June 20, 2019

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) could “potentially double” the size of its small- and medium-sized (SME) financing portfolio in 2019 and plans to raise funds through a benchmark-sized sukuk next year, its chief executive said.

The government-owned bank, whose direct lending to Emirati-owned and managed businesses climbed to Dh407 million at the end of March this year, also plans to expand its partnership with major banks for its funding guarantee programme for smaller businesses, Faisal Al Bastaki, told The National in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

EDB is “looking"...

June 20, 2019

SHARJAH, 19th June, 2019 (WAM) -- Sharjah Islamic Bank, SIB, has appointed banks to arrange investor meetings ahead of the issuance of a US dollar-denominated Islamic bond, also known as Sukuk, the bank has announced.

SIB has mandated Citi, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Structuring Agents for a benchmark size T1 Sukuk issuance. The instruments are priced following a book building process and meetings with international investors which include fund managers, financial institutions, private banks and others, according to the bank.

Abu"...

June 19, 2019

Kuwait-headquartered real estate developer Al Mazaya Holding has inked Islamic financing agreements with a local bank worth $136.6m (KD41.5m) weeks after it announced separate financing agreements worth $90.4m (KD27.5m) on Dubai Financial Market, where it is listed.

In a missive to the Dubai bourse, Al Mazaya said the funds would be used for the “refinancing and reprofiling [of] existing outstanding facilties utilised by the group over past years”.

The group’s real estate operations and investments will also be financed under the deal, which is expected"...

June 13, 2019

The Central Bank of the UAE, CBUAE, in coordination with the Higher Sharia Authority, HSA, hosted a workshop on 11th June 2019 centred around Islamic finance inviting major financial stakeholders of the UAE.

The session was first of many sessions within the newly launched Executive Programme, a platform designed for sharing knowledge and expertise in areas of mutual interest and strategic importance amongst stakeholders promoting thought leadership.

CBUAE new joiners were invited to attend the session allowing them to participate and become aware of key subjects in the market"...

June 12, 2019

Dubai Islamic Bank’s pending acquisition of Noor Bank, a move that would make it the fourth largest bank by assets in the UAE, would give a tremendous boost to the Islamic banking sector, while also making the bank capable of scaling up its businesses, a UAE newspaper has commented editorially.

'The acquisition could make the combined entity one of the largest Islamic banks, cornering around 10 percent market size, with a total asset size of AED275 billion, just shy of third-ranked Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, ADCB,' said Gulf News in an editorial on Wednesday, adding that Dubai Islamic Bank, DIB, could see its asset size increase by up to 22"...

June 11, 2019

Dubai Islamic Bank outlined its plans on Monday to acquire Noor Bank, another Shariah-compliant financial institution based in Dubai, to emerge as the region's most powerful Islamic banking group with combined assets of Dh275 billion.

After its board recommended on Sunday to go ahead with the acquisition, DIB, one the largest and oldest Islamic banks in the world, said the deal, the latest in a series of mergers over the past few years, would further strengthen UAE's importance as a hub for Islamic finance while reinforcing the bank's position as an Islamic finance powerhouse in the region.

DIB"...

May 29, 2019

SHARJAH, 28th May, 2019 (WAM) -- Sharjah Islamic Bank, SIB, has welcomed Standard & Poor’s (S&P) decision to upgrade credit long-term rating of the bank from BBB+ to A- with a stable outlook.

The upgrade is based on S&P’s considering SIB to be a highly systemically important bank in UAE, the bank's standing as a market player in the UAE Islamic banking sector and the increase in its market share. The upgrade also took the bank’s capitalisation into consideration as a positive factor, and the fact that asset quality remains resilient and the cost of risk is low.

Mohammed"...