Dubai's Noor Bank launches $500m sukuk at 6.25%

Dubai-based Noor Bank has launched a $500 million capital-boosting sukuk issue of five years duration that will price later on Tuesday, a document from lead managers showed.

Pricing for the transaction, which has a perpetual tenor and an option for the Islamic bank to redeem the paper after five years, has been set at 6.25 per cent, according to the document.

This is well inside the guidance of the 6.5 per cent area which was given late on Monday, which itself was inside initial pricing thoughts.

Order books closed in excess of $1 billion for the deal, which will enhance the sharia-compliant bank’s Tier 1, or core, capital.

Noor Bank, rated A- by Fitch Ratings, last week named Citi and Standard Chartered as joint global coordinators, with those banks plus Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First Gulf Bank, Noor Bank and Sharjah Islamic Bank acting as joint lead managers for the issue.

 

Source:: Emirates 247

Dubai's Noor Bank launches $500m sukuk at 6.25%

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Emirates Islamic’s $750m sukuk oversubscribed 2.95 times

Emirates Islamic bank today announced that it raised $750 million (Dh2.75 billion) 5-year sukuk from its $2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme.

Set to be listed on Nasdaq Dubai and the Irish Stock Exchange, the Islamic bond received overwhelming investor interest from across the globe and marked the Bank’s return to the international debt capital markets after a period of four years.

In September 2015, Fitch ratings agency assigned Emirates Islamic ‘A+’ rating with a stable outlook.

Jamal Bin Ghalaita, CEO of Emirates Islamic, said: “As one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE last year, we are confident of maintaining our growth momentum over the coming years. We have decided to tap the market now to take advantage of the current market rates to drive our strategy and help us achieve our goal to become the clear leader in the Islamic banking sector.”

For the twelve months ending December 31, 2015, the bank reported a 76 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to Dh641 million.

“The strong demand for this sukuk is a clear sign of the resilience of the UAE economy, positive outlook of the nation’s banking sector and the bank’s strong credit fundamentals and growth outlook. Dubai has clearly emerged as the global hub for sukuk, and we expect that this listing will give further impetus to Dubai’s aim to become the global capital of Islamic economy,” he added.

The sukuk was priced at five-year Mid-swap+220bps and oversubscribed by 2.95 times.

It attracted investment from across GCC, Asia and Europe. Emirates Islamic and Standard Chartered Bank were the Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners for the transaction while Al Hilal Bank, Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC, Maybank and Noor Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners.

 

Source:: Emirates 247

Emirates Islamic’s $750m sukuk oversubscribed 2.95 times

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UAE joins hands with ILO for welfare of workers

Sets example for GCC countries by becoming the first to introduce programme in partnership with ILO

Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Labour with Dr. Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab States

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has become the first country in the Gulf region to partner with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for implementing a labour governing programme, officials said on Monday.The announcement was made during an event organised by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Senior officials from the ministry and the ILO said a new strategic programme, ‘Innovations in Labour Market Governance’, has been developed in close collaboration with the ILO to improve working conditions for employees.

The new programme will focus on three main pillars — labour inspection, especially concerning inspecting employers’ compliance with workplace rules and regulations; dispute resolution to prevent disputes between employers and workers; and enhancing the labour market information system.

“The UAE labour market is strong, and improving labour market governance is extremely important for this market,” said Saqr Ghobash, UAE Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

The UAE hosts around eight million foreign workers, making it one of the largest labour-receiving countries in the world. The ministry decided to approach and work closely with the ILO to solve challenges that rise from governing such an enormous labour market.

In his address, Ghobash said, “The programme consists of three elements that will be implemented over two years. We seek the improvement of labour information and statistics systems, develop policies related to occupational safety and health of the workers as well as inspectional affairs, along with the development of the labour disputes systems.”

“Our ties with the ILO pushes us towards benefiting from their experiences in order to enable the ministry to make a quantum leap in the labour market governance, ensure labour rights protection while keeping employers’ interests stable to strengthen our knowledge-based national economy and enable our citizens to reach higher positions across different sectors,” he added.

A senior official at the ILO told Gulf News that the three identified areas were those that faced challenges and had room for improvement. The improvements are thought to come from tools that will analyse detailed data in each pillar and find the cause of issues, before providing recommendations for implementation.

Using labour disputes as an example, Kinan Bahnassi, chief technical adviser of the programme, said data gathered from analysing labour data can be used to find the cause and root of the issues in order to make recommendations to the employer and employees.

He also said that the ministry’s inspection team will start working closely with the ILO to implement new ways of inspecting work areas that take into account ILO’s standards. He highlighted that the minister has been very welcoming to ILO’s ideas and recommendations.

“This new project will equip the ministry with modern and state-of-the-art tools to govern the labour market, show the ministry’s leadership role in ensuring decent work and set an example for other countries in the region to follow,” said Dr Ruba Jaradat, ILO Regional Director for Arab States.

“It is very important to stress here that such collaboration between the UAE and the ILO is a first of its kind in the GCC region and that other countries in the region have expressed interest in following suit,” she added.

Speaking to Gulf News, Ghobash said, “The ministry will never stop and will always strive for the best.” He said it was natural for the ILO to seek to partner with them to raise standards even further. He noted that working standards in the UAE were already high and at international levels. However, if there was room for improvement the ministry would do the necessary.

