CAPITAL MARKETS - KFH-Turkey launches Silver exchange traded fund at Istanbul bourse

www.zawya.com - KFH-Turkey launched the Silver traded fund at Istanbul bourse yesterday during a celebration that was attended by several Turkish officials, including Istanbul Bourse ManagerIbrahim Tohan, in addition to a bouquet of businessmen, investors, important figures, It is worth noting that this is the first account of its kind in Turkey.

KFH-Turkey's CEO Ufuk Iwan stated that the new fund complements the gold traded fund that the bank offered last year and is highly demanded by clients; especially that Turkish people are keen to purchase and keep gold and silver. (source)

BANKING - Al-Omar: KFH-Turkey achieves TL 195 million net profit with 22% increase in 2011

Chairman of Kuwait Finance House in Turkey (KFH-Turkey) Mohammed Al-Omar.

Iwan: 16 branches in Turkey, plans to expand in Europe

 www.zawya.com - Chairman of Kuwait Finance House in Turkey (KFH-Turkey) Mohammed Al-Omar announced that the bank has achieved TL 195 million net profits in 2011 with 22% increase in 2011. Total assets increased by 54%, and deposits grew by 8%, while revenues increased by 17% compared to last year. The general assembly approved 16% dividends for shareholders. He added that such outstanding results were achieved despite challenging global markets conditions, which cements the fact that the bank is on the right track to becoming one of the best banks in Turkey. (source)

RATINGS - Capital Intelligence upgrades KFH-Turkey's rating

www.zawya.com - Capital Intelligence (CI), the international credit rating agency, announced that ithas raised the Financial Strength rating of KFH-Turkey. The rating is raised to'bb+' from 'bb,' underpinned by its very sound asset quality, good capitalprofile and continued good profitability, and the support rating of '2' is affirmed.

TheLong-term Foreign Currency rating is affirmed at 'bb,' while the Short-termForeign Currency rating is affirmed at 'b,' both at the same level as thesovereign rating. All ratings carry a 'Stable' outlook.  (source)

BANKING - Al-Omar: KFH-Turkey's success encouraged other foreign banks to enter Turkish market

Chairman of Kuwait Finance House in Turkey Mohammed Al-Omar announced that the bank plans to continue its pivotal role in the Turkish market, in addition to cementing its strategy that is based on strengthening economic relations with neighboring countries, and with Kuwait and other GCC countries. He added that the bank also plans to continue offering Islamic products and instruments that can broaden the horizon of Islamic banking in the Turkish economy, such as sukuk, murabaha, and ijarah. (source)

BANKING - Al-Omar: 25% increase in profits of KFH-Turkey by end of Q3

Kuwait Finance House in Turkey achieved net profits TL 160.5 million by the end of 3^rd Quarter of 2011 with 25% increase compared to same period last year. The bank managed to sustain a steady growth rate since the beginning of the year, where assets increased to reach TL 13.671 billion with 58.13% compared to same period last year. Capital adequacy rate reached 16.5 by end of September. The increase in assets played a role in strengthening total value of bank's assets by end of Q3, where assets increased to reach KD 13.3 billion with 10.4%increase. (source)

RATINGS - Fitch Assigns Bank Asya's Forthcoming Sukuk Issue 'B+(exp)' Expected Rating

Fitch Ratings-Paris/Istanbul/London-20 October 2011: Fitch Ratings has assigned Asya Katilim Bankasi A.S.'s (Asya) forthcoming sukuk issue a 'B+(exp)' expected rating. The expected rating is in line with Asya's Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR). The final rating is contingent upon receipt of final documentation conforming to information already received by Fitch. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Sukuk gain where bonds lose in a month of firsts

Almost a year after we saw the first corporate sukuk out of Turkey, and in line with our expectations in "Sukuk set record in first 9 months" that Turkey might surprise the market with a series of sukuk issues in 4Q 2011, the market welcomed the second issuance by Kuwait Finance House's Turkish subsidiary. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - DJ Kuveyt Turk Prices US$350 Million 5-Year 5.875% Sukuk Bond At Par

zawya.com - LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank priced its US$ 350 million, five-year sukuk bond, one of the banks running the deal said Thursday.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Sukuk Issuance - Bank Asya for 300 million USD

zawya.com - In order to diversify and increase of Bank Asya's resources from abroad, Citigroup Global Markets Limited and UBS AG has been authorized for Sukuk issuance in international markets maximum term of 5 years up to USD 300 million. In this context, Bank Asya will begin negotiations with investors.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - RATINGS - Moody's assigns (P)Ba2 rating to Asya Katilim Bankasi's proposed sukuk (Turkey)

zawya.com - The Ba2 rating assigned to the senior sukuk is at the same level as the global local-currency (GLC) deposit rating already assigned to BankAsya, as ultimately all the payment obligations within the structure remain with BankAsya. (source)

