Turkiye Finans, Albaraka Turk apply for lira sukuk

Aug 31 Turkish Islamic lenders Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi and Albaraka Turk have applied separately to issue Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to Turkey's Capital Markets Board.

Turkiye Finans, a sharia-compliant lender which has a focus on loans to corporate clients, has applied to raise up to 1.5 billion lira ($513.2 million) through its wholly-owned unit, TF Varlik Kiralama.

No tenor or details of underlying assets were given for the deal, which could be sold as a public offering or to qualified investors.

Last month, sources told Reuters that Turkiye Finans was planning a dollar-denominated sukuk to bolster its supplementary capital.

Albaraka Turk, a unit of Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, has also applied to raise up to 1 billion lira through its asset-leasing company, Bereket Varlik Kiralama.

Earlier this month, Albaraka Turk mandated banks for an Islamic syndicated loan with a total initial amount of $400 million.

(Reuters / 31 August 2015)

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Alfalah Consulting - Kuala Lumpur: www.alfalahconsulting.com
Consultant-Speaker-Motivator: www.ahmad-sanusi-husain.com
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Iran boasts $518b banking asset, highest in Islamic world

TEHRAN – Iran’s banking asset amounts to $518 billion, making the country the biggest asset holder in Islamic banks, said Mehdi Razavi, the chairman of Iran Banking Institute. 

Addressing the 26th Annual Islamic Banking Conference in Tehran on Tuesday, Razavi said that the country accounts for 37 percent of the Islamic world’s total banking assets. 

“From 1995 to 2014, Islamic banks and financial institutes have seen an approximately annual growth of 20 percent and their total asset value has increased from $300 million in 2005 to about $2000 billion in 2014”. 

“According to some estimates, the total asset value of Islamic banks will touch $3,400 billion in 2018”, Razavi highlighted. 

According to published statistics, the number of Islamic banks and financial institutes has surpassed 600 across the world. 

Business Monitor has predicted a 21 percent asset growth in 2016 for Iranian banks, amounting to $586.06 billion.  

Although Iranian banks were under western economic sanctions, a 40 percent asset growth was fulfilled. Iranian banks' total assets were estimated to be approximately $301 billion and $403 billion in 2013 and 2014, respectively.  

Furthermore, granted loans by Iranian banks amounted to approximately $153.93 billion in 2014 and the loans were up 19% in 2014, hitting $183.33 billion.  

In regards to deposit attraction by Iranian banks, 22 percent growth has been predicted, amounting to approximately $219.09 billion, the report reveals. The amount had been allegedly about $179.39 billion in 2014.  

(Tehran Times / 02 September 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