In addition to the new decrees introduced earlier this year a number of initiatives have been implemented in the last year to improve employer and employee relations including awareness campaigns and smart systems. One such system introduced by the ministry entailed a smart programme that would assist the ministry’s inspection team monitor employers better and more efficiently.

 

Source:: Gulf News

UAE joins hands with ILO for welfare of workers

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Dubai to have world’s largest fitness expo

Three-day event in November will see live shows, seminars and largest gathering of athletes

Dubai: Dubai will host the world’s largest fitness exhibition this year, which will see more than 100 athletes gathering at the Dubai International Marine Club, officials said on Monday.The three-day event to be held on November 24, 25 and 26 will coincide with the UAE National Sports Day, which falls on November 25.

Designed with the aim of promoting health and wellness, Fitness Expo will be accessible to laymen, amateurs as well as professionals.

More than 100 live shows and competitions linked to fitness, wellness, mixed martial arts, parkour, muay Thai, kung fu for kids, bodybuilding, and healthy living will be on display.

The Expo will have performances, competitions and meet and greet sessions with renowned fitness celebrities such as Rich Piana, Craig Capurso, Sadik Hadzovic, Mike O’Hearn, Big Ramy and Shawn Ray.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the National Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, the event is being organised by Arif Mirza and Trainer.ae, with the support of Dubai Sports Council.

“Dubai is a city of dreams, where you can achieve whatever you imagine. I thought about this just two years ago and here we are ready with this expo. Dubai is known to host these mega events and this expo won’t be different. It will the largest expo of its kind, catering to every segment of society,” said Mirza, CEO of Fitness Expo, speaking at a press conference announcing the event.

He added that this will not just be the largest, but the idea is to make it the best expo ever.

“Dubai’s leadership has done a great job in creating an atmosphere to strive for the best. Dubai does things that no one else does and people will see the same wow factor in this expo with all leading exhibitors coming together,” he said.

Prolific American body builder and an ambassador of Fitness Expo, Shawn Ray, hailed the event as a great platform for promoting active lifestyle.

“It’s great to be here in Dubai. I have been around the world promoting wellness and I always wanted to be here. I think this is going to be a great event and I would love to be part of Fitness Expo and share my experience and expertise,” said Ray, speaking at the press conference at Dubai International Marine Club.

More than 220,000 people are expected to visit the event, with 580 exhibitors already confirmed to participate in Fitness Expo.

 

Source:: Gulf News

Dubai to have world’s largest fitness expo

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Portuguese Business Council established in Dubai

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry today announced the establishment of the Portuguese Business Council in Dubai, under the umbrella of the Chamber, to promote economic relations between the business communities of Dubai and Portugal.

This is the Chamber’s 48th council.

The council held its first General Assembly on May 17, 2016 at the Dubai Chamber headquarters.

Atiq Juma Nasib, Senior Vice-President of Commercial Services at Dubai Chamber, and Jaime Leitão, the Ambassador of Portugal in the UAE, addressed the attendees.

The 25 founding members of the Portuguese Business Council came together to consolidate their position in Dubai and the UAE and, through the council, show that goods and services of Portuguese origin are of high quality, with technological advancement and excellence that will compete with the top brands in the market.

Nasib said: “It is time to think beyond Europe, to extend your business to the rest of the world and there is no better place to expand than from Dubai, given the logistics and the international links, specifically to Africa, where Portugal has historic ties.”

Leitão praised the council’s formation, saying that his 30 years of diplomatic experience has taught him that there is strength in associations and that Portuguese companies are sure to benefit from being part of the council, through which they can promote Portugal.

The Portuguese Business Council stated as well that the non-oil revenue of commercial transactions between the UAE and Portugal for goods and services in 2015 was valued at $500 million and that they expect, with this new chapter of bilateral relations, that the amount will at least double to $1 billion by 2017.

 

Source:: Emirates 247

Portuguese Business Council established in Dubai

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Muslims to fast over 15 hours in UAE

Ramadan is expected to start on June 6, with an average temperature of 42 degrees Celsius during the holy month

Muslims in the UAE will be fasting as much as 15 hours and 10 minutes this Ramadan, and such long hours of daylight are expected to continue until 2018.

Dubai: With Ramadan just around the corner, are you aware of how many hours will Muslims in the UAE be fasting for?In a statement issued by the news agency Wam recently, Ibrahim Al Jarwan, General Supervisor at Sharjah Planetarium, said: “The new moon of Ramadan is to appear on June 5 at around 6.59am UAE time, but it will disappear at around 7.25pm or 17 minutes after sunset of the same day.

He also pointed out that despite the low height of the new moon of Ramadan, it can still be seen with advanced devices.

“The fasting time will reach a maximum of 15 hours and 10 minutes,” said Al Jarwan, who is also a researcher in astronomy.

The holy month of Ramadan is expected to start on June 6, and throughout the four weeks, temperatures are expected to remain at an average of 42 and 43 degrees Celsius across the country.

Al Jarwan explained that since 2012, the hours of fasting during Ramadan in the UAE has been the longest recorded, and that these extensive hours of daylight is expected to continue until 2018.

“The fasting time has increased by 10 minutes every Ramadan since 2012, and [long periods] of fasting happens every 33 years.

Residents of the eastern coast of the country will be the first to break and start their fast, while those living at the western region and the emirate of Abu Dhabi will be the last.”

 

 

Source:: Gulf News

Muslims to fast over 15 hours in UAE

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DIVA Celebrity Night

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