RUSSIA - VTB: The importance of being Islamic

www.euroweek.com - If VTB manages, on its third attempt, to issue a sukuk then the Russian bank will have achieved for conventional issuers what Goldman Sachs couldn’t and Crédit Agricole didn’t dare. Demonstrating that such business is possible would do a big favour for the Islamic finance market — and the Russians themselves. (source)

UK - Ethical Asset Manager Launches 'First Shariah-Compliant Investment Sukuk' for Muslim Investors

www.ibtimes.co.uk - Ethical Asset Management (EAM), a UK-based asset management firm that complies with Islamic Shariah law on finance, claims to have launched the world's "first true" investment sukuk (Islamic bond) for Muslims.

A multimillion equity-only investment fund will be raised in order to buy assets in Britain's booming student accommodation market as cities across the country struggle to meet the property needs of their university students.

The instrument will be called the Ethical AM UK Student Accommodation Investment Sukuk.  (source)

TURKEY - BANKING - Bank Asya press conference

www.bankasya.com.tr - Bank Asya board member and general manager Mr. Abdullah CELİK held a press conference on 08.02.2012 and the main topics are listed below:

• Bank Asya continues ongoing negotiations with buyers regarding the sale of its Isik Sigorta (Insurance Subsidiary) shares. Depending on the offers, Bank Asya may sell entire of its shares. (source)

UK - CAPITAL MARKETS - London: Sukuk required to secure pole position

source

UK - UK FIRM TO LAUNCH INVESTMENT SUKUK

MANAMA: British-based Sharia-compliant investment firm Solum Asset Management will launch the first "investment sukuk" in the first quarter of next year, treating Islamic bonds as investment vehicles rather than debt instruments, its chief executive said.

Unlike traditional sukuk, which are akin to conventional debt products, the £200 million ($310m) Student Accommodation Investment Sukuk will use equity to provide holders with an annual yield of four to six per cent, said Safdar Alam at the company's launch in Bahrain.  (source)

UK - FINANCE - Solum Asset Management eyes UK student accommodation

cpifinancial.net - Launched at the World Islamic Banking Conference, Solum Asset Management has unveiled plans for a Sukuk that will invest in income-producing student accommodation in the UK

Safdar Alam, Chief Executive Officer, Solum Asset Management

The firm plans to issue its UK Student Accommodation Sukuk in Q1 2012. Solum says it has identified and shall acquire existing income-producing assets. Value for money and rental affordability will be key tenets of the investment strategy, the firm said.

The UK student accommodation sector has performed well despite the downturn in the wider UK economy, commercial and residential property sectors. Structurally, there remains a long term shortage of purpose built housing for students in many cities and this, coupled with the low delivery of new private housing stock, has resulted in continued positive rental growth in many university towns and cities in the UK. (source)

UK - Abu Dhabi Comm Bnk - ADCB Islamic Finance (Cayman) Ltd Sukuk Prospectus

PUBLICATION OF PROSPECTUS

The following prospectus has been approved by the UK Listing Authority and is available for viewing:

ADCB Islamic Finance (Cayman) Limited
U.S.$500,000,000 Certificates due 2016
dated 17 November 2011

To view the full document, please paste the following URL into the address bar of your browser:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3278S_-2011-11-17.pdf

A copy of the Prospectus has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at: www.hemscott.com/nsm.do.  (source)

FRANCE - Credit Agricole may issue Islamic bond

(Reuters) - French lender Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) is considering either issuing an Islamic bond or creating a wider sukuk program that could lead to several issues, as European banks seek to diversify funding, a senior executive said on Thursday.

"It's something that we're always looking at but it's probably more on the agenda today than yesterday because banks need to diversify funding," Simon Eedle, managing director and global head of Islamic banking, told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit. (source)

IRELAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Fitch Rates Goldman's Sukuk Trust Certificate Program 'A+/F1+'; Rating Watch Negative

finance.alphatrade.com - CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings has assigned an 'A+/F1+' rating to the trust certificate program created by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (Goldman) and placed the rating on Rating Watch Negative. The issuing entity under the program is Global Sukuk Company Limited (GSCL). This program was created for the issuance of murabaha trust certificates. (source)

IRELAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Goldman Sachs to list $2bn bond

www.irishtimes.com - IRELAND’S BURGEONING Islamic finance industry got a boost yesterday when financial behemoth Goldman Sachs was approved by the Central Bank to list a $2 billion “sukuk” bond on the Irish Stock Exchange, the Global Sukuk Company.  (source)

FRANCE / KSA - SATORP's debut sukuk oversubscribed 3.5 times

Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP), a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total S.A. of France, issued its debut sukuk Sunday and there are signs that several other potential Saudi issuers are lining up to go to the market preferring to raise funds in this way despite the continuing turmoil in the global financial market and economy.

