Gulf governments, spending their oil wealth on $1tn of projects from airports to soccer stadiums, will fuel a second year of record Islamic bond sales in 2013 as private companies remain reliant on bank loans.
Sukuk issuance by governments and state-linked companies in the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council made up more than 80% of the $20bn of notes sold this year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. That is about 10 percentage points more than in Malaysia, home to the biggest global sukuk market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The GCC foreign bonds have grown at an annual rate of 21 percent since Q1 2007. The rapid growth has happened partly to compensate for the decline in international syndicated loans, which fell from $112bn in 2007 to $32bn in 2011 and just $8bn in the first half of 2012.
The decline in the international loans is most probably a result of global banks, reducing their international exposure following the 2008 financial crisis. The governments and corporations in the GCC are increasingly looking to the bond markets as an alternative source of financing for the substantial projects and corporate expansions underway in the region, a QNB Group analysis noted……………………………………….Full Article: Source

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has issued a 500 million Malaysian ringgit ($163.4 million) Sukuk, its third issuance denominated in currency, the bank announced in a statement. The new Sukuk is the first ever issue of a subordinated debt by a non-Malaysian FI in Malaysia.
It was issued for 15 years at a coupon of 4.75 per cent following strong investor demand, the bank said. HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, Maybank Investment Bank Berhad, Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad, and National Bank of Abu Dhabi Malaysia Berhad were the joint lead managers……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Soaring investor demand for UAE and Arabian Gulf sukuk shows little sign of abating as the region heads for its most active year of bond sales on record.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi said this weekend that it had raised 500 million Malaysian ringgit (Dh600.3m) through a sale of subordinated Islamic bonds, the latest in a string of debt sales aimed at Asian investors. The 15-year sukuk was priced with a coupon of 4.75 per cent following strong investor demand, said the bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A shortage of Islamic sovereign debt saw Indonesia’s new dollar-denominated sukuk rally two times faster than non-Islamic securities this week after the sale attracted $5 billion in orders for $1 billion on offer.
The Southeast Asian nation sold the bonds maturing in 2022 at a coupon of 3.3 percent, its third issuance since 2009. The yield fell 17 basis points to 3.13 percent from Nov. 19, compared with an eight basis point decline to 2.91 percent on the 2022 notes that don’t comply with religious tenets. In the international market, Shariah-compliant borrowing costs are at a record-low 2.82 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A $1 billion sukuk issue by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank this month may start a trend that was probably not contemplated by the founders of modern Islamic finance: Islamic bonds may become a key tool for banks to meet tightening capital rules.
The trend could add further momentum to a global boom in sukuk issuance. It could also ease pressure on banks which find it hard to raise capital from equity issues as global financial instability depresses stock markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

RAM Ratings has received confirmation from the Facility Agent that Golden Crop Returns fully redeemed its MYR 242 million Tranche 3 Sukuk Ijarah on the expected maturity date of 22 November 2012.
This follows the exercise of the third call option by the Boustead group of companies - the Lessees (or the Originators) in the transaction - to repurchase the remaining 13 estates and 4 mills from the Issuer………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkish Airlines is considering various options, including Sukuk, to raise funds of around $500 million to fund plane orders from 2014. The airline is reportedly considering using Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETCs) for the first time – financial securities issued by banks under which the airline gets ownership of the planes when the certificates mature, bankers familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.
Turkish Airlines was also considering issuing Sukuk or eurobonds next year to finance its aircraft acquisition plans from 2014, the bankers are quoted as saying………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkish Airlines is in talks with banks about a leasing arrangement worth around US$500m to help fund its plane orders from 2014, bankers familiar with the negotiations said.
The airline is considering using Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETCs) for the first time - financial securities issued by banks under which the airline gets ownership of the planes when the certificates mature, the bankers said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dana Gas, in talks to restructure a $920 million Islamic bond, is offering bondholders cash and an average 8 per cent coupon on two new sukuks to replace the existing one, two sources said.
The natural gas producer became the first United Arab Emirates company to miss a bond redemption when the sukuk matured on 31 October. Dana reached the restructuring deal on 7 November, potentially averting the seizure of its Egyptian assets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The long term ratings of MRCB Southern Link’s RM845mil secured senior sukuk (2008/2025) and RM199mil junior sukuk (2008/2027) have been downgraded. RAM Rating Services Bhd said the ratings of the two sukuk were lowered to C3 from BB3 and C1 but remained on negative Rating Watch.
MRCB Southern Link is a funding conduit for the 8.1-km Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (EDL) in Johor Baru. Although it opened to the public on April 1 this year, the Government had stated EDL would not start collecting toll despite the terms of its concession agreement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Like traditional socially responsible investing, Islamic finance has tended to focus on excluding ‘sin’ businesses rather than making a positive impact. Because lending money on interest and sale of risk are widely considered to be prohibited in Islamic finance, it is concerned with the structure and not just the purpose of financing.
Academic literature and news reports suggest growing interest in Islamic finance in making and measuring positive impact, such as through micro finance and this rapidly growing sector is also a possible source of growth for impact investing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banking is growing at more than double the pace of conventional banking in Kuwait and strong demand is expected throughout the Arab region, according to the chairman of Boubyan Bank.
Credit volumes at Islamic banks in Kuwait reached 11.1 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($39.3 billion) in the first nine months of 2012, up 13.2 per cent on last year, Boubyan chairman and managing director Adel Abdul Wahab Al Majid told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Syndicated lending by Saudi Arabian banks has more than doubled in 2012 as companies fund projects. “Family-owned businesses or privately held businesses haven’t to a large extent embraced those kind of things like corporate governance and disclosure and transparency,” said Abdul Kadir Hussain, Mashreq Capital’s Dubai-based chief executive officer.
Syndicated lending has slowed overall in the Middle East and North Africa, falling 5 percent this year to $28.5 billion, taking the total below regional bond sales for the first time since 2009. Issuances of sukuk and non-Islamic notes jumped 58 percent to $36bn in the same period, data compiled by Bloomberg noted………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Alizz islamic bank, one of Oman’s first Islamic banks, recently hosted its Constitutive General Meeting, where the Bank’s first board of directors was elected. The board constitutes experienced directors with extensive expertise in financial services. Trading of the Bank’s shares on the Muscat Securities Market is expected to commence on December 3, 2012.
More than 87 per cent of shareholders voted in person or by proxy at the CGM to elect the first board, which includes His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad bin Tareq al Said, Ahmed al Khonji, Shabib Mohamed al Darmaki, Mohamed Badawy al Husseiny, Mohammed al Fahim, Mohamed Ghanem and Khalifa al Mehairi………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia is studying draft regulations that could see the creation of a real estate refinancing company similar to US firm Fannie Mae, according to proposals published by the central bank this week.
The regulations are part of long-awaited government efforts to develop a housing mortgage sector in the conservative kingdom where the restrictions of Islamic sharia law have made it difficult to secure lending against property………………………………………..Full Article: Source