linklaters and Ms. Shaheen Pasha, a Reuters Islamic finance journalist. The session was moderated by Westlaw's Business Legal Editor Jack Bunker.

The panel discussed on the following:
i) the Dubai World restructuring; and
ii) the underlying Nakheel sukuk.

The country’s existing Islamic banking players remain unfazed by the upcoming competition in the form of more licences to be issued for world-class Islamic banks and takaful operators. CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd executive director and chief executive officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said the move would result in a greater variety of syariah-based financial services and products being offered to the public.

Najib said the 1MDB Foundation would also consider offering scholarships for students wanting to pursue other strategic and important fields like Islamic finance and banking.

But about 10 per cent of the Dubai’s US$80 billion debt load is estimated to comply with Shariah, casting the spot light on the credibility pedestal Islamic financing has ridden on over the years. Islamic banking experts at IIBI say that Islamic finance as a viable solution to get rid of the weaknesses of conventional finance is mainly limited to theoretical debate.

The Islamic Bank of Thailand plans to float 55 billion baht worth of Islamic bonds in the local and overseas markets this year, says bank president Dheerasak Suwannayos. He said the bank hoped to raise 5 billion baht from a local Islamic bond issue in the second quarter, the first issued in the Thai market.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Capitas Group, LLC, a US financial services firm specializing in developing and managing Shariah-compliant finance companies, to form a management company dedicated to the global development of the Shariah-compliant finance industry. ICD is a multilateral financial institution, which is part of the Islamic Development Bank.

The recent Finance Bill in Ireland closed a tax loophole used by some multinationals to maximise profit, introduced new measures to increase Ireland’s appeal as an investment destination, and contained measures to make Ireland more attractive as a hub for hedge funds and for Islamic finance. Still it was criticised on other grounds by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA).

PROPOSED TAX changes designed to attract business from the Islamic world are likely to be a first step according to Department of Finance officials. The Finance Bill proposes to introduce new measures designed to accommodate transactions that comply with Sharia.

Asean member countries must have a minister to promote and champion the grouping’s causes within each country as the region moves towards integration by 2015, CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Tun Razak said

Some 2,300 international investors, a 12% increase on the same period 2009, have already signed up for the 21st edition of MIPIM (Cannes from March 16-19), as executives report improved confidence in the real estate market and economic recovery opens the door to new investment opportunities. Other major investment topics on the conference agenda include the presentation by Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (Saudi Arabia), who will talk about Islamic finance.