Noble Group raises $80 mln 2-year Islamic Financing

Singapore-listed Hong Kong commodities firm Noble Group (NOBG.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it will borrow $80 million via an Islamic financing facility to refinance existing debt and for general working capital. HSBC Amanah is the sole arranger and book runner for the two-year committed syndicated commodity Murabahah.

Conventional debt financing is ruled out in Islamic banking because of the prohibition of interest. Asset-backed debt financing can be designed, however, on the basis of sale (murabahah) or leasing (ijara) contracts that provide fixed income alternatives to conventional debt financing. The capital provider must have ownership of the asset, however (even if briefly), and bear the risk that comes with that ownership. Recently, cash financing (tawarruq) has also been introduced by reversing the concept of murabahah.

Murabahah is Purchase and resale. Instead of lending out money, the capital provider purchases the desired commodity (for which the loan would have been taken out) from a third party and resells it at a predetermined higher price to the capital user. By paying this higher price over instalments, the capital user has effectively obtained credit without paying interest.

The business started from basic industrial raw materials and soon expanded into chartering, energy and agriculture. Today, Noble is among the world’s largest companies in the business. Here is a snapshot of the first 20 years.
As a global supply chain manager, Noble Group manages the flow of raw materials from source to destination with a uniquely hands-on approach. But being hands-on is about more than being in control. It's about close collaboration with our business associates. It's about being on the ground where it matters most. And it’s about the deep knowledge and understanding we have of our customers, their needs, and their markets. To us, hands-on is not a slogan; it's our way of doing business.

HSBC Amanah is the global Islamic banking division of the HSBC Group, and was established in 1998 with the aim of making HSBC the leading provider of Islamic banking worldwide. With more than a hundred professionals serving the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas, HSBC Amanah represents the largest Islamic banking team of any international bank.

Kuwait's Dar says studying offers for Aston Martin

By Rania El Gamal
Kuwait's Investment Dar (TIDK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Sunday it was considering offers to sell up to 20 percent of British carmaker Aston Martin and is seeking to borrow up to 300 million dinars ($1 billion) to refinance debt.

The Islamic investment firm, which bought half of Aston Martin in 2007, is studying offers to sell a 10 to 20 percent stake in the carmaker on behalf of itself and some of its partners, executive vice-president Amr Abou El-Seoud said.

"We have offers ... we are in talks but the (sale) should be value-added whether financially or technically," Seoud told Reuters. "We are not considering selling and exiting."

"It (could) be a maximum 10 to 20 percent of the company to be taken out of all investors, in other words, Dar's dilution might be in 5 to 10 percent," he said.

"There is a 60 to 70 percent chance that we will reach a deal soon."

Seoud declined to identify possible buyers or give a reason for the sale but said Dar could also sell shares in the luxury carmaker to the public within three to five years.

Aston Martin, famously associated with fictional British secret agent James Bond, was bought from Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) last year by a consortium including Formula 1 specialist David Richards and Investment Dar for 479 million pounds.

Aston Martin said earlier this month it would cut up to 600 jobs in Britain as car sales continue to be hit by the downturn in the world economy.

The world's largest carmakers have reported billions of dollars in loss and announced thousands of job cuts.

Despite the crisis, Seoud sees it as the right time to bring a strategic technical partner into the British car maker.

"Yes, I might sacrifice today some of my future profit but I'll get today a better benefit and support from a technical partner," he said.

REFINANCING DEBT

Seoud also denied an al-Qabas newspaper report on Sunday that Dar had mortgaged banking and real estate assets, including its 19.2 percent stake in Boubyan Bank (BOUK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), with Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBKK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (CBK) to secure financing.
Investment Dar was in talks with several banks, including CBK, for loans to help it refinance short-term debt, he said.

"Ideally we should be seeking around 200 million dinars to 300 million dinars from banks," Seoud said. "There is nothing finalised yet."

Last month Kuwait's government reached a deal with banks to provide loans to investment firms hit by the financial crisis.

Kuwait is also setting up a bailout fund for investment firms to help them cope with the crisis after the Gulf Arab state was forced to step in and rescue Gulf Bank (GBKK.KW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after it lost 375 million dinars on derivatives dealings.

