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Monday, 6 July 2015

Islamic banks’ finances surge 107 per cent in Oman


MUSCAT: Oman’s Islamic banks and window operations have shown a robust growth of 107 per cent in financing at OMR1,265.8 million for the first four months of 2015, from merely OMR611.1 million in the same period last year.

Such robust growth in Islamic finance shows that Sharia-compliant banks are able to establish themselves in the market and able to overcome their teething problems.

Further, two Islamic banks and window operations of conventional banks have launched innovative products to attract Omani customers, besides opening several branches in different parts of the country.

Total customer deposits held by Islamic institutions also shot up by 194.5 per cent to OMR847.3 million by the end of April 2015, from OMR287.7 million for the same period last year, according to the latest monthly bulletin released by the Central Bank of Oman.

There has been considerable increases in the number of branches and assets held by these entities. Islamic banks are opening up new segments and players and, thus, adding to the competitive environment, not only in terms of efficiencies and innovations, but by also providing consumers the benefit of choosing between both conventional and Islamic banking products.

In Oman, two Islamic banks – Bank Nizwa and Alizz Islamic Bank – along with the window operations of six conventional banks, have scores of branches across the country.

The total assets of Islamic banks and windows stood at OMR1,371 million at the end of December 2014, an increase of 68.2 per cent over the previous year.

Islamic banking entities provided financing of OMR1,049.5 million as of the end of 2014, compared to OMR434.3 million one year earlier. Together, Islamic banks and windows brought down their combined net losses to OMROMR4.4 million last year, from a net loss of OMR13.86 million in the previous year.


(Times Of Oman / 05 July 2015)
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SUKUK PIPELINE - Issue plans around the world

