MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk to issue Islamic commercial papers worth RM100 million (US$23.91 million) tomorrow

Tuesday, 8th September 2015

S&P 500 Shariah Dow Jones Islamic World FTSE Shariah All World Russell - IdealRatings Islamic Global 1,680.04 2,668.83 1,833.99 1,743.42 ▲ 2.72 (0.15%)

HIGHLIGHTS: Egypt looks to sovereign Sukuk – Nasawara state wants Islamic banking – SABB Takaful reaches settlement with INMAIA – First Egyptian Ijarah firm in the works

This week's poll question: Tadawul closed at 9644.57 points the day before it opened to foreign investment (15th June 2015). On Sunday, the 6th September it closed at 7428.78. Where will it be at the end of the year?

BCA Syariah graduates into tier-2 rank; eyes larger Islamic banking market share Daily Cover INDONESIA: Indonesia’s largest private bank by assets, Bank Central Asia (BCA), has bolstered the capital base of its Islamic arm as the lender looks to capture greater opportunities in the domestic Shariah banking sector. Raising the capital base of BCA Syariah by IDR400 billion (US$28.2 million) through the issuance of 400,000 shares, BCA has effectively elevated its Shariah unit to become a tier-2 category bank – institutions with core capital of between IDR1-5 trillion (US$70.5-352.5 million). This new status grants the Islamic financier greater autonomy in conducting foreign currency transactions as well as limited treasury activities including spot transactions. “In line with the strategic plan of the bank in strengthening relationships with customers, the bank continues to improve the provision of services and financial products more comprehensively across its subsidiaries, including BCA Syariah,” said Inge Setiawati, the bank’s corporate secretary, in a statement. Since acquiring BCA Syariah in 2009 (it was previously Bank Utama Internasional Bank), BCA has been steadily growing its Islamic offerings and standing in the Indonesian banking landscape. From 2010-14, the Shariah unit registered a 49% cumulative annual growth rate in credit extension to IDR2.1 trillion (US$148.05 million), while its total assets increased by 36% to IDR2.9 trillion (US$204.45 million) as at the end of 2014. The Islamic financier also recently expanded its branch network to 47 by opening a main office in Yogyakarta, as the bank forges ahead to grab a larger market share in an ostensibly competitive environment. BCA’s aggressive Shariah focus is in line with the country’s Financial Services Authority (OJK)’s ambition to boost Islamic finance holding of the total domestic finance market by at least 15% by 2023, triple from the current 5%. Despite boasting the world’s largest Muslim population, the development of Indonesia’s Islamic banking and finance industry has lagged behind neighboring Malaysia. With a dozen fully-fledged Islamic commercial banks, 163 Shariah rural banks and 22 Islamic windows, the Indonesian Islamic banking landscape is highly fragmented and face development challenges on multiple fronts including in distribution and regulation among others. UAE: An IFN Correspondent Report Update on recent developments in the UAE Islamic finance space Islamic finance is still proving to be one of the flourishing branches in the GCC economic markets sector, even though in the first semester of 2015 it inevitably suffered from the drop in oil prices and the consequent reduction in governmental investments. Analysts are, however, confident that Sukuk and other Shariah compliant investment vehicles can still make significant figures this year. Today's IFN Alerts EGYPT: Egyptian government keen to meet 2015/16 fiscal year financing gap with Sukuk MALAYSIA: Sunway Treasury Sukuk to issue Islamic commercial papers worth RM100 million (US$23.91 million) tomorrow EGYPT: Arab Investment Bank to launch Egypt’s first Islamic financing leasing company NIGERIA: Nasawara governor calls Jaiz Bank to establish business in the state GLOBAL: Azimut Bosphorus Capital merges with Azimut Portfoy creating the largest independent asset management player in Turkey with a Shariah portfolio SAUDI ARABIA: SABB Takaful Co and INMAIA Real Estate agree on SAR9.25 million (US$2.46 million) settlement GLOBAL: Profile Software strengthens Middle Eastern presence with new hires KUWAIT: Boubyan Bank reports 28% growth in profits to KWD16 million (US$52.83 million) for the first half of 2015 MALAYSIA: MARC affirms rating on Talam Transform’s securities KUWAIT: Public spending boost to Kuwaiti banks, says Fitch UK: Kashif Siddiqui joins Trowers & Hamlins as corporate partner SOUTH AFRICA: National Treasury of South Africa latest issuer to join speaker line-up at the IFN Issuers Forum taking place on Sunday, the 13th September in Dubai GLOBAL: IFN welcomes Islamic finance expert Mohammed Khnifer as new columnist GLOBAL: IFN expands editorial content with new column by Mohammed Amin GLOBAL: Dr Ken Baldwin joins IFN team as new columnist UAE: President of the Securities and Exchange Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran to address delegates at the IFN Issuers Forum in Dubai this September

IFN Issuers Forum 2015 13th September 2015 (Dubai) Africa Islamic Finance Forum 2015 17th & 18th September 2015 (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire) IFN Kuwait Forum 2015 19th October 2015 (Kuwait City) IFN Turkey Forum 2015 17th November 2015 (Istanbul) IFN Saudi Arabia Forum 2015 30th November 2015 (Le Meridien Hotel, Jeddah) Undertaking Effective Litigation & Recovery in Islamic Finance Facilities 7th - 8th September 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Structuring Islamic Financial Products 8th - 10th September 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Sharia’a Compliance & Audit for Islamic Banks 8th - 9th September 2015 (Dubai) Trading Book Market Risk Management for Financial Institutions 9th - 10th September 2015 (Dubai) IFSA 2013 Compliance for Islamic Financial Institutions 29th September 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Musharakah-Based Contracts & Financial Products 5th October 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Trading Book Market Risk Management for Financial Institutions 8th - 9th October 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Islamic Treasury & Risk Management Instruments 12th - 13th October 2015 (Kuwait) Structuring Islamic Legal Documentation 20th - 21st October 2015 (Kuala Lumpur)