MALAYSIA: Alliance Financial Group sees growth in Islamic portfolio for 2015 fiscal year; total financing up 14.9%

Thursday, 23rd July 2015

S&P 500 Shariah Dow Jones Islamic World FTSE Shariah All World Russell - IdealRatings Islamic Global 1,842.43 2,943.67 2,035.63 1,919.73 ▼ -11.40 (-0.61%) ▼ -23.17 (-0.78%) ▼ -16.92 (-0.82%) ▼ -17.62 (-0.91%)

HIGHLIGHTS: Arig eyes full control over Takaful Re – Jordan seeking Islamic financing facility to fund commodities – Al Salam Group Holding to list on Egyptian stock exchange

This week's poll question: Should Islamic finance be re-branded in non-Muslim countries?

Kuwait’s ambitious infrastructure plans boosting Islamic banks’ prospects Daily Cover KUWAIT: Islamic and conventional Kuwaiti commercial banks are poised for greater growth in terms of credit expansion and margin this year as their diversification strategies pay off buoyed by strong public spending, says Fitch Ratings. The Kuwaiti government earlier this year passed a new five-year development plan which will see the Arab country spend KWD34.15 billion (US$112.48 billion) on a slew of development projects, with at least KWD14 billion (US$46.11 billion)-worth of projects to be awarded this year. These infrastructure initiatives have stimulated the corporate financing sector and as a result, boosted bank earnings. “Profitability too is recovering on higher revenues as well as lower loan impairment charges with improving asset quality and very high reserve coverage as required by the central bank,” explained Fitch. Excitement for the projects market in Kuwait is running high with many expecting this year to top 2014’s successful run. Last year, project activity in the Arab Gulf nation was among the fastest-expanding in the region with KWD7.3 billion (US$24.04 billion)-worth of contracts awarded – a figure that was almost four times higher than in 2013 and larger than the last three years combined, according to the National Bank of Kuwait. The bullish outlook for the project and infrastructure market also extends to the retail and property sectors, which too had a significant impact on bank lending. According to Fitch, solid demand in the consumer and real estate sectors drove bank lending in Kuwait up by 11.5% in 2014, the sharpest hike in the previous five years – and this bodes well for banking players. “We expect stronger margins due to more opportunities domestically and the banks’ diversification strategies, mainly targeting growth in the retail and SME sectors and regional expansion,” noted the rating agency, which also believes that banks’ prospects are brighter compared with the past when they had typically lagged behind regional peers in performance. All six Islamic banks in Kuwait (except Al Rajhi Kuwait whose financial statements are not available), including the four rated by Fitch (Kuwait Finance House, Ahli United Bank, Kuwait International Bank and Boubyan Bank), registered stronger earnings and a more robust balance sheet in the first half of 2015. Global economic outlook: An IFN Correspondent Report Should Gulf Finance House delist from Kuwait or Dubai in favor of listing on Tadawul? Gulf Finance House (GFH), the embattled Bahrain-based investment bank, announced last week that it is considering delisting from the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) in favor of listing on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul. Today's IFN Alerts GLOBAL: Arab Insurance Group on the brink of acquiring full control over Takaful Re JORDAN: Jordanian government seeking US$3 billion in financing from International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation to fund commodities GLOBAL: Al-Salam Group Holding receives listing approval from Egyptian stock market UK: Al Rayan disburses higher than expected profit rates to savers EGYPT: Egyptian Takaful Insurance Company targets achieving US$62.4 million-worth of investments for fiscal year 2015-16 UAE: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank rounds off second quarter with 10.5% growth in net profit MALAYSIA: Alliance Financial Group sees growth in Islamic portfolio for 2015 fiscal year; total financing up 14.9% UAE: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s net profit up 17% to AED2.53 billion (US$688.61 million) in the period ending the 30th June 2015 UAE: Commercial Bank of Dubai’s net profit up by 5% to AED609.8 million (US$165.99 million) for the period ending the 30th June 2015 UAE: Mashreq Capital receives investment manager quality assessment upgrade TURKEY: Turkiye Finans shows full support for IFN Turkey Forum 2015 as lead partner GLOBAL: IFN Asia Forum breaks 1,000-delegate mark yet again – dates for next year confirmed SAUDI ARABIA: Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector chief to deliver keynote address at the IFN Saudi Arabia Forum MALAYSIA: Industry leaders address Islamic finance investment opportunities at IFN Asia Investors Day Forum 2015 SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi British Bank supports IFN Saudi Forum 2015 as lead partner

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 (Jeddah) Understanding Islamic Contracts: Structuring & Legal Issues 17th - 19th August 2015 (Dubai) Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) 2013 & Islamic Banking Products 18th & 25th August 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Shariah Audit & Governance for Islamic Banking 20th - 21st August 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Islamic Finance Qualification 23rd - 25th August 2015 (Dubai) Advanced Sukuk & Islamic Securitization 24th - 26th August 2015 (Istanbul) Undertaking Effective Litigation & Recovery in Islamic Finance Facilities 7th - 8th September 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Sharia’a Compliance & Audit for Islamic Banks 8th - 9th September 2015 (Dubai) Funds Transfer Pricing 5th - 7th October 2015 (Kuala Lumpur) Trading Book Market Risk Management for Financial Institutions 8th - 9th October 2015 (Kuala Lumpur)