SARAWAK ENERGY - Malaysia's Sarawak Energy plans to issue 1 billion ringgit ($264 million) of sukuk; books were scheduled to open in late June, but were postponed after global financial markets turned volatile. The company will offer tenors of 10 and 15 years and for the first time, 20 years.
BAHRAIN - The Bahrain government announced a July 2-7 retail offer of 200 million dinars ($530 million) of 10-year sukuk ijara.
APICORP - Saudi Arabia-based Arab Petroleum Investments Corp mandated four banks for a debut international sukuk issue this year, off a $3 billion sukuk programme, sources said in late June.
ABU DHABI ISLAMIC BANK - Shareholders of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank approved in late June authorisation for the bank to raise its Tier 1 capital to $3 billion through sukuk issuance.
TENAGA NASIONAL - Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional is seeking to raise as much as 10 billion ringgit in a sukuk issue to develop a power plant project that it is planning to take over from debt-laden state fund 1MDB, sources familiar with the matter said in late June.
TURKEY - The Republic of Turkey is seeking to raise $1.5 billion from issuance of sukuk and yen-denominated bonds this year, a Treasury official said in late June: around $400 million equivalent from the yen-denominated transaction and the rest from sukuk.
Also, the Turkish Treasury said in late May it would issue local currency sukuk in August with volume of 1.5 billion lira ($563 million).
IFC - The International Finance Corp, the World Bank's lender to the private sector, has started work on a return to the sukuk market, with plans to issue sharia-compliant debt after the Gulf summer, a spokeswoman said.
BRUNEI - Brunei's central bank is preparing to issue long-term sukuk for the first time in the "very near future" while widening the eligible list of buyers of its issuance programme, it said in mid-June.
TOYOTA - The Malaysia unit of Toyota Motor Corp plans to set up a 2.5 billion ringgit programme to raise funds via both conventional and Islamic bonds, a regulatory filing showed in mid-June.
SAPURAKENCANA - SapuraKencana Petroleum, a Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said in mid-June that it planned to raise up to 7 billion ringgit with a multi-currency sukuk programme.
SINDH - Pakistan's Sindh province plans to raise as much as $200 million through a debut issue of sukuk to help fund development and infrastructure projects, the province's minister of finance said in mid-June.
OTHAIM MALLS - Saudi Arabia's Al Othaim Real Estate and Investment Co, owner of five shopping malls in the kingdom, has revived plans to issue a debut local currency Islamic bond, probably after the summer, sources aware of the matter told Reuters in early June.
DRAKE & SCULL - Dubai's Drake & Scull International set initial price guidance for its senior perpetual U.S. dollar sukuk issue at around 9 percent on June 10, but the issue has not been launched since then, apparently because of market instability and the pull-back of some investors due to Ramadan.
ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK - The Islamic Development Bank increased the ceiling of its Islamic bond programme to $25 billion from $10 billion, as it aims to expand its financing across member countries, the Jeddah-based lender said in early June.
CAGAMAS - Malaysian mortgage lender Cagamas still hopes to issue sukuk this year off a $2.5 billion multi-currency programme set up last November, but foreign exchange volatility is hampering any issue in U.S. dollars, the most likely option, its chief executive told Reuters in early June.
BARWA BANK - Shareholders of Qatar's Barwa Bank approved plans for a $2 billion senior unsecured sukuk programme that could be issued in various currencies, the lender said in early June.
BAHRI - Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority granted approval to National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) to issue sukuk, the regulator said on June 1. Bahri plans to complete a debut Islamic bond offer worth up to 3.9 billion riyals ($1.04 billion) this quarter, the company's vice chief executive officer for finance Mohammad Alotaibi said earlier.
BINLADIN - Saudi Binladin Group began marketing a 364-day sukuk issue to local investors in the kingdom which could raise up to 1 billion riyals, sources aware of the matter said at the end of May.
ADIRA DINAMIKA - Indonesian leasing company Adira Dinamika Multi Finance is expected to launch a dual-tranche bond at end-May, bankers said. It aims to sell bonds worth 2.5 trillion rupiah ($190 million), split into a 2 trillion rupiah conventional portion and a 500 billion rupiah sukuk portion.
OMAN - Oman plans to sell its first sovereign Islamic bond, an issue of 200 million rials ($520 million) of sukuk, through a private placement and will launch subscriptions soon, an Omani official was quoted as saying in mid-May by the Times of Oman.
AEON CREDIT - Malaysia's Aeon Credit Service said in mid-May it planned to raise 1 billion ringgit via sukuk murabaha for working capital, repayment of debt and financing for customers.
EGYPT - Egyptian Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian said at the end of April that he hoped to issue ijara-structured sukuk, the country's first sovereign sukuk issue, at the beginning of the 2015/2016 fiscal year starting in July.
KUVEYT TURK - Kuveyt Turk, Kuwait Finance House's Turkish unit, said in late April it had applied to the Capital Markets Board for permission to issue up to 1 billion lira of sukuk.
IVORY COAST - Ivory Coast will sell its debut sukuk in the next two to three months, and is assessing whether to make sukuk issues a regular part of fund raising, its minister for economy and finance said in late April.
CIMB - CIMB Group Holdings, Malaysia's second largest bank by assets, plans to establish a new 6 billion ringgit conventional and Islamic bond programme, a regulatory filing by RAM Ratings said in late April. A CIMB official confirmed the details.
TELEKOM MALAYSIA - Telekom Malaysia set up in late April a $750 million, multi-currency sukuk programme that may see the state-owned company return to global markets after a long absence.
KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG - Malaysian plantation company Kuala Lumpur Kepong will raise up to 1.6 billion ringgit from Islamic bonds, rating agency RAM Ratings said in mid-April.
BNI SYARIAH - PT Bank BNI Syariah, the Islamic subsidiary of state lender PT Bank Negara Indonesia, plans to issue sukuk mudaraba with a three-year tenor worth up to 750 billion rupiah in an offer on May 18 and 19, the Jakarta Post quoted CEO Dinno Indiano as saying in mid-April.
JORDAN - Jordan chose the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector to support its debut sovereign issue of sukuk, the ICD said in mid-April; the dinar-denominated issue is expected this year and would be used to absorb excess liquidity held by Jordan's Islamic banks, which is estimated to total 1.4 billion dinars ($2 billion).
AXIS REIT - Malaysia's Axis REIT said in early April that it had expanded its sukuk programme to 3.0 billion ringgit from 300 million ringgit, and extended the length to perpetual from 15 years.
TALIWORKS - Malaysia's Taliworks Corp announced in early April that the Securities Commission had authorised its proposed issuance of 210 million ringgit worth of sukuk murabaha, Bernama news agency reported.
KAZAKHSTAN - Kazakhstan's Finance Ministry is expected soon to propose a draft law allowing its first sovereign sukuk issue, which will probably take place early next year, Yerlan Baidaulet, an adviser to the Investments and Development Ministry, told Reuters in early April.
SENEGAL - Senegalese President Macky Sall said in early April that he had asked the Islamic Development Bank to help his country conduct a second sovereign sukuk issue. He gave no details.
(Yahoo.News / 05 July 2015)
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Alfalah Consulting - Kuala Lumpur: www.alfalahconsulting.com
Consultant-Speaker-Motivator: www.ahmad-sanusi-husain.com
Islamic Investment Malaysia: www.islamic-invest-malaysia.com

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