BANKING - Interview with Sheikh Saleh Kamel, a pioneer of Islamic banking (Albaraka)

www.arabnews.com - JEDDAH: Saleh Kamel is a leading Saudi businessman and philanthropist who is popular worldwide as a renowned pioneer of Islamic banking and finance. He is the founder of Dallah Albaraka Group, one of the Kingdom's largest and most diversified conglomerates, spanning across 40 countries. He heads the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) as its chairman, Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and a number of other organizations.  (source)

OIC - IDB approves $1.96bn in new projects

www.arabnews.com - The closing ceremony of the 37th annual meeting of the board of governors of the Islamic development bank (IDB) hosted in Khartoum on Thursday was marked by the signing of a number of financing agreements. Under these agreements, the bank will contribute to financing of new development projects in 21 member countries with a total value of $1.96 billion.

According to an IDB source, the list of these countries included Sudan, Turkey, Bangladesh, Chad, Bahrain, Indonesia, Guinea, Mauritania, Uzbekistan, Senegal, Burkinafaso, Tajikistan, Sierra Leone, Cameron, Niger, Mali, Afghanistan, Gambia, Maldives, and Guinea Bissau. (source)

TAKAFUL - ICIEC set to launch sukuk policy to facilitate credit enhancement

The idea of a third party sukuk guarantee fund is still being considered by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Export Credits and Investment (ICIEC), the standalone export credit agency of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. However, according to Abdel Rahman Taha, the chief executive officer of ICIEC, the corporation "has initiated work internally to design a new sukuk policy which can be offered as a means to enhance the credit structure and appeal of sukuk. It is expected that this new policy will be able to provide the much needed respite to the sukuk market." (source)

WORLD - CAPITAL MARKETS - Third party guarantees for sukuk set to take off

One of the positive outcomes of the 36th annual board of governors meeting held in Jeddah last month was the approval by the Board of Directors of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Export Credit and Investment (ICIEC), the standalone export credit and political risk insurance agency of the IDB Group, of the corporation's capital from the current $240 million to $640 million. (source)

FINANCE - IDB approves $716.7m funding for new projects (75 million USD credit for Turkish Islamic bank included)

JEDDAH: The board of directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group has approved new finances worth $716.7 million for new development projects in member countries.

The board met here Tuesday on the sidelines of the IDB annual conference. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Fragile sukuk market clamors for sovereign issuances (Turkey, Kuveyt Turk, Albaraka Turk)

The talk is big, but are potential sukuk originators walking the walk? Depending on who you speak to, the picture is mixed, marked on the other hand by the "irrational" exuberance and ambition of potential issuers, many of whom do not get near to an offering, and on the other hand those who are skeptical and indifferent based on an erroneous belief that sukuk origination is always more expensive than conventional bonds and is further complicated by the Shariah compliance requirement.

The real potential probably lies in between where issuers genuinely see sukuk as an attractive and competitive alternative way of raising funds and therefore a tool to diversify sources of funding. They would however go to the market only when the timing and the pricing is right. Such an issuance in question is the proposed issuance which is expected to be closed this week. (full story - arab news)

BANKING - EVENTS - IFSB Summit Luxembourg - World Bank declares Islamic finance a priority area

" The presence of Sri Muliani Indrawati, managing director of the World Bank Group, underlined the importance the global multilateral development bank views the Islamic finance industry."

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the prudential and supervisory standard-setting organization for the global Islamic financial industry, embarked on a new phase of its development which may lead to a review of its mandate to facilitate a wider reach including those countries and organizations that are not currently members of the board. (full story)

BANKING - Turkish participation banks continue to thrive

The Turkish participation (Islamic) banking sector may not be as savvy or prone to spin and hype as its counterparts in the Middle East and elsewhere, but it continues to thrive. Perhaps more importantly, judging by the recent innovations in products and transactions, the participation banking sector in Turkey is also one of the most competitive in the global Islamic finance landscape. (full story)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Kuwait’s KFH to issue sukuk worth $1bn - Kuveyt Turk set for $ 500 mln by the end of the year

KUWAIT CITY: Liquidity Management House, a unit of Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is in the process of issuing $1 billion in Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to a newspaper report.

“The company is issuing Sukuk with a value up to $1 billion for three projects outside the local market ... with a share of 10 percent, which is equivalent to $100 million,” Chairman Emad Al-Monayea said in remarks published in a press report. (full story)

CAPITAL MARKETS - Turkish Parliament passes tax neutrality law for Sukuk Al-Ijara

Almost unnoticed, the Turkish National Assembly in Ankara passed the Finance Bill 2011 in February 2011 which includes tax neutrality measures for Sukuk Al-Ijara (leasing certificates) thus paving the way for a spate of corporate Sukuk issuances in the country.

Murat Haholu, head of the Surveillance Group, Corporate Finance Department, Capital Markets Board of Turkey, confirmed that the tax neutrality measures for the Sukuk Al-Ijara were published in the Official Gazette at the end of February 2011, which he stressed is an important development in the participation banking sector in the country. (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - BMD - Fund manager sees tough year for Turkish banking

Avsar Sungurlu

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS

Published: Feb 6, 2011 23:08 Updated:Feb 6, 2011 23:11

This year will be a difficult year for Turkish banking — both conventional and participation (Islamic) banking — although the latter will continue to grow in terms of market share of the total banking sector, says Avsar Sungurlu, assistant managing director of BMD Securities, one of the top fund managers and investment advisers serving the participation banking sector in Turkey. (source)