BANKING - Albaraka Turk Plans to Raise as Much as $750 Million in 2012

www.bloomberg.com - Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK), the Turkish unit of Bahrain’s AlBaraka Banking Group (BARKA), plans to raise as much as $750 million through syndicated financing and an Islamic bond sale this year, the group chief executive said.
The bank may raise between $400 million and $500 million from a so-called syndicated murabaha facility next week, CEO Adnan Yousif said in a telephone interview late yesterday from Alexandria, Egypt. The financing will mostly be in dollars, with some in euros, he said. The bank also plans to raise as much as $250 million from the sale of 7-year Islamic bonds this year. (source)

EVENTS - Conference on the Role of Sukuk in Development, Istanbul, Turkey, May 18, 2012

AGENDA                                  PRESENTATIONS

                     

The World Bank,  in partnership with Capital Markets Board of Turkey, and Albaraka Banking Group organized a conference entitled, The Role of Sukuk in Development. The conference brought together policy-makers, standard-setters, market practitioners, and international organizations to discuss how best to unlock the potential of sukuk markets in support of growth and development. (source)

In recent years, the Islamic finance industry has grown rapidly, at more than 15% per annum. Despite its remarkable growth, Islamic finance is still largely concentrated in the banking business. In many countries with a significant Islamic finance industry, markets for Islamic bonds (Sukuk) are still relatively small and underdeveloped. Well-developed Sukuk markets would create alternative investment instruments for the Muslim populations and help enhance access to financial services while deepening the capital markets.

During this one day conference, leading experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group (WBG), the Islamic Financial Standards Board (IFSB), the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), government agencies as well as the financial institutions pioneering in Sukuk issuances shared their experience and exchanged their views with the participants.

Panels addressed the following key questions:

		•  What are the potential benefits of Sukuk markets?
		•  How can these markets contribute to growth and development in countries with Muslim population?
		•  What are the main policy,regulatory, and institutional requirements for the development of Sukuk     markets?
		•  What needs to be done to unlock the potential of the market?
		•  What are the practical issues relating to the structuring of Sukuk issues? (source - agenda - presentations)

BANKING - Interview with Sheikh Saleh Kamel, a pioneer of Islamic banking (Albaraka)

www.arabnews.com - JEDDAH: Saleh Kamel is a leading Saudi businessman and philanthropist who is popular worldwide as a renowned pioneer of Islamic banking and finance. He is the founder of Dallah Albaraka Group, one of the Kingdom's largest and most diversified conglomerates, spanning across 40 countries. He heads the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) as its chairman, Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and a number of other organizations.  (source)

BANKING - Albaraka Turk's share sale will Kigili Abdullah

www.finansglobal.com - (Finansglobal) - Abdullah Kigili, Albaraka Turk, 372 thousand 584 shares owned by Central Registry Agency has registered to sell stock.
According to today's closing value of the shares subject to sale prices at the level of 700 thousand TL. Level of only 0.07 percent of the shares in the bank's capital ratio. (source)

BANKING - Al Baraka close to issue sukuk

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - Bahrain-based Al Baraka banking group, which operates in 15 countries including Turkey, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt, wants to increase the group’s profits by 15 percent in 2012 and issue $200 million in sukuk bonds for Al Baraka Turkey, the bank’s Turkey arm. (source)

BANKING - Al Baraka eyes more growth, Turkey Sukuk

www.tradearabia.com - Bahraini Islamic lender Al Baraka Banking Group aims for 15 per cent growth in net profit this year and plans to buy a 75 per cent stake in an unlisted Indonesian bank as part of its global expansion plan.

'We are in talks with Chinese shareholders of an Indonesian bank and hope to buy close to 75 per cent stake this year,' Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Al Baraka's chief executive, told Reuters in an interview.

'Our plan is to invest around $100 million in this deal,' he said, noting that the targeted bank, which he declined to name, is a conventional lender that will eventually be converted to Islamic.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Al Baraka's Turkish unit to issue $200 million sukuk

Bahraini lender Al Baraka Bank's Turkish subsidiary will go ahead with a $200 million Islamic bond issue in the first quarter, after delaying a sale last month due to pricing concerns, the bank's chief executive said.

"We will launch the sukuk in the first quarter of this year," Adnan Ahmed Yousif said in an interview on the sidelines of an Islamic finance and banking conference in Oman.  (source)

ARTICLES - Forbidden fruit: Turkey’s tempting Islamic banking sector

IFN.COM - Cover Story - 29-Aug-2011 - Volume8.Issue34

Forbidden fruit: Turkey’s tempting Islamic banking sector economic powerhouse

Turkey has been one of the few economic success stories emerging from the recession, with the highest economic growth rate in the world (11%) in Q1 2011. Despite a dip in 2008 with GDP contracting 14.6%, the economy rapidly returned to growth and GDP grew by 8% in 2010 with a 5% expansion predicted for 2011. Turkish banks were largely unaffected by the global financial crisis, with limited exposure to toxic securities and high retail deposit levels providing a liquidity buffer. The regulator maintains firm control with a focus on preventing excessive credit growth and a ban on foreign currency retail lending, meaning that banks have experienced little funding stress.  Fitch Ratings recently changed Turkey’s ‘BB+’ sovereign rating outlook from stable to positive suggesting that a future upgrade could be on the cards, which will only enhance Turkey’s attractiveness to foreign investors. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - FRANCE - Al Baraka to launch 100 mln euro bank in France by H1 2012 - Albaraka Turk to issue Sukuk

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Bahraini Islamic lender Al Baraka will expand to France next year and expects to launch a bank with a capital of 100 million euros ($142 million) by the first half of 2012, the bank's top official told Reuters.

