The Halal Times
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COVID-19 coronavirus is here to stay. This is a painful fact none of us can ignore anymore. Central banks around the world have been using various mixes of fiscal and monetary policies to contain the harmful effects of the pandemic. As the pandemic is expected to last much longer than we could have anticipated, governments …
COVID-19 and oil price collapse are proving a double-edged sword to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The World Bank recommends these countries to prioritize their focus on handling the COVID-19 virus pandemic and the impending recession resulting from the virus and a sharp decline in the oil price. A recent study done by The …
RIYADH: Commerce ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held a virtual meeting to discuss the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the region. Overseeing the provision and smooth flow of essential basic commodities to citizens of their countries was highlighted as one of the key roles of the respective ministries. The …
Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, recently honoured 10 employees who earned professional certificates in Islamic finance from the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF). The employees, from various departments including Commercial and Financial Institutions, Retail Banking, Product Development and Management, and Compliance & Anti Money Laundering had successfully completed professional training programme …
“I am pleased to welcome Ayman Sejiny as Chief Executive Officer of Ibdar Bank. Ibdar is building a fresh thinking, world class management team, and the appointment of Sejiny to the helm of the Bank is aligned with that vision. Ayman has demonstrated strong business and financial talent and a proven track record of investment …
(Bloomberg) — Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group BSC picked seven banks, including Credit Agricole SA and Standard Chartered Plc, to help arrange the international sale of Islamic bonds, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Islamic bank also hired Emirates NBD PJSC, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, Noor Bank PJSC, QInvest LLC and Kuwait Finance …
Manama, Apr. 2 (BNA): The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) has launched a Roundtable Meeting titled “Impact of the Legal Framework on Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI) Development” hosted by Al Baraka Banking Group here in the capital Manama. The roundtable meeting gathered nearly 40 practitioners and academicians of Islamic finance, …
Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, was singled out among the world’s Islamic banks for a prestigious international award in recognition of its corporate social responsibility and financial disclosure. The independent award was presented at the World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC) which was recently held in Bahrain in strategic partnership with the Central Bank …
The Middle East and Africa region is more focused than ever on developing its hospitality infrastructure with 538 hotels totaling 151,771 rooms under contract in the ME and 321 hotels totaling 62,194 rooms under contract in Africa, said a report. Makkah, Saudi Arabia, reported the largest number of rooms under construction with 21,068 rooms in …
Manama: – The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions is pleased to announce the launch of its 1st Annual Global Forum: “Rethinking Values for Sustainable Growth”, which is organized by CIBAFI under the Patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain on the 3 – …
Dubai: The banking industry in the GCC is facing huge challenges in meeting the customer expectations in digital experience and delivering banking service over smart phones, according to the EY GCC Digital Banking Report 2015. “Although many GCC countries like the UAE have some of the highest smart phone penetration in the world, our study …
Middle East’s Digital Economy is set double from $15 billion in 2015 to $30 billion in 2018. Middle East boardrooms are urged to adopt real-time data solutions to compete in the region’s digital economy, set to double to $30 billion by 2018, business experts announced on Monday at Gitex Technology Week. With the growth in …
The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) has announced the conclusion of its second Islamic Finance Executive Programme (IFEP), held in partnership with the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) to highlight the potential of growing Islamic Capital Markets (ICM) in the region. Held under the theme Towards a Vibrant Islamic Capital Market: Opportunities and …
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that its monthly issue of the short-term Islamic bonds — Sukuk Al-Ijara — has been oversubscribed by five percent. That will leave some potential investors to wait for the next issue of Sukuk Al-Ijara instruments as CBB sorts out the allotment for this oversubscribed round. CBB’s monthly …
MANAMA, The first training course on the convergence of Islamic capital and halal food and Muslim lifestyle sectors will be available in Bahrain from May 2015. Being presented by the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) through a partnership with Dinar Standard, a New York-based growth strategy research and advisory firm, it has been developed …
Manama: More than 700 delegates will attend the Global Islamic Investment Gateway (GIIG) which will be held on 2nd March in Bahrain. The forum is being organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB), the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Thomson Reuters. The conference will be held at the Gulf Hotel between the 2nd and …
Manama: GFH, the Bahrain based Financial Group, today announced its Major Sponsorship as the Islamic Banking Partner of The GCC Financial Forum organised by Euromoney to be held in Bahrain. GFH will support the 4th GCC Financial Forum, which is also financed by the Economic Development Board and will be held in the Kingdom on …
The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), a Bahrain headquartered global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, has launched its ‘Certified Islamic Banker’ training programme for 50 senior bankers from six Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and Central Asia. The professional development training programme, being held in the Regional Financial Centre of …
Barwa Bank, Qatar’s fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking service provider, has been recognised with three accolades at the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2014, for Best Web/Mobile Site, Best Premium Islamic Card and Best Credit Card. Barwa Bank received the awards from CPI Financial on Sunday, January 18 at the bank’s headquarters. Attending from Barwa …
MANAMA: Bahrain Bourse (BHB) has announced that from today investors can directly subscribe to the Government Islamic Lease Securities (sukuk) in the primary market through registered brokers at the bourse. The subscription period through the registered brokers is until Wednesday. The listing of the issue is expected to take place on January 25. Thereafter, investors will be able …
Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has issued a new accounting standard on investment accounts – Financial Accounting Standard No. 27 (FAS 27) Investment Accounts.The new FAS 27 updates and replaces two of AAOIFI’s previous accounting standards relating to investment accounts – FAS 5 Disclosure of Bases for Profit Allocation between Owners’ …
Bahrain hosts 404 financial institutions of which 116 are banks. Of these 29 are retail banks and 76 in the wholesale sector. In total, 34 are considered to be domestic banks. This compares with the 42 at the beginning of 2013 and reflects the efforts of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to encourage banks …
Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has won the British publication International Finance Magazine’s (IFM) Best Islamic Bank Award in Bahrain for 2014. During a ceremony held in London, BisB retail banking services general manager Abdul Rahman Mohamed Turki received the award from Baron Sheikh of Cornhill in the City of London, said a report in the …
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today revised its outlook on Bahrain-based Mumtalakat Holding Co. (Mumtalakat) to negative from stable. At the same time, S&P affirmed their ‘BBB/A-2’ long- and short-term foreign and local currency issuer credit ratings on Mumtalakat. “The ratings on Mumtalakat are based on equalization with the ratings on the Kingdom of Bahrain …
