Reforms aimed at opening markets to investment and encouraging private sector participation are moving forward, even with some further difficulties.

• Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) and Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group planning to establish an Islamic bank in Abu Dhabi with an initial capital of $100 million. And they received preliminary approval to launch the bank at Abu Dhabi Global Market. The bank will open soon it will run as a commercial bank accepting offshore deposits and dealing in dollars.
  Dubai: Noor Bank issues $500 million Tier 1 capital issuance the first issuance from UAE in 2016.

• Bahrain: Islamic investment bank GFH Financial Group plans to issue 150 million dollars of Islamic bonds. The Sukuk will be used to repay debts and surplus cash will go towards future investments. more

• Saudi Arabia: Bank Al Jazira One of the kingdom’s smallest banks has priced a 2 billion riyal ($533 million) Sukuk issue that will boost the lender’s capital reserves. The Islamic bond issue which will improve its supplementary Tier 2 capital level. is structured with a ten-year lifespan but includes an option for the lender to redeem the Sukuk after five years. more

• Oman: Omani conglomerate MB Holding Co. working with National Bank of Oman to issue $150 million Islamic bond five-year deal for the multi-currency bonds which is expected to close next month. The Sukuk will go via private placement, and we have a fixed pricing of 8.5 percent.

• Qatar: Qatar’s central bank sold treasury bills worth 1.25 billion riyals in the tender yesterday with a monthly rise in revenue for the tender previous month due to a liquidity squeeze as a result of lower oil and gas prices. The bank said it sold authorizations worth 250 million riyals for the three-month yield of 1.64 percent and authorizations worth 550 million riyals for the six-month yield of 1.76 percent and authorizations worth 450 million riyals for the nine-month yield of 1.79 percent. The total demand for bills 1.75 billion riyals size.

• Turkey: Turkey’s annual rate of inflation rose slightly last month The Turkish statistical institute TurkStat reports rise from 6.57 percent in April to 6.58 percent last month. Also, TheTurkish Treasury Borrowed $1 Billion Via 5 Year Sukuk. Now it plans to sell debt before the US Federal Reserve raises rates in coming months. Turkey plans a five-year benchmark dollar Sukuk. will mark its first Sukuk in a gap of nearly two years to plug its bulging deficit.

• Kuveyt Turk Bank in Turkey raised 300 million lire ($101.5 million) of Islamic bonds and plans to regularly use public sales to tap the Sukuk market. The 6-month deal marks the largest local currency Sukuk issued by Kuveyt Turk 62 percent owned by Kuwait Finance House KFIN after a debut sale in 2010.

• Indonesia: Indonesia’s finance ministry sold 4.93 trillion rupiahs ($361.04 million) of Islamic bonds at an auction above the indicative target of 4 trillion rupiahs. more

(EBCTV)