BANKING - A slice of Turkey : Islamic finance

From east to west everyone wants a slice of Turkey. Last week at the same time the country was hosting a UK business delegation led by business secretary Vince Cable, Malaysia's Islamic finance big guns were in Ankara and Istanbul setting out on "the new silk route in Islamic finance". (source)

FINANCE - Albaraka Türk Katılım Bankası A.Ş., Turkey US$ 350,000,000 equivalent Dual Currency Syndicated Murabaha Financing Facility (the "Facility")

ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.), Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, Noor Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (together the "Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers" and the "Bookrunners" are pleased to announce the successful closure and signing of a US$ 350,000,000 equivalent Dual-Currency Syndicated Murabaha Financing Facility for Albaraka Türk Katılım Bankası A.Ş. ("Albaraka Türk" or the "Bank"). (source)

FINANCE - Unicorn announces successful exit from investment in US electronics manufacturing (focus on GCC, MENA and Turkey)

Manama, 24 August 2011> -Unicorn Investment Bank (Unicorn) announces the successful sale of its investment in Victron, Inc. (Victron), a specialty provider of high-mix, complex electronics manufacturing services (EMS) based in Fremont, California.

Unicorn acquired an 80% equity stake in Victron in December 2007. The Bank has sold its stake to OnCore, a prominent US-based EMS company. (source)

BANKING - Hungary hungry for IF - Kuveyt Turk present

Hungary's first Islamic bank is on its way, says Istvan Kaknics-Ujhelyi, director of Hungary's Al-Gharnati Foundation and advisor to the mayor of the northern city of Eger. Hosszu Ferenc Ali Hasszan, a Hungarian currently undergoing Islamic banking training in Malaysia, told The Islamic Globe that Hungary is working towards opening its first fully functional Shari'ah compliant bank, called Magyar Iszlam Bank in the coming years.(source)

FINANCE - US$ 150,000,000 Dual Currency Syndicated Murabaha Financing Facility

Albaraka Türk Katılım Bankası A.Ş. ("Albaraka Türk") has mandated ABC Islamic Bank (E.C.), Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, Noor Islamic Bank PJSC and Standard Chartered Bank (together the "Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers" and the "Bookrunners") to arrange a US$ 150 Million equivalent Dual-Currency Syndicated Murabaha Financing Facility (the "Facility") on its behalf. Financing under this Facility will be used by Albaraka Türk to expand its financing activities in Turkey. The Facility has a tenor of one year and carries a profit rate of 150 bppa over the relevant LIBOR/EURIBOR.(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)

INVESTMENT - NCB: the public and private sectors' projects in the Kingdom provide opportunities for both national and foreign companies (NCB - Turkiye Finans)

It was recently mentioned in the news and attributed to the National Commercial Bank that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to invest 600 billion dollars in Turkey over the next twenty years. 

To rectify this, the figure cited represents the total size of projects to be implemented in the Kingdom in the coming years by both the public and private sectors. (full story)

AWARDS - KFH-Turkey awarded by Euromoney as Most Innovative Deal for issuing sukuk in Turkey for first time

Ufuk Iwan receiving the award

 

Kuwait Finance House-Turkey (KFH-Turkey) was awarded by Euromoney as Most Innovative Deal by Euromoney for its USD 100 million sukuk deal that was orchestrated by Liquidity Management House that is a KFH subsidiary, in collaboration with other major international banks. The sukuk deal is the first of its kind in Turkey, and is considered to be a new financing tool that can play a role in varying the options of companies seeking suitable financing. (full story)

BANKING - Net Income of Al Baraka Banking Group Jumped by 15% to US$ 193 Million and Assets by 21% to US$ 16 Billion in 2010

The Bahrain based leading Islamic banking group, Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) announced that it has achieved a net income of US$ 193 million in 2010, an increase of 15% on the income achieved in 2009. Similarly, balance sheet items witnessed notable increasesed Total assets increased by 21%, total finance and investments by 21%, deposits including unrestricted investment accounts by 23% while total equity increased by 5% as at the end of December 2010 in comparison with the end of December 2009. The Group's results in year 2010 reflect the ability of the Group to maintain its financial performance in a steady state of growth over the past few years, even during the global economic crisis that crippled many financial institutions. This in turn proves the soundness and robustness of the business strategies that the Group follows and which are based on unwavering commitment to the values of Islamic banking, supported by extensive experience in the markets in which the Group operates, high quality of the products and services it offers and extensive network of branches, as well as strong capital resources that enabled it to continue invest in opportunities generated by the current conditions. (source)