CPI Financial

Jordan's first Islamic microfinance institution officially launched

HM Queen Noor Al Hussein officially launched Ethmar, Jordan’s first Shari’ah-compliant microfinance institution on 8 August. Ethmar is an affiliate of the King Hussein Foundation, which promotes social equity and economic empowerment in Jordan. Jordan News Agency Petra reported Ethmar Chairman Faris Sharaf as saying three Shari’ah-compliant products would be launched in collaboration with public and private organizations in the country.

Bank Aljazira reclassifies revenue from property disposal

In a statement to the Tadawul, Bank Aljazira has issued a correction to its financial results for H1 2015. Originally the bank had stated total operating income for Q2 of SAR 612 million. However, after reclassifying gains from the disposal of land, Bank Aljazira says total operating income for Q2 was SAR 1.184 billion. At first the bank had classified the gain of SAR 573 million on the disposal as non-operating income. The gain has now been reclassified as operating revenue on the recommendation of the bank’s external auditors.

Middle East investors to spend $15 billion/year in global real estate

An average of $15.0 billion per year will flow out of the Middle East into direct real estate globally in the near term, according to the latest research from global property advisor CBRE Group, Inc. The Middle Eastern investor base has expanded, fuelled by weakening oil prices; this has led to a major shift in global investment strategies towards greater geographic and sector diversification, with activity spreading across gateway markets to second-tier locations in Europe and the Americas. A greater proportion of Middle Eastern capital is now targeting the US. London, while retaining the top position, is no longer as dominant, with a 32 per cent share of all Middle East outbound investment in 2014, compared to 45 per cent in 2013.

GFH becomes GFH Financial Group BSC

GFH has announced to its shareholders and the markets that, in line with its extraordinary general meeting’s approval obtained on April 12, it has completed the formalities with the relevant authorities for changing its commercial name. Accordingly, the name has officially been changed from Gulf Finance House to ‘GFH Financial Group BSC’ starting on July 30th. The Islamic investment bank is based in Bahrain and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007. The company also holds a 25 per cent stake in Leeds United, a Football League Championship club through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Dubai-based GFH Capital.

Kuveyt Turk issues TRY 160 million Sukuk

Kuveyt Turk has issued Sukuk totalling TRY 160 million ($58.4 million) with a tenor of 189 days. The bank said that the initial public offering attracted a record-­breaking number of subscribers and is its largest issue to date. The Sukuk was issued by KT Kira Sertifikalar? Varl?k Kiralama A.?., a 100 per cent subsidiary of Kuveyt Turk, Halk Yat?r?m Menkul De?erler A.?. was the consortium lead and Bizim Menkul De?erler A.?. was the consortium partner in the issuance. Ufuk Uyan, CEO of Kuveyt Turk, said, that at the end of the maturity, the underlying assets shall be transferred back to the sourcing entity. The principal and lease yield shall be paid to the investors in one go at maturity.

Kuveyt Turk issues TRY 160 million Sukuk

Kuwait Finance House’s Turkish affiliate Kuveyt Turk has issued Sukuk totalling TRY 160 million ($58.4 million) with a tenor of 189 days. The bank said that the initial public offering attracted a record-­breaking number of subscribers and is its largest issue to date. The Sukuk was issued by KT Kira Sertifikalar? Varl?k Kiralama A.?., a 100 per cent subsidiary of Kuveyt Turk, Halk Yat?r?m Menkul De?erler A.?. was the consortium lead and Bizim Menkul De?erler A.?. was the consortium partner in the issuance. The principal and lease yield shall be paid to the investors in one go at maturity. The lease certificates have a gross annual yield of 10.63 per cent.

BisB announces net profit for H1 2015 of BHD 8.2 million

Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has realised BHD 8.2 million as net income for the six month period ended 30 June 2015, compared to BHD 4.0 million for the same period last year, an increase of 105 per cent. The Bank has reported for the three months ended 30 June 2015 net income of BHD 5.1 million compared to BHD 1.5 million for the same period last year while gross income reached BHD 11.2 million as compared to BHD 7.8 million for the same period last year. Total expenses for the three months period ended 30 June 2015 remained the same at BHD 5.3 million. Net provisions for the three months ended 30 June 2015 amounted to BHD 786 thousand as compared to BHD 1 million for the same period last year.