Dar's stock, which has lost about 77 percent of its value this year, closed up 5.81 percent on Sunday. (For Reuters content on Islamic finance, click on ISLAMIC) (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
Source : Reuters

OPEC needs big supply cut to stem oil's slide

LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC needs to make a large cut in supplies at a meeting next week, its third reduction since September, to prevent further falls in oil prices as world demand slumps due to slowing economies.

The group should cut output by at least 1 million barrels per day (bpd) at the December 17 meeting, OPEC delegates and analysts said. Some suggest the minimum should be 2 million bpd, a cut of 7.3 percent from OPEC's collective output target of 27.3 million bpd.

"The whole world economy is in turmoil," Shokri Ghanem, Libya's top oil official, told Reuters. "We think this needs substantial action."

That may prove a challenge given the signs of a lack of unity among OPEC members that emerged at a meeting last month which put off taking any decision on supply until December.

Since the Cairo meeting, oil has hit a four-year low near $40 a barrel.

Apart from Libya, Iran and Venezuela have also called for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output further. But Saudi Arabia, OPEC's top exporter, has yet to publicly back another reduction.

OPEC has implemented two-thirds of a November 1 agreement to cut output by 1.5 million bpd, according to Reuters estimates. At a meeting in September, it decided to lower supplies by about 500,000 bpd.

But analysts and traders say OPEC needs to do more than improve compliance. Nauman Barakat of Macquarie Futures USA said a further cut of more than 2 million bpd was needed. Others expected at least 1 million bpd.

"To do nothing is not an option, that's what we saw last time," said Rob Laughlin, oil analyst at MF Global.

"I'm looking for a 1.0 million-barrel to 1.5 million barrel cut. If they fail to do that, they will lose further confidence in the market."

CREDIBILITY PROBLEM

While OPEC does not have a formal price target, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said last month that $75 a barrel was a "fair price" for oil, a view later backed by other OPEC members including Kuwait and Nigeria.

Even so, without a big supply cutback that is swiftly implemented and communicated by OPEC members to their oil buyers, $75 oil may remain more of an aspiration than a reality.

"The problem OPEC faces is one of credibility," said David Hufton of brokers PVM in a report. "They need another cut of 2 million bpd, backed up by full compliance and prompt notice to lifters."

"If OPEC is indecisive and unconvincing on December 17, they risk meeting again in Q1 next year with crude at $30."
OPEC's ability to prop up the market would gain a boost if it secured the cooperation of non-member countries, such as Russia.

Russia, the largest non-OPEC oil exporter, plans to send a senior team to the December 17 meeting in Oran, Algeria. It has worked more closely with OPEC in recent months and agreed to cooperate with the group to study the market.

The Russian delegation in Oran is likely to be accompanied by top executives from state and private oil producers such as Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) or LUKOIL (LKOH.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), industry sources said.

LUKOIL executives have been calling on the government to join OPEC to protect budget needs and allow the firm carry on with costly projects, although state officials have said Moscow would keep independent policies.

A pledge from Russia to cut supply, plus 2 million bpd in curbs from OPEC, should help send prices back to $75, Hufton said.

"Support from Russia with a 500,000 bpd cut should ensure that the mission will be accomplished," he said.

HSBC Islamic arm opens 3 Indonesian branches

Mukhtar Hussain, The Global CEO of HSBC AMANAH

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 (Reuters). HSBC Amanah is the global Islamic banking division of the HSBC Group, and was established in 1998 with the aim of making HSBC the leading provider of Islamic banking worldwide. With more than a hundred professionals serving the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas, HSBC Amanah represents the largest Islamic banking team of any international bank.
HSBC has a rich tradition of community banking, and HSBC Amanah was established to serve the particular financial needs of Muslim communities. Our mission statement and corporate values reflect this vision.
HSBC Amanah considers Shariah compliance of its business operations as its most important & strategic priority. This is reflected in its Corporate Values, "In developing our products and services, we are committed to the highest Shariah standards in the Islamic banking industry." In addition to Global Shariah Advisory Board and Regional Shariah Committees, HSBC Amanah employs a team of qualified professionals to ensure that the guidance and advice received from the Shariah Committees is implemented in letter and spirit.
HSBC Amanah, the Islamic unit of global bank HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), is opening three branches in Indonesia, the lender said on Wednesday. The branches will be in Bandung, Surabaya and Medan and would be the first Islamic retail branches opened by an international bank in the three cities, the bank said in a statement.