CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkish cleric’s article on bonds disturbs Islamic lenders

www.hurriyetdailyews.com - Participation banks withdraw from a Treasury auction, fearing that the government’s revenue index bonds yield interest income, which is not religiously appropriate. Debate comes after an opinion by a leading consultant

A top consultant for Turkey’s participation banks said that Treasury-issued revenue-linked bonds are no different than government bonds, as both are based on interest, according to daily Vatan. Professor Hayrettin Karaman’s fatwa-like comments shocked participation banks, which decided not to bid for new revenue-linked bonds.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Top advisor to participation banks says GES Revenue Indexed Bonds equal to gov't bonds

www.todayszaman.com - Comments from theologian Hayrettin Karaman, top advisor to Turkish participation banks -- which refrain from being involved in financial activities deemed forbidden in Islam, claimed on Feb. 19 that revenue-indexed bonds (GES) are no different than government bonds in terms of interest charged and this has created a difficult situation for participation banks in Turkey, which hold $1 billion in GES.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkey to overcome secular qualms with Islamic bond

www.reuters.com -
* Sovereign sukuk in 2012 could raise several billion dollars
* Would pave way for corporate issues, set benchmark
* Could be used to fund large projects
* Turkish non-financial firms keen to tap market

By Seda Sezer and Nevzat Devranoglu

ISTANBUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Turkey's government plans its first-ever issue of Islamic bonds this year, overcoming sensitivities about Islamic finance in the secular republic as it seeks to tap a rich pool of investors flush with oil money.

A sovereign sukuk issue from an economy regarded as one of the most progressive and successful in the Muslim world would signal intent on Turkey's part to play a bigger role in Islamic finance. The size of the global sukuk market is estimated at more than $100 billion.

"It will be like ringing a bell and attracting all the attention," said Murat Cetinkaya, deputy chief executive for treasury at Kuveyt Turk, an Islamic bank that has been a trend-setter for corporate sukuk issues in Turkey. (source)

ARTICLE - Osman Akyz TKBB Secretary General - Banking What would it mean for Turkey?

Interest-free banking in Turkey with 637 branches and 13,000 employees who carry out activities 4 contributions bank, on the successful model showed that a robust and reliable banking system and has set an example to the whole world.

Participation in our country's financial and banking system in 1985, including the Banking (interest-free banking), nowadays it is an integral part of the banking sector. In 1985, "Private Finance Agency as" establishments that started operations in the world, the legal infrastructure developments in the Turkish banking sector, completed the establishment and development. These organizations themselves over time, better able to express and participate in the profit and loss participation accounts in order to evoke the essence of the isimlendirildiler participation banks.  (full story and source)

BANKING - Turkey: Islamic Banking Making Inroads

eurasia.net  - Amid Turkey’s turn away from strict secularism, Islamic banking practices in the country are gaining currency. But they still face significant obstacles as they strive to enter the financial mainstream.

Turkey at present has four Islamic banks -- three that are partially owned by companies based in the Persian Gulf -- which accounted for 5 percent of Turkey’s 1-trillion-lira ($559 billion) banking sector in late 2010, according to data from the Participation Banks’ Association of Turkey, a lobbyist group for Islamic banks.

The banks are known as “participation banks,” since, in keeping with Islamic tenets, depositors and borrowers share the risk of financial transactions with the banks themselves. Interest is not charged. Clients are mostly pious entrepreneurs from the central region of Anatolia, especially in cities such as Gaziantep, Konya, and Kayseri. The area is home to several companies that have become known as “Anatolian Tigers” for their rapid growth.(source)

WORLD - OPINION - Strong Outlook for Turkish Islamic Banks

IRAN DAILY - International credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) asserted in a report published last week that Turkey’s participation (Islamic) banks could continue their recent strong growth if they can cultivate stronger ties with their international owners and create a sustainable brand image.

Turkey’s Islamic finance market is as old as the one in Malaysia and others in the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) countries, Arab News wrote. (source)

BANKING - SandP urges Turk participation banks to leverage their foreign ownership

ISTOCK.COM - Sept. 12--International credit rating agency, Standard and Poor's (S&P) assertion in a report published last week that Turkey's participation (Islamic banks) "could continue their recent strong growth if they can cultivate stronger ties with their international owners and create a sustainable brand image," underpins an Islamic finance market which is as old as the one in Malaysia and others in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.(source)

EVENTS - INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE : Organised by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) discribed as "India - Turkiye Cooperation" has been held in Istanbul on 01-04 April 2011.

ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICOC) - INDIAN MERCHANTS' CHAMBER (IMC)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011- Resadiye Cad. 34112 Eminönü, Istanbul
India Calling to Istanbul Turkey
April 12 - 15, 2011
Informal Networking Dinner hosted by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC)
Venue: Istanbul Chamber of Commerce

Plenary Session II - Financial Services
Speaker : Osman Akyüz - Assembly Member/ ICOC Banking & Finance Committee
Chairman:: Mr. Mark Fernandes, Partner, Sylvester & Co
Speaker 1: Kamil Turgut Erkeskin -Assembly Member / ICOC Transport & Logistic Committee
Speaker 2: Mr, Saroj Datta, Executive Director, Jet Airways
Chairman:: Mr. Pradeep Chinai, Managing Director, Ceekay Daikin Ltd

Click for the presentatiion of Mr. Osman AKÜZ, Secretary General of TKBB.

BANKING - Turkish participation banks continue to thrive

The Turkish participation (Islamic) banking sector may not be as savvy or prone to spin and hype as its counterparts in the Middle East and elsewhere, but it continues to thrive. Perhaps more importantly, judging by the recent innovations in products and transactions, the participation banking sector in Turkey is also one of the most competitive in the global Islamic finance landscape. (full story)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkish Islamic banks plan to sell bonds

Türkiye Finans, led by Yunus Nacar, plans to sell at least $300 million in Islamic bonds this year. 
 

Turkey’s Islamic banks are planning sukuk sales to take advantage of both the lowest borrowing costs in more than five years and the rising demand for the country’s securities.

Türkiye Finans, Kuveyt Türk and Albaraka Türk, all at least part-owned by Persian Gulf lenders, said they plan to offer Islamic bonds this year. (full story)

SUKUK - Kuveyt Turk Plans Second Sukuk as Market Grows: Islamic Finance

Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi AS is spearheading Turkey’s five-month-old Islamic bond market, planning a second sale of Shariah-compliant debt for 2012.

Kuveyt Turk, the Istanbul-based bank owned by Kuwait Finance House KSC, may sell more than $100 million of five-year sukuk, after a similar size sale in August that was the first in the nation since regulators allowed companies to offer Islamic bonds, said Chief Executive Officer Ufuk Uyan. The government is considering selling sukuk “in the future,” Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said in an interview with Bloomberg HT television on Aug. 25.

“We’re targeting investors from the Middle East, Europe and Asia,” Uyan said in an interview from Istanbul on Aug. 25. “Everyone was expecting a sovereign sukuk from the treasury, but we wanted to pave the way as a bank.”