Al Baraka had announced in 2009 its plan to launch operations in France but had to postpone it due to the financial crisis. (source)

BANKING - ABG Al Baraka’s H1 income surges 15pc to $353m - expansion Albaraka Turk

Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), a leading Islamic bank, has posted a rise of 15 per cent in its operating income which reached $353 million in the first six months of the year.

After deducting all operating expenses, net operating income was up 13 per cent to $170m. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Market Review Albaraka Turk

Albaraka Banking Group (BARKA) BSC: The Turkish unit of Bahrain’s biggest publicly traded Islamic lender, Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK), plans to raise $240 million from a syndicated Murabahah facility this quarter to be used for expansion. The shares dropped 1.7 percent to $1.15, when they last traded on Aug. 8. (source)

BANKING - ABG shows resilience to regional political turmoil - ambitious growth for Albaraka Turk

MANAMA: Bahrain-based international Islamic banking major, Al-Baraka Banking Group (ABG), has been resilient to the political turmoil from early this year in the countries in which it operates, according to Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.

"We believe that political and economic tensions are easing in countries where Al-Baraka Banking Group operates, and that the group has shown resilience in the impaired operating environment caused by the tensions," an S&P statement said.(source)

BANKING - Turkish Bank to Open Branch in Irbil in August (Albaraka Turk)

A Turkish participation bank will open a branch in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil in August, a bank statement said on Wednesday.
Participation bank Albaraka's branch will begin serving Irbil people in August.
It will be Albaraka's first branch in a foreign country.
"Irbil branch will contribute to bilateral relations between Iraq and Turkey," Albaraka's director general Fahrettin Yahsi said.  (source)

BANKING - Turkey Equity Movers: Anel Elektrik, Albaraka Turk, Arcelik, Koc

Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK TI): The Turkish unit of Manama-based Albaraka Banking Group BSC plans to hire banks by the end of next week to raise $200 million with a murabaha Islamic syndicated loan, according the bank's group Chief Executive Officer, Adnan Ahmed Yousif. The shares were unchanged at 2.26 liras. (source)

BANKING - Albaraka Banking Group’s Egypt and Turkey Units to Raise Funds

Albaraka Banking Group (BARKA) BSC’s units in Egypt and Turkey are planning to sell Islamic bonds and seek a Shariah-compliant syndicated loan, Chief Executive Officer Adnan Ahmed Yousif said.

Al Baraka Bank Egypt ESC, the group’s Cairo-based arm, expects to raise 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($168 million) from the sale of 10-year Islamic bonds this summer. In Istanbul, Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK) plans to raise $200 million with a murabaha Islamic syndicated loan, Yousif said in a telephone interview yesterday. (source)

RATINGS - S&P Revises Albaraka Turk Outlook To Negative

The following is a press release from Standard & Poor's:

-- Turkish bank Albaraka Turk continued to rapidly grow its loan book for the third consecutive year.
-- New loans to the risky construction sector are the main source of growth and have caused the bank's already weak capitalization to deteriorate, in our opinion.
-- We are revising our outlook to negative from stable and affirming the 'BB/B' long- and short-term ratings on Albaraka Turk.
-- The negative outlook reflects the possibility that we could downgrade the bank during the coming year, because of our negative view of its lending strategy and the subsequent pressure on its capital and future asset quality. (source)

BANKING - Turkish banking boom inviting for Arab banks, Albaraka executive says

Star - Banking institutions in Arab countries impressed by Turkey’s solid financial system and highly profitable banking industry consider opening branches in the country, according to Albaraka Turk CEO Adnan Ahmed Yusuf Abdukmalik. “A number of Arab banks are in line to take part in Turkey’s booming banking sector,” said Abdulmalik at the opening of its new head office in Istanbul. Citing the growth of the Turkish banking sector, Albaraka Turk chief said he believes that cooperation between the Turkish and Arab banking industries would bring about even greater development. Arab banking industry is estimated to be around USD 3.2 trillion in size and 2010 profits amount to USD 36 billion.

A member of the Saudi-based Albaraka Financial Services Group, Albaraka Turk has been in operation in Turkey as a participation bank for 30 years and has 120 branches throughout the country .(source)

BANKING - Turkey draws closer to MENA

The Turkish economy has now re-aligned itself more closely to the regional markets in the GCC and MENA countries.

Whichever party wins the Turkish general election in June this year, one thing remains certain. Turkey's participation banking sector will continue its steady progress and, in the process, further consolidate the sector as the third major component in the Turkish financial system after the depository (conventional commercial deposit-taking) banks and the development and investment banks. Participation banking is the Turkish euphemism for interest-free profit-and-loss-sharing banking - in other words Islamic banking. Its importance is underlined by the fact that it has  flourished since its establishment in 1983 by a special decree introduced by the military regime of President Kenan Evren, and more recently it has undergone a successful transformation that has seen it become part of the mainstream banking industry following its licensing, regulation and supervision under the same provisions of the general 2007 Turkish Banking act (amended). (full story)

BANKING - Al Baraka eyes $300 mln sukuk, further expansion - Albaraka Turk set for $250 mln sukuk

Sees $300 mln sukuk by Sept, no plans for sukuk programme; CEO says reviewing Oman Islamic banking prospects; Nomura Bank mandated as advisor for Islamic megabank

Bahrain's Al Baraka Bank expects to sell $300 million worth of Islamic bonds by September as it looks to secure long-term financing to fund its expansion plans, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Previous plans to issue Islamic bonds, or sukuk, were thwarted by the onset of the financial crisis and, more recently, the regional unrest, said Adnan Ahmed Yousif in an interview with Reuters.

The Islamic lender had previously announced plans for a $500 million sukuk programme but had shelved that, he said. (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)