According to the latest information available Sunday, the SATORP bond issue was 3.5 times oversubscribed. (source)

FRANCE - Saudi Aramco, Total appoint three banks for sukuk

AMEINFO.COM - Saudi Aramco and France's Total have appointed Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, Samba Capital and Saudi Fransi Capital as lead managers and joint bookrunners for the sukuk which will finance the Jubail refinery project, Reuters has reported. The total size of the sukuk - open only to Saudi nationals or those registered in the country - was not disclosed but has been previously indicated at $1bn. The offering period starts on September 10 and will last for 16 days. (source)

UK - FRANCE - LUXEMBOURG - Fragile sukuk market clamors for sovereign issuances

The talk is big, but are potential sukuk originators walking the walk? Depending on who you speak to, the picture is mixed, marked on the other hand by the "irrational" exuberance and ambition of potential issuers, many of whom do not get near to an offering, and on the other hand those who are skeptical and indifferent based on an erroneous belief that sukuk origination is always more expensive than conventional bonds and is further complicated by the Shariah compliance requirement.

The real potential probably lies in between where issuers genuinely see sukuk as an attractive and competitive alternative way of raising funds and therefore a tool to diversify sources of funding. They would however go to the market only when the timing and the pricing is right. Such an issuance in question is the proposed issuance which is expected to be closed this week. (full story - arab news)

UK - UK plugs tax loopholes for Islamic mortgages

By MUSHTAK PARKER | ARAB NEWS

Published: Apr 3, 2011 22:53 Updated: Apr 3, 2011 22:53 

The UK Treasury is fast-tracking a number of laws in the Finance Bill 2011 to plug several tax avoidance loopholes including those related to high-end stamp duty land tax (SDLT) in commercial property transactions — both conventional and alternative (Islamic) real estate transactions. 

The loophole includes the use of offshore vehicles to avoid paying full stamp duty tax on property transactions, normally in excess of 500,000 pounds up to a few millions of pounds.(full story)

UK - Gatehouse in £60m Sukuk

UK-based investment bank, Gatehouse Bank is planning a £60m ($97.8m) Sukuk by the end of Q1 2011, according to Richard Thomas, the bank's CEO.

Thomas was speaking to journalists at a conference in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of the week. (full story)

FRANCE - UK - Europe: London and Paris battle for business

By David Oakley, Capital Markets Correspondent

The French like nothing better than to outshine the English.

Although the ideal platform for this is usually the rugby field, the French see an opportunity to challenge their counterparts on the other side of the English Channel by developing Paris as a centre for Islamic finance in Europe.

UK - Sukuk is top of agenda for UK trade body

An Islamic trade body has been set up in the UK to promote Islamic finance and to campaign for a sterling-based Sharia bond. 

AdvId: 2775490 AdId: 232088203 CrId: 39132990

The UK Islamic Finance Secretariat was showcased at the World Islamic Banking Conference in Bahrain, where 1200 delegates from 50 countries attended the three-day event to learn about the strengths and challenges facing the industry.

FRANCE - GUIDE and POSITON on the issuance of Sukuk (AMF)

POSITION - Position AMF n° 2010-06 du 27 octobre 2010 Questions - réponses de l’AMF sur l’élaboration des prospectus sukuk et les modalités pratiques d’obtention d’un visa en vue de l’admission sur un marché réglementé

GUIDE - L’élaboration des prospectus sukuk et les modalités pratiques d’obtention d’un visa en vue de l’admission sur un marché réglementé

The Financial Markets Authority of France has issued a position paper and a guide to the issuance of Sukuk in France. (the English version can be downloaded HERE)

UK - Milling machine made with Sharia funding

A brand new, UK-built, ultra-fine milling technology launched in Gateshead on October 21 was financed with a sukuk financial instrument – a type of Islamic bond – which is the first of its kind in the UK.

North east company International Innovative Technologies (IIT) says it is the first in the UK to use the facility which is similar to a convertible bond and respects Islamic Sharia law and its investment principles, which prohibits the charging or paying of interest.