Banks: Tunisian Zitouna invests on Islamic finance

TUNIS, FEBRUARY 23 - Tunisian Islamic bank Zitouna was the first to succeed in placing on the national financial market in December 2015 the Islamic bonds sukuks for a value of 22.5 million euros. The result exceeded expectations - set at 20 million euros - the management of Zitouna said Monday at a Forum on Islamic finance held at Kram in Tunis.

The Forum was attended by several protagonists of the Tunisian economic and financial scenario like central bank governor, Chedly Ayari, the president of Cmf, Salah Sayel and former finance minister, Jalloul Ayed. Zitouna bank, on behalf of its president Ezzedine Khoja, has announced it is launching a new business plan in 2016-2020 with the objective of becoming the bank of reference in Tunisia and a leading Islamic bank in Africa. The emission of Islamic financial bonds, like the sovereign Sukuks, will consolidate the bank's funds and support growth, according to the central bank governor who stressed the need to support Zitouna's new project.

Ayari added that the sovereign sukuks are current practice also in a number of countries that are not Arab nor Muslim, like the UK and Ivory Coast, announcing that a new bill on banks will be examined soon in a government meeting. The new code on banks will include 207 articles with a chapter entirely dedicated to Islamic banks.

(Ansa Med / 23 February 2016)

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Tunisia to delay Sukuk issue until third quarter of 2015

TUNIS, Jan 12 ( Reuters ) - Tunisia will delay its planned issue of $500 million in Islamic bonds until the third quarter of the year to allow parliament time to amend a law concerning the sale, Finance Minister Hakim Ben Hamouda said on Monday.

Tunisia had initially said it would issue the Sukuk by the end of last year.

"Tunisia is putting back its issue of the sukuk to the third quarter from July. Parliament needs to rectify the sukuk law," the minister told a conference.

He did not give further details. Tunisia passed a law allowing Islamic bonds in 2013 and hoped to potentially attract large amounts of Islamic-oriented funds from the wealthy Gulf.

(Zawya / 12 January 2015)
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Private-sector moves keep Tunisia's Islamic finance hopes alive

Tunisia's Amen Bank launched two Islamic mutual funds this week while a leasing company prepares to convert into a full-fledged Islamic lender, welcome steps for the industry which has been waiting for the government to issue a debut Islamic bond.

Islamic finance was neglected before the country's 2011 "Arab Spring" revolution, with the new Islamist ruling party Ennahada pushing to develop the sector over the past three years.

Its defeat in October parliamentary elections shifted the balance of power to its main secular rival, the Nidaa Tounes party. Presidential candidates for the two parties will face-off in a second round of elections later this month.

A major Islamic sovereign bond proposed by the Ennahada party has yet to be seen, but private-sector efforts have been more successful in developing Islamic finance, which accounts for just 2.5 percent of the Tunisian financial sector.

Amen Bank, the country's second-largest private sector bank, launched two Islamic mutual funds this week, managed by Tunis-based United Gulf Financial Services-North Africa, a filing with the capital market regulator said.

In October, El Wifack Leasing said it had received central bank approval to become the country's third full-fledged Islamic bank, with 150 million dinars ($80 million) in capital, adding the firm would bring international shareholders to the venture.

Currently, there are two fully operational Islamic banks in Tunisia, Zitouna Bank and the Tunisian arm of Bahrain's Al Baraka Banking Group.

Last week, Bahraini Islamic investment firm Gulf Finance House signed an agreement with a French consortium to start work on the first phase of a $3 billion real estate project north of Tunisia's capital.

Earlier this year the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank teamed up with Tunisia's newly created sovereign wealth fund, Caisse de Depot de Tunisie, to set up a $30 million fund to support local businesses. 

(Reuters / 12 December 2014)

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Tunisia Plans $500 Million Sukuk Sale by End of November

Tunisia, where citizens started voting for a new parliament, plans to raise $500 million from the sale of sukuk by the end of next month, according to Finance Minister Hakim Ben Hammouda.

Citigroup Inc., Natixis SA, Standard Chartered Plc and Qatar-based QInvest “expressed their willingness to cooperate” and consultations are ongoing, Hammouda said in an interview in Tunis on Oct. 24. Former Finance Minister Elyes Fakhfakh in July 2013 said the nation would raise as much as $700 million from the sale of Islamic bonds, the same month it approved a sukuk law.

“The issuance of sukuk took a long time because of the complexity of this process and lack of experience in this field,” Hammouda said. “But in the end our government decided to have this challenge and to issue sukuk by the end of November.”

Tunisia may follow the U.K. and Hong Kong in selling debut Islamic bonds this year as governments globally seek to attract Shariah-compliant investors. The sovereign sukuk market is expected to reach $30 billion this year, Moody’s Investors Service said last month. Global sukuk sales climbed 13 percent so far this year to $37.8 billion from the same period last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Tunisians cast ballots for a new parliament today, marking a milestone in the North African nation’s transition to democracy following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali more than three years ago. Results are expected Oct. 29, according to the election commission, and presidential elections are scheduled for next month.

The Islamist Ennahda movement won the first free election in 2011 after Ben Ali’s ouster with 37 percent of the vote. It stepped aside earlier this year after a political crisis triggered by the assassination of two secular leaders by Islamist militants.

(Bloomberg / 26 October 2014)

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Tunisia Potential Islamic Finance Hub Fir French - Speaking Countries

JEDDAH – There are big opportunities to promote Islamic finance in Tunisia which can be the global hub of Islamic finance for French speaking countries, said Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer, AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics (CIBE) in an international conference on “Finance and Enterprise” jointly organized by World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Sousse, Tunisia.

The event was attended by the Prime Minister of Tunisia, including many government ministers, heads and senior delegates from central banks, World Bank, IMF, IFC, European Bank and other dignitaries from different international organizations. 

Mughal, during his address as guest of honor, said international financial crisis can be addressed in a better way through Islamic finance and such financial crisis could not have happened if Islamic financial system was followed and implemented at that time.

He said there are about 2000 Islamic financial institutions working globally as Islamic banks, Takaful (Islamic insurance), sukuk (Islamic bonds), Islamic fund and Islamic microfinance institutions, etc, in more than 100 countries.

Fortunately, he said no Islamic financial institution was effected by such global financial crisis, which ensures the strength and rationality behind the Islamic financial system. He added that international institutions such as Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and International Islamic Liquidity Management (IILM) are working for Islamic finance around the globe which will further promote and strengthen the Islamic finance in future globally. Responding to a question related to the relationship between religion and Islamic finance, he said that Islamic banking and finance is a name of a system not religion so all other religions can get benefit from it and that is why Islamic banking and finance is growing in the Western world where non-Muslims are utilizing the Islamic financial products considerably, to fulfill their business, personal and financial needs.

America alone has has more than 20 Islamic financial institutions are working, which are actively providing the Islamic financial services to fulfill the financial needs of Muslims and non-Muslims equally.

During his stay in Tunisia, he met with Dr. Amel Amri, President – Tunisian Association for Islamic Finance (TAIF), Dr. Raza, President – Islamic Economic Association Tunisia and heads of some other Islamic financial institutions. He said that Tunisia has a good recognition in Islamic financial industry having 2 full-fledged Islamic banks, takaful companies, universities with Islamic finance program, sukuk laws and some other similar institutions which indicate the best future of Islamic finance in Tunisia.

Realizing the need of Islamic microfinance, he further said that Islamic microfinance is missing component of Islamic finance in Tunisia while socioeconomic development and poverty reduction can be done in better way through Islamic microfinance.

(Saudi Gazette / 16 Dec 2013)

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