BANKING - Germany for the full path of the Turkish banking sector in Kuwait

www.yenisafak.com.tr - Director General of Kuwait Turkish Horizon Wake up, demand for interest-free banking in the field believe to be an important stage in Germany said, a full application for a banking license. In Frankfurt, Germany, organized by the German banking regulatory and supervisory agency BaFin 2 Involved to make the opening speech of the Conference of Islamic Finance, wake up and practice the basic principles of interest-free banking model mentions the provision of interest-free banking model tested in crisis and who support the real economy and the remarkable success of a system that stands out from being too closely related to speculation, he said.  (source)

BANKING - Albaraka Turk Gains After Dunya Report of Gulf, Balkan Expansion

www.businessweek.com - Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK), a Turkish Islamic bank, climbed after Dunya reported it would expand into the Middle East and Balkans, citing Chief Executive Officer Fahrettin Yahsi.

The shares added 1.6 percent to 1.96 liras at 11:25 a.m. in Istanbul, heading for their highest on a closing basis in three weeks. Shares on the overall banking index fell 0.3 percent to 116,770.2.  (source)

BANKING - First Turkish participation bank enters Iraq

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - Albaraka Türk has become the first Turkish participation bank to open a branch in the city of Arbil in northern Iraq. The bank also plans to branch out to Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai in the near term and Europe, specifically Germany, Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo, in the medium term. “We are in Iraq to increase the presence of Turkish firms in the region, to support the development of the region and to modernize the Middle East,” Albaraka Türk’s general manager, Fahrettin Yahşi, told daily Hürriyet. Yahşi said Arbil was the most developed region in Iraq and on the brink of a re-birth, adding that Albaraka Türk was there to help the city reach its target of becoming a future Dubai. (source)

FINANCE - Qatari group to invest at least $500 mln in Turkish tourism industry

A semi-governmental Qatari group is going to build multiple hotels to attract conservative Muslim vacationers in Turkey with a total investment of at least $500 million, the Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday. (source)

FINANCE - Qatari firm to invest in Islamic hotels

Qatari group Retaj is planning an investment of $500 million in Turkey in a bid to develop hotels and residences run along an Islamic model in two big cities.

“Turkey has become the 16th largest economy in the world and sixth largest economy in Europe, and this made us want to invest in Turkey,” Retaj Board of Directors member Bin Johar al-Mohammed told Anatolia news agency in a recent interview.  (source)

BANKING - Doha Bank Considers 2012 Acquisition in Emerging Market - Could beTurkey

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Doha Bank QSC, Qatar’s fifth-largest lender by market value, may make an acquisition before the end of 2012 as part of a broader plan to expand, Chief Executive Officer Raghavan Seetharaman said.

“It could be in Turkey, it could be emerging markets, we are looking at other options,” Seetharaman said in an interview in Dubai yesterday. “We are going to grow, and it’s a goal in line with the overall financial stability of Qatar.” (source)

BANKING - QIB Will Increase Staff as Much as 7% by Year-End, CEO Says - Looking towards Turkey

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK), the country’s biggest Shariah-compliant lender, plans to increase its workforce by as much as 7 percent this year, Acting Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Meshari said today.

The lender, which has about 750 employees, recently hired more than 50 people, having made a somewhat lesser number redundant, to bring in “new blood,” Meshari said in a telephone interview in Doha. There will be no more layoffs and further hiring is planned, he said.(full story)

BANKING - Qatar follows Malaysia to boost Islamic banking

Bloomberg/Dubai

 
Qatar, in requiring banks from HSBC to Doha Bank to close units offering Shariah-compliant services, is emulating Malaysia, the world’s biggest market for Islamic debt.

The Gulf nation, whose economy is growing at the fastest pace in the world, sent an order to banks this week requiring non-Islamic commercial lenders to shut operations that comply with Shariah law by year-end, according to the central bank circular. Malaysia allows standalone Islamic banks and subsidiaries to provide the services. (source)

FINANCE - Al khaliji arranges $310mn deal for MAF Group

Al khaliji and Majid Al Futtaim executives pose for photo after concluding the 1.14bn driham amortising term facility in Dubai

Qatar-based Al khaliji bank in association with its subsidiary Al Khaliji France acted as mandated lead arranger on the recently signed 1.14bn UAE dirham ($310mn) amortising term facility for the UAE-based Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Group.
 

“The transaction was oversubscribed and upsized due to the strong demand,” al khaliji said. 

The transaction was concluded in Dubai at an event attended by senior representatives from the lending banks and the CEO and the senior management team at MAF Group.

The deal further strengthens the reputation of al khaliji’s Corporate & Institutional Banking Division after an outstanding year during which they participated in the $1.1bn financing deal for Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Steel Industries and a $255mn dual currency Murabaha Syndicated Facility for Turkey’s Bank Asya.

SUKUK - Sukuk Developments: Hybrid Structures and Malaysian Expansion

Qatar’s $3.5 billion conventional bond issue may be the season’s most noteworthy Islamic finance deal. Malaysia, issuer of 75% of the world’s sukuk, has flexed even more muscle as it branches into the nascent Islamic finance market of neighboring Singapore. Anecdotally, these offerings are noteworthy; collectively, they may help ameliorate some high-profile setbacks for the industry.