Warba Bank launches “Mosawama" for local and international commodities

Warba Bank has recently introduced the new BCT service representing a trading platform for domestic and international commodities. This comes within the framework of the efforts of the Retail Banking Group in providing special services and products to customers in personal finance in accordance with the rules of Islamic Shari’ah and rules of retail finance services.

Warba Bank invests in US residential real estate

Warba Bank is one of the initial investors in a US-focused real estate strategy managed by the Wafra Investment Advisory Group, Inc. Warba Bank has announced that the has acquired the commercial office building “The Nathaniel” in New York. Warba Bank’s co-investors include German insurance companies and pension funds. “The Nathaniel” is the first transaction by the fund. The building was completed in September 2014 and is a Class A+ nine story building consisting of 85 residential units with luxurious amenities and 18,000 square feet of retail space. It is fully occupied and located in upmarket area of East Village Manhattan, New York.

Warba Bank’s first half 2015 net profit rises record 633 per cent

Warba Bank reported a net profit growth of 633 per cent to reach KWD 315,000 for the first half of 2015 compared to KWD 43,000 for the first six months of 2014. Total income grew by 37 per cent to reach KWD 11.17 million. The strong operating performance was supported by all business units within the bank. As at June 30, 2015, Warba Bank’s total assets increased 30 per cent to reach KWD 645 million as a result of the bank’s aggressive geographical expansion strategy in local and regional markets, combined with investments in low-risk and high quality assets. The bank’s financing portfolio has also showed a growth of 50 per cent to reach KWD 457 million compared to the first half of 2014. This enabled the bank’s default finances ratio to reach 0.24 per cent.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank expects approval from Bank Al-Maghrib

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) CEO Tirad Mahmoud said the bank was seeking to invest in Islamic banking in Morocco. ADIB has applied for approval from the Morrocan Central Bank for approval to invest in participatory banking in Morocco by 2016. Back in March this year, Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor of Bank Al Maghrib, had announced 2016 as the year of commencement of operations of the first participation banks in the Kingdom. ADIB has also filed applications for licenses in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia, said Tirad Mahmoud. Emirates Islamic has also filed an application with the Central Bank while Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group is working in a joint venture with BMCE Bank to offer Shari’ah-compliant financial solutions.

Islamic Development Bank announces $150 billion over next 15 years to fund Sustainable Development G

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) announced that it will increase its funding of SDG related activities through its ten year strategy framework, from $80 billion recorded during the MDGs, to $150 billion over the next 15 years (2016-2030). IsDB made the announcement on the sidelines of the United Nations’ Third International Conference on Financing for Development, in Addis Ababa 13-16 July. Islamic finance can serve as a strong and non-traditional source of financing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) according to global experts speaking during a seminar organised by the IsDB. Johannes Majewski, Program Coordinator, GIZ, the German Corporation extolled the strength of Islamic finance through its emphasis on asset based financing and its focus on common welfare.

Abdullah Al Ghurair pledges one third of his assets to launch Education Foundation

Abdullah Ahmad Al Ghurair, whose eponymous business group has interests including banking, food, construction and real estate, has unveiled the Abdullah Al Ghurair Education Foundation, a philanthropic institution dedicated to the advancement of young men and women in the UAE and the Arab World. A legally registered entity, the Foundation owns one third of the assets of the Abdullah Ahmad Al Ghurair group of companies, including all revenues and profits. The Foundation will award grants based on a competitive process. It will promote academic subjects that address the needs of the local and global economy and the priorities of nation building. Grants for higher education will be made through a clear and transparent process and awarded based on merit to Emirati and Arab youth in need of financial assistance.

Quantum Investment Bank and Palma launch a new Shari’ah compliant aircraft leasing fund with Airbus

Quantum Investment Bank Limited and Palma Capital Limited, both based in the Dubai International Financial Centre have been retained as the exclusive placement agents for the launch of a Shari’ah compliant aircraft leasing fund (ALIF Fund) to be managed by the International Airfinance Corporation (IAFC) with Airbus and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) as anchor investors and strategic partners. With a targeted size of $5 billion from a combination of equity and debt, the fund will focus exclusively on Airbus aircraft. The objective of the Fund is to achieve a risk adjusted medium to long-term capital appreciation while generating a quarterly cash dividend to investors.

