IslamicFinance.de

First Gulf Bank PJSC, (FGB), obtained excellent investor endorsement through a six times oversubscription of its $650 million Sukuk (Islamic bonds) issuance.
The FGB Sukuk roadshow started on 21st July 2011. Between the ones invited were Fixed Income investors from the UAE, Asia and Europe.

The UAE’s central bank is going to open up a repurchase facility for Islamic certificates of deposits to provide a new liquidity tool for the OPEC member’s banks.
One of the key challenges to the emerging Islamic finance industry is a lack of liquidity management tools. It seems that the new facility is based on a murabaha concept.

Emirates Islamic Bank(EIB) has signed an agreement with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) to start a chair in Islamic banking and to provide HCT students with opportunities to develop skills and careers in the growing UAE Islamic banking and finance sectors.
The agreement was signed by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and HCT Chancellor and EIB CEO Abdulla Showaiter.

Ayman A. Khaleq is the new managing partner of the international law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP's Middle East offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh.
Khaleq’s practice focuses on structured finance and debt capital markets transactions with a particular emphasis on the structuring and documentation of Islamic finance and investment products.

There are already 8 Islamic banks in the UAE with 260 branches and assets and liabilities of AED 269 Billion (US$ 73.1 Billion). This represents 17% of total assets and liabilities of the banking system in the UAE.
Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, UAE Central Bank Governor, congratulated the Sultanate of Oman for licensing its first Islamic bank at a seminar on "Islamic Finance in a global perspective" which was held at the Central Bank.

The Islamic certificates of deposit launched by the UAE Central Bank are now the equivalent of $3.27 billion. This statement was given by Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, Central Bank Governor.
He added that although such figures are impressive, there are some challenges, first one of the kind being the short-term liquidity management at Islamic banks and other Islamic financial institutions. Another challenge for Islamic finance is the distinction between profit to shareholders and profit to investors/depositors, which is still unclear.

A historic opportunity for economic and financial change guided by Sharia-compliant instruments appeared because of the political transformation in the Middle East and North Africa.
Volker Nienhaus, economic adviser and former president of the University of Marburg, stated at the 19th International Conference on Investment Rules and their Impact on Economic Development that Islamic instruments should be invested in the development of an entrepreneurial middle class so that long-term economic progress and job creation can be guaranteed.
Dr Nienhaus underlined his statement by telling Gulf News that the promotion of enterprise among the middle class was the key to ensuring regional stability.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank anticipates to post single-digit credit growth in 2011 and that's why it will continue to book provisions going forward.
The impact of new central bank rules that will limit loans to individuals and service charges is beeing studied by ADIB. The central bank has capped personal loans at 20 times the salary or the monthly income of a borrower with a repayment period set at 48 months.
ADIB had a profit of Dh250.6m ($68.23m) in the three months to December 31.

Watania, the National Takaful Company, plans to launch next monday its initial public offering (IPO). The aim is to raise Dh82.5 million, that means 55 % of the share capital.
Anastasios Dalgiannakis, head of trading at Mubasher Financial Services, pointed out that IPOs of attractive assets are generally positive and helpful for the markets as they bring interesting investment opportunities.

The not-for-profit Jersey Finance opens Abu Dhabi office to tap Gulf wealth from family offices and high networth individuals even as currency fluctuations erode values.
Jersey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency where financial services are the largest industry. Jersey Finance, a not-for-profit organization that is tasked with promoting Jersey as an International Financial Center, has opened a representative office in Abu Dhabi, close on the heels of another in Mumbai, India. It sees a significant outflow of investment from the UAE to offshore jurisdictions.

In the oppinion of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and EFG-Hermes UAE Ltd, Abu Dhabi may find it cheaper to borrow with Islamic bonds than non-Sharia compliant securities.
Abu Dhabi government officials will meet fixed-income investors in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore. Standard Chartered is arranging the meetings and the sit-downs with investors aren't related to an immediate transaction.

Qatar First Investment Bank gave the announcement that its portfolio company Emirates National Factory for Plastic Industries (ENPI) has signed a new five-year, Dh250m syndicated Islamic facility, arranged by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. The signing ceremony took place at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
The financing will be used for the construction of a new production facility in Industrial City of Abu Dhabi 1 ("ICAD 1"), the purchase of new machinery and equipment and the refinancing of a portion of the company's existing conventional debt.

Bahrain Central Bank Governor Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj said that so far it hasn't been seen any kind of adverse impact on the country’s banking sector. All banks are operating normally and transactions are handled at normal levels.
About withdrawals from banks due to concerns over the situation, he said he could not comment on expectations or speculations.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) made an announcement that it had closed Dh250 million syndicated Islamic financing deal for Emirates National Factory for Plastic Industries (ENPI).
ENPI is majority owned by Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB).

National Bank of Abu Dhabi is ready to launch conventional and Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, but is waiting for the right time to go ahead.

Gatehouse Bank plans to bring a $96.77 million Islamic bond to market by the end of the first quarter.
Richard Thomas, speaking on the sidelines of an Islamic forum in Abu Dhabi, said the bank would also arrange a 25-million pound ($40 million) syndicated lease financing this year.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, or ADIB, has launched its 97 per cent capital protected BRIC Currencies Notes that provides an opportunity to small or large investors to invest in the four major emerging economies in the world.

Islamic bonds of National Central Cooling Co., known as Tabreed, rose on speculation the provider of air conditioning services to the Dubai Metro may follow Aldar Properties PJSC in getting financial support from Abu Dhabi.
Tabreed’s floating-rate $200 million sukuk maturing in July rose 13 cents on the dollar in the past month to 88 cents yesterday.
Tabreed is talking to banks to restructure 5 billion dirhams of debt.

Michelle Solomon has the strong oppinion that the Islamic Financial Services (IFS) sector in Abu Dhabi is showing a positive resilience to the world economic crisis as it increases market share while expanding its reach with new products.
The global publishing, research and consultancy firm’s analysis also indicated that the industry was primed to play a key role in the financing of Abu Dhabi’s large-scale infrastructure projects thanks to its sizeable liquidity.

The Government of Abu Dhabi has agreed to purchase several of Aldar’s assets which have broad value for Abu Dhabi’s economy.
Furthermore, in a coordinated action, Mubadala Development Company has agreed to purchase a convertible bond of Aldar.
This purchase is consistent with past practice whereby the government has paid private companies for the construction of projects that are important for the development of ?Abu Dhabi’s economy but does not signal a change of government policy towards Aldar, nor towards any other commercial enterprise.