REAL ESTATE - İş REIT Signs US$ 50 million Syndicated Murabaha Facility

www.qinvest.com -

• 2-year syndicated US Dollar Murabaha facility.
  
• QInvest acting as Sole Bookrunner and Structuring Advisor.
  
• Qatar Islamic Bank acting as Initial Mandated Lead Arranger with Barwa Bank, First Gulf Bank and Mashreq Bank as Mandated Lead Arrangers.

İş Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi A.S (“İş REIT” or the “Company”) has signed a US$ 50 million Murabaha facility with a syndicate of banks from the GCC. The facility carries a tenor of 2 years and a profit rate of LIBOR +250 bps.

QInvest acted as Sole Bookrunner and Structuring Advisor to İş REIT. Qatar Islamic Bank was the Initial Mandated Lead Arranger and is also acting as the Investment Agent with Barwa Bank, First Gulf Bank, Mashreq Bank taking the Mandate Lead Arranger roles. (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 - Islamic Bond Alert

ALBARAKA TURK KATILIM BANKASI AS (ALBRK): The Turkish Islamic bank owned by Bahrain-based Albaraka Banking Group BSC hired Deutsche Bank AG, Emirates NBD, QInvest Llc and Noor Islamic Bank to manage a sale of as much as $200 million of five-year Islamic bonds, it said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange on Oct. 21. 

ASYA KATILIM BANKASI AS (ASYAB): The Turkish Islamic bank will offer as much as $300 million of five-year sukuk. Bank Asya, as the lender is known, hired Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG for the sale and has started talks with investors, the bank said in a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange.(source)

BANKING - Albaraka Turk names banks for sukuk roadshow

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Albaraka Banking Group's Turkish unit Albaraka Türk Katlm Bankas has mandated four banks on a series of investor meetings and may issue an Islamic bond as early as next month, a banker familiar with the matter said on Monday.

"Albaraka Turk mandated Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD, Noor Islamic Bank and QInvest to arrange fixed income meetings in Asia, Europe and the Middle East starting Nov 26," the banker, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkey’s Tax Change Paves Way for Sukuk Sales: Islamic Finance

Islamic bond sales from Turkey are picking up pace after the government changed its tax law to apply the same rates to sukuk as non-Islamic debt.

Two banks, Asya Katilim Bankasi AS (ASYAB) and Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK), plan to sell as much as $500 million in Shariah-compliant debt after Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi AS, a unit of Kuwait Finance House (KFIN) KSC, offered $350 million of five- year sukuk Oct. 20. (source)