BANKING - Albaraka Turk set to rekindle Turkish corporate sukuk issuance

Another sign of how the dynamics of the global financial crisis, especially the on-going euro zone debt crisis and the credit crunch, are affecting more stable economies in the emerging countries and where relevant including their Islamic finance and especially sukuk market, is the postponement of the proposed sukuk offerings of two of Turkey's participation banks, Al Baraka Turk Katilim Bankasi (Albaraka Turk Participation Bank (ATPB) and Bank Asya.

Both were supposed to close their sukuk offerings by the end of 2012. The general reason for the postponement was adverse market conditions, but in reality they differed for each institution.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkey's Albaraka postpones sukuk issue

ISTANBUL: The Turkish unit of Bahrain's Albaraka Banking Group said it had postponed a planned issue of Islamic bonds, saying the yields investors expected were too high.

"Because of the negative environment in international markets the yields international investors are seeking are not matching with our expectation," the lender said, adding that demand was very good.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Why German blushes could have been saved by a vibrant sukuk market - Turkey ready to move on

Sovereign Germany might be disappointed that its recent Eurobond offering was not fully subscribed. Perhaps in hindsight, had it instead opted to issue a debut Eurosukuk for the same amount, the story might well have been different.

Sukuk issuers, whether conventional entities such as HSBC Middle East or Goldman Sachs (both of which tapped the sukuk market in 2011, or Islamic banks, agree that market conditions in the sukuk space is more favorable than in the conventional space. And this confidence and appetite for Sukuk is backed by rising demand from big institutional investors in the Middle East and Asia. (source)

BANKING - Turkey capitalizes on participation banking ties

Perhaps it is not surprising that the 9th Annual Summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) will be hosted by the Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) on May 16-17, 2012 in Istanbul. At the meeting of the central banks & monetary authorities of the OIC member countries which was organized by the Ankara-based SESTRIC, the statistical and research organization of the OIC, and hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, in Kuala Lumpur last week, Erdem Basçı, governor of the CBT, was indeed a busy man. (source)

EVENTS - Malaysia and Turkey exploring opportunities in ‘New Silk Route’

In the corridors of power in Ankara, a new thinking is emerging especially among the “Young Turks” of the Turkish establishment.

A combination of the aftermath of the global financial crisis; the seemingly intractable euro zone debt crisis with neighboring rival, Greece, bearing the brunt of the criticism; and endless obfuscation and simmering opposition by some diehard opponents to Turkish membership of the European Union; and the uncertainty in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region because of the so-called “Arab Spring,” is forcing Ankara to look beyond its traditional trading partners and markets in the EU and the Middle East and to consider alternative ways of raising funds and investments into the country. (source)

IDB - IDB boosts financing cooperation with Turkish corporates

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) latest $75 million line of financing to Turkiye Finans Participation Bank, one of the four participation (Islamic) banks in Turkey and in  which Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank has a controlling stake, underlines the proactive involvement of the multilateral development bank of the Muslim world in Turkey over the last three decades. (source)

TRADE INSURANCE - ICIEC and EXIM BANK - Demand for political risk insurance in MENA region up

One of the important issues to emerge from the second annual meeting of the Aman Union, the association of investment and export credit agencies in the Arab and Islamic world, which was held in Istanbul last week under the aegis of the Turk Eximbank, is the increased demand for political risk insurance especially insuring risks in post-conflict countries and those undergoing economic and political transformation. This is especially from those countries whose exporters are active in the OIC countries. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Kuveyt Turk - Bond issuers turn to Malaysia, Asia

Today, Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank (KTPB), which is majority owned by Kuwait Finance House, one of the largest Islamic banks in the world, launches its roadshow for its proposed 5-year $350 million Sukuk Al-Ijara issuance. The fact that the roadshow is starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is revealing in that issuers from the Middle East, largely from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and now Turkey for the first time, are turning to investors in Malaysia and Asia to raise their funding requirements.  (source)

FINANCE - Agricultural sector still lacks support (Albaraka Turk - AgriCap - Vision3)

While multilateral agencies such as the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB) have been involved in financing the agricultural sector, the mainstream Islamic finance industry has not directly got involved in the sector in any meaningful way. (source)

FINANCE - Islamic export credit, political risk insurance boost for ICIEC (aktifbank - bank asya - kuveyt turk)

One of the important issues on the agenda of the second annual meeting of the Aman Union, the organization of investment and export credit agencies in the Arab and

Islamic World, which is due to be held on Oct. 4-5 in Istanbul under the aegis of the Turk Eximbank, are the challenges facing the export credit insurance industry especially insuring risks in post-conflict countries and those undergoing economic and political transformation. (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)