REAL ESTATE - QInvest advises Turkey REIT on $50mn ‘murabaha’ finance facility

www.gulf-times.com - QInvest has advised a Turkey-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) on the latter’s $50mn syndicated ‘murabaha’ finance facility.
QInvest acted as sole book runner and structuring advisor to İş Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı (İş REIT), which entered into a financing agreement with a syndicate of banks from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The finance facility carries tenure of two years and a profit rate of Libor +250 basis points.  (source)

EVENTS - IFSB SUMMIT - Industry Leaders Discuss the Impact of Global Regulatory Reforms on the Islamic Financial Services Industry

www.ifsb.org -  Industry Leaders Discuss the Impact of Global Regulatory Reforms on the Islamic Financial Services Industry  Istanbul, 17 May 2012 - There is a need to find the remedy to the challenges facing the global financial services industry. Islamic finance provides a solution but legal and regulatory challenges facing the industry need to be addressed.

This was the consensus of the distinguished speakers at the first day of the 9^th IFSB Summit themed as “Global Financial Reforms: The Changing Regulatory Model and Islamic Finance” that is hosted by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - İMKB celebrates the trading of “Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank B Type Silverplus ETF”

www.ise.org - On the occasion of the first trading day of “Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank B Type Silverplus ETF”, the executives and guests of the relevant bank will visit İMKB (İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsası) and ring the opening bell of the Stock Market on May 21, 2012.
Mr. İbrahim TURHAN, İMKB Chairman & CEO, Mr. Mohammed Al OMAR, Chairman of the Board of Kuveyt Turk, Mr. Abdullah TIVNIKLI, Vice Chairman and Member of the Board of Kuveyt Turk, Mr. Ufuk UYAN, CEO of Kuveyt Turk and Mr. Murat ÇETİNKAYA, Vice President of Kuveyt Turk will deliver speeches, following which the officials will ring the opening bell and start the session at 09:30. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Bank Asya Drops to 4-Month Low as FinansInvest Cuts Rating

www.bloomberg.com - Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB), a Turkish Islamic bank, fell the lowest level in almost four months as FinansInvest downgraded the stock on concern the bank’s “problematic” loans will increase.
The shares dropped 3.5 percent to 1.64 liras at the close in Istanbul, the lowest since Jan. 23. The benchmark ISE National 100 Index sank 1.3 percent and the gauge for the banking industry slipped 2.9 percent.
Bank Asya’s recommendation was cut to neutral from outperform and its 12-month price estimate was lowered to 2.20 liras from 2.31 liras at FinansInvest, the Istanbul-based brokerage of Finansbank AS, the Turkish lender owned by National Bank of Greece. (source)

OPINION - İstanbul on track to become an international financial center

www.todayszaman.com - Mustafa Baltici - Of late, the term “financial center” has become a buzzword for emerging markets gearing themselves towards undertaking hefty projects in financial industries and real estate.

Tax incentives, legal system overhauls, rebates for businesses and labor market reforms are at the top of the to-do list for these emerging market countries in an effort to entice foreign institutions to divert funds in their direction. Another tool, the so-called investment promoters, usually funded by governments, utilize their significant budgets to liaise with key CEOs, bank officials and fund managers in order to secure long-term resources for their clients. These efforts seem to be producing results. Shored up by foreign investors, private equity markets in these countries are building up momentum. Local banking is enjoying an influx of capital, and securities markets as a result take on both diversity and liquidity. From the heights of virtual reality the outlook appears to be quite favorable. The flipside, however, points to economic ups and downs as well as rivalry and stiff competition among peers in the not so distant future.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Albaraka Turk Falls After First-Quarter Profit Misses Estimates

www.bloomberg.com - Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK), a Turkish Islamic bank, fell after its first-quarter profit trailed estimates.
The shares dropped 3.1 percent to 1.87 liras at 10:58 a.m. in Istanbul.
Albaraka reported a net income of 39.2 million liras ($22 million), according to a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange on Friday, lagging the 51.2 million liras average forecast by six analysts on Bloomberg. The bank earned 41.2 million liras in the first quarter of last year. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkey ready for joint bourse index with Gulf

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - Istanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) Head İbrahim Turhan said Turkey, Dubai and Abu Dhabi had agreed in principle to launch a joint index, as studies continued for such an attempt with Egypt. Plans for sukuk (Islamic banking) bonds are also on the way, Turhan said, speaking on the second day of the Arab-Turkish Banking and Finance Forum in Istanbul. (source)