As we get closer to the deadline of Basel III implementation the lack of liquidity management instruments in Islamic finance is pushing this issue to the forefront. The institutional demand for high-quality liquid assets is expected to keep Sukuk demand high.

• Saudi Arabia: The five-year issue by the Saudi International Petrochemical Co(Sipchem) has completed a 1 billion riyals ($266.6 million) Sukuk. The issuance was managed by Riyad Capital and NCB Capital. more

• Qatar: Qatar National Bank (QNB) announced it has completed the acquisition of 99.81 percent stake in Finansbank in Turkey. QNB Group a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa. This transaction is a significant milestone in QNB Group’s strategy of international expansion. With the addition of Turkey as a new market and one of the leading Turkish banks to its network QNB Group further extends its international presence and will be able to increasingly benefit from the rapid development of trade and the strengthening of economic ties between Turkey and the Middle East in general, as well as between Qatar and Turkey in particular. Finansbank is the fifth largest privately owned universal bank in Turkey by total assets customer deposits and loans. The bank has organically grown into a leading financial institution with a proven and experienced management team.

• Algeria: After a sharp fall in energy earnings, Algeria is preparing to launch Islamic financial services as the OPEC member seeks new ways to raise money as the government seeks to diversify its economy away from oil and gas, which account for 60 percent of the state budget and 95 percent of the country’s revenue from exports. The Islamic finance plan comes as Algeria tentatively seeks to broaden its sources of funding.

• Egypt: Faisal Islamic Bank rise of 3.7 percent in its volume of businesses reaching 57.87 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.5 billion) by the end of May 2016. Faisal Bank’s current accounts and saving pools rose 3.6 percent to record 50.54 billion pounds by May-end.

• Oman: a newly released report on the outlook for Oman’s sharia-compliant financial services says that The Takaful (Islamic insurance) model in the Sultanate, which currently accounts for less than 10 percent of market share, needs to be suitably “restructured and realigned” to help drive the growth of this promising industry. Titled, ‘Islamic Finance in Oman: IFN Report 2016’, the document is based on a ‘Seminar & Dialogue’, which was staged in Muscat recently by Malaysia-based REDmoney Group.

• Abu Dhabi: Al Hilal Bank has raised $225 million by privately placing Islamic bonds describing the deal as the first private placement of Sukuk by a United Arab Emirates financial institution. The issue was the second tranche of the bank’s $2.5 billion notes program in the first tranche Al Hilal raised $500 million of five-year debt in 2013.

• Bahrain: launched a $100 million (Dh367.3 million) liquidity fund to enhance depth in its illiquid stock markets The fund will act as a market maker, providing two-way quotes on most of the listed stocks with a reasonable spread to allow the investors to actively trade their stocks. Bahrain Bourse has seen a number of initiatives in recent months. aimed at enhancing local capital markets. These include the introduction of the Bahrain Islamic Index (the GCC’s first Shari’a-compliant index), the introduction of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) rules and the offering of Bahraini government bonds and treasury bills.