World Bank unit to list sukuk in Dubai, Bahrain

By AFP

The International Finance Corp, a wing of the World Bank, said on Wednesday it would list its first Islamic bond in the Middle East.

The IFC Hilal Sukuk, a dollar-denominated $100 million issue with a five-year maturity, will be listed with the Nasdaq Dubai and Bahrain stock exchanges, the Washington-based corporation said.

Sukuk is similar to a bond in Western finance but complies with Islamic Shariah law, which forbids charging interest.
"The Sukuk is an innovative way for IFC to create opportunities for Islamic investors who want to make a positive social impact," said IFC chief executive Lars Thunell.

"It also supports the World Bank Groups goals to integrate the Arab world into the global economy and offer greater opportunities for its people," Thunell said.

The IFC is the first non-Islamic financial institution to issue a Sukuk for term funding in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

It is also the first Sukuk to be listed and cleared in the Gulf Cooperation Council market only, a statement from the corporation said.

The IFC Sukuk, which has been rated Aaa by global credit rating agency Moodys, could be listed on both the exchanges next week, a financial source told AFP.

The bond issue will help develop the regions nascent Sukuk market and encourage other sovereign and corporate issuers to engage with member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the IFC said.

The IFC Sukuk is aimed at supporting a pipeline of Islamic finance projects in key sectors such as health, education and infrastructure.

A separate body will issue the IFC Sukuk and "warehouse" the underlying assets, the IFC said, adding that the syndicate includes HSBC Amanah, Dubai Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House Bahrain, and Liquidity Management House.

"We are grateful to the Shariah scholars, our partners at the Dubai and Bahrain exchanges, and the syndicate for guiding us through this complex process, and hope that the model will facilitate the process for other issuers to enter the Sukuk market," IFC Treasurer Nina Shapiro said.

The Sukuk global asset class has a market value of over 200 billion dollars.

IFC issued its first Islamic bond in 2004. That bond, denominated in the Malaysian Ringgit currency, was a 132 million dollars equivalent three-year "bullet" bond.

The IFC formed an Islamic finance working group last year to develop a more strategic approach to Islamic finance activities.

The working group and expansion of IFC field offices in the Middle East and North Africa region have contributed to a committed portfolio of over $190 million in loans and equity in the region, the IFC said.

The global Islamic finance industry has grown rapidly to an almost one trillion dollar industry, reports have said.

But it makes up less than one per cent of world capital, giving it a huge scope for growth.

Source : Arabian Business

Best Sharia Compliant Index Provider (Global Finance) : Dow Jones Indexes

The Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIMSM) Index was the-first-and remains the premier-benchmark of investment performance for the global universe of Shari'ah compliant equities. Since its launch in 1999, the Dow Jones family of Islamic indexes has expanded to provide over 90 benchmarks tracking Shari'ah-compliant equity and fixed-income securities.
The components of the DJIM Index are companies listed in the Dow Jones Global Indexes (DJGI) that have been screened to ensure that each meets Shari'ah requirements for acceptable products, business activities, debt levels, and interest income and expenses. The independent Shari'ah supervisory board that advises Dow Jones makes these evaluations using a proprietary Dow Jones methodology.
In addition to the DJIM Index, which is a comprehensive listing of investable Shari'ah-compliant global equities securities from 46 countries, Dow Jones Indexes also publishes Islamic Market indexes that track Shari'ah-compliant equities subdivided by specific countries, regions and industries.
This family of indexes provides performance benchmarks for securities in both developed markets and emerging markets. In addition, by identifying appropriate investments for observant Muslims, the indexes help to reduce research costs and compliance concerns they would otherwise face in constructing Islamic investment portfolios.

Dow Jones Shari'ah Supervisory Board
The DJIM Shari'ah Supervisory Board was established to advise Dow Jones Indexes on matters relating to the Shari'ah compliance of the indexes' eligible components. The independent board consists of five eminent Shari'ah scholars from around the world. The geographic diversity of the scholars ensures that diverse interpretations of Shari'ah law are represented.
Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Director of Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, manages the meetings of the DJIM Shari'ah Supervisory Board.
Members of the DJIM Shari'ah Supervisory Board are :
Dr. Abu Ghuddah is a senior Shari'ah Advisor to Albaraka Investment Co. of Saudi Arabia. He holds a PhD in Islamic Law. Dr. Abu Ghuddah has published many books on Islamic Financial transactions. He was an advisor for Islamic Law Encyclopeadia (Kuwait Awqaf Ministry). Dr. Abu Ghuddah is a member and chairman of seeral reputed Islamic Shari'ah Boards.
Mr. Yaquby is a member of the Islamic supervisory boards for several Islamic institutions, including the Arab Islamic Bank and the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. His work has appeared in the following publications: Risalah Fi al–Tawbah, Qurrat al–'Ainayn fi Fada il Birr al–Walidayn, Irshad al–'Uqala'ila Hukun al–Qira'h min al–Mushaf fi al–Salah, Tahqia al–Amal fi Ikhraj Zakat al–Fitr bi al–Mal.
Dr. Elgari is an associate professor of Islamic Economics and the director of the Center for Research in Islamic Economics at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. He is an expert at the Islamic Jurisprudence Academy (OIC), Economics. He is also an advisor to several Islamic financial instituitons worldwide and the author of many books on Islamic banking.
Mr. DeLorenzo is considered a leading Islamic scholar in the United States. He has translated over twenty books from Arabic, Persian, and Urdu for publication in English and has been commissioned to prepare a new translation of the Qur'an. Mr. DeLorenzo compiled the first English translation of legal rulings issued by Shari'ah supervisory boards on the operations of Islamic banks. since 1989, Mr. DeLorenzo has served as secretary of the Figh Council of North America. He is also a Shari'ah consultant to several Islamic financial institutions and was an advisor on Islamic education to the government of Pakistan.
Dr. Baker is currently a member of the Shari'ah Advisory Council of many financial institutions in Malaysia and around the world, including the Central Bank of Malaysia, Securities Commission of Malaysia, International Islamic Financial Market in Bahrain, Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions in Bahrain and HSBC (Malaysia).
Dow Jones Citigroup Sukuk Index

The Dow Jones Citigroup Sukuk Index, which tracks the global performance of investment-grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, Shari'ah-compliant fixed income securities, is also part of the Dow Jones family of Islamic indexes. The Shari'ah Supervisory Board screens Islamic bond issues on an individual basis to determine whether they are appropriate for inclusion in the Sukuk Index.
Only fixed-income securities that pass three sets of screens for compliance with
Islamic investment guidelines are eligible for the Sukuk index. Bonds must be certified as sukuk by a globally recognized Shari'ah board and also must comply with Auditing and Accounting Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) standards for eligible asset classes. Additionally, the underlying assets must comply with Shari'ah principles.