| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | ABC Tower, Bahrain |
Key people | Amr ElNokaly (Chairman) |
| Products | Islamic Commercial Banking Services Islamic Treasury Services Islamic Investment and Asset Management Services Islamic Investment Banking and Other Specialist Products |
| Website | Official website |
ABC Islamic Bank is a Joint Stock Company that provides investment banking services and asset management services in accordance with Islamic principles. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arab Banking Corporation. Its subsidiaries include ABC Clearing Company and ABC Islamic Fund.
It is formerly known as ABC Investment and Services Company until March 1998, established in 1987. [1]
In 2013, ABC Islamic Bank acted as a mandated lead arranger when Al Baraka Turk, the Turkish subsidiary of Bahrain-based Al Baraka Bank, announced the initiation of a $250 million syndicated loan. This sharia-compliant facility is structured in two parts and will be utilized for the bank's financing activities. [2]
In 2014, ABC Islamic Bank served as a lead arranger when Kuwait Finance House announced the successful securing of a syndicated Islamic loan worth $350 million by its Turkish subsidiary, Kuveyt Turk. This loan represented the largest of its kind in Kuwait at the time. The loan was structured as a dual-currency transaction with two tranches, and it utilized the common cost-plus sale arrangement known as murabaha in Islamic finance. [3]
In 2019, ABC Islamic Bank participated in a refinancing facility worth $1.3 billion for the Al Dur Power & Water Company based in Bahrain. The facility was provided by a syndicate of 20 banks and comprised $450 million of conventional facilities and $850 million of Islamic facilities. Al Dur holds a significant position in Bahrain's power and water production, contributing to one-third of the country's total output. With a combined capacity of 1,234 MW of power and 48 MIGD of water, it plays a crucial role in meeting the nation's demand. [4]
In 2022, Bahrain’s nine banks offering Islamic banking services recorded a 3.5% rise in sharia-compliant assets for 2020, with just, ABC Islamic Bank and Al Salam Bank, recording a growth of more than 10% for the year. [5]
In 2022, ABC Islamic Bank sponsored the 11th Edition of the Annual Sukuk Report by The International Islamic Financial Market. This research report offered an overview of global Sukuk issuances, including details on issuers, Sukuk structures, case studies on notable issuances, articles on Sukuk market developments and prospects, and country-focused reports on IIFM founding member countries and major Sukuk issuing jurisdictions. [6]
Islamic banking, Islamic finance, or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some of the modes of Islamic finance include mudarabah, wadiah (safekeeping), musharaka, murabahah (cost-plus), and ijara (leasing).
Sukuk is the Arabic name for financial certificates, also commonly referred to as "sharia compliant" bonds. Sukuk are defined by the AAOIFI as "securities of equal denomination representing individual ownership interests in a portfolio of eligible existing or future assets." The Fiqh academy of the OIC legitimized the use of sukuk in February 1988.
Mashreq is the oldest privately owned bank in the United Arab Emirates and one of the oldest banking institutions in the Middle East. Founded as the Bank of Oman in 1967, it now offers online banking and e-commerce.
FGB was the third largest bank by assets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), until it merged with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in December 2016 to form First Abu Dhabi Bank, creating the largest bank by assets in the UAE. Established in 1979, FGB is headquartered in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. FGB offers a wide range of financial services in the wholesale, consumer, and treasury banking sectors, including Islamic banking and bancassurance solutions for businesses and consumers via a network of branches across the UAE. Internationally, FGB has a branch in Singapore - that includes global wealth management services and a branch in Qatar, representative offices in London, India, Hong Kong, and Seoul, South Korea, and a subsidiary in Libya.
Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), known as KIPCO, is an investment holding company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with consolidated assets of US$34.2 billion as of 31 December 2018. The group has significant ownership interests in a portfolio of over 60 companies operating across 24 countries. The group's main business sectors are financial services, media, real estate and manufacturing. Through its core companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, KIPCO also has interests in the education and medical sectors.
The Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) was established on 16 March 1971 in both the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Kuwait. Its shareholders consist of the public, the government