CI: Al Baraka Islamic Bank’s ratings affirmed

Capital Intelligence (CI) announced today that it has affirmed Bahrain-based Al Baraka Islamic Bank’s (AIB) Financial Strength Rating (FSR) at ‘BB’, on ‘Stable’ Outlook, supported by its strong ownership, comfortable liquidity premised on customer deposit funding, and the improvement in the capital adequacy ratio (CAR). The FSR remains constrained by sovereign risk exposure in Pakistan (through ‘AlBaraka Bank Pakistan’), where economic conditions remain difficult despite some improvement, and a relatively high non-performing financings (NPFs) ratio and low loss-reserve cover. Also constraining the FSR is the Bank’s ongoing very weak profitability at both the operating and net levels. AIB’s Long and Short-Term Foreign Currency Ratings are maintained at ‘BB+’ and ‘A3’, respectively.

Deloitte and DIEDC: Significant untapped growth potential of digital Islamic services

Deloitte and Noor Telecom have collaborated with Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center (DIEDC) for the compilation of a report that highlights the untapped potential of the Digital Islamic Services market and offers key recommendations for realizing Dubai's vision of emerging as the capital of Islamic economy. The report whose title is ‘The Digital Islamic Services Landscape: Uncovering the Digital Islamic Services opportunity for the Middle East and the World’ combines a range of qualitative and quantitative research projects conducted for the offline and online markets around the world. The report defines the Digital Islamic Services landscape under nine key industry verticals and areas, which constitute the pillars of the global Islamic economy online.

Islamic Finance Forum to be held in Abidjan 17-18 September 2015

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire are co-hosting the Islamic Finance Forum on 17-18 September 2015. The event aims at stimulating development of the local and international market of Islamic finance in Africa and particularly in Côte d’Ivoire in line with government’s National Development Plan 2016-2020 and to explore cross border trades between international investors and African nations through opportunities made available through Islamic finance. This invitation-only event is designed for the benefit of local and international market players to explore the development opportunities in Islamic finance both in the Cote d’Ivoire, locally and regionally.

GCC wealth growth gives private banking robust opportunities

Since 2010, the GCC market has doubled its total private wealth from $1.1 trillion to $2.2 trillion for an overall compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5 per cent, making it an even more lucrative market for local and global private bankers, according to a study by management consultancy Strategy&. Most of the region’s private wealth resides in Saudi Arabia (44 per cent), but the UAE has made notable gains with its share of the GCC’s private wealth increasing from 24 per cent to 30 per cent from 2009 to 2013. Together, Saudi Arabia and the UAE control 74 per cent of the region’s private wealth, up from 71 per cent in 2009. The study reveals that geopolitical events also intensified the migration of new wealth to the region.

Knight Frank releases 2015 Dubai Real Estate Investment Report

Against a backdrop of low interest rates globally and relatively volatile financial markets regionally, the flow of capital into real estate has continued, according to the latest Dubai Real Estate Investment Report released by Knight Frank. Developed property markets such as those of the UK and Europe should continue to see strong levels of demand from GCC investors. Knight Frank’s Middle East Capital Tracker – which monitors professional real estate investors’ favoured global destinations – shows that the UK remains a firm favourite for almost 60 per cent of investors from this region. The GCC itself, as well as Continental Europe, also rank highly.

Moody's upgrades Qatar Islamic Insurance Company to Baa1 IFS rating; stable outlook

Moody's Investors Service has today upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2 the insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) of the Qatar Islamic Insurance Company ("QIIC"). The rating carries a stable outlook. The rating upgrade for QIIC reflects (i) the company's improved and extremely strong capitalisation in relation to insurance risk; and (ii) its sustained strong profitability both in terms of underwriting profit and of bottom line. Nonetheless, Moody's added that QIIC maintains a significant level of investment risk, as QIIC invests predominantly in Qatari equity and property markets, translating to a high risk assets ratio. Furthermore, QIIC's insurance risk remains relatively concentrated to Qatar. The outlook is stable reflecting the expectation that the improvements in QIIC's capitalization will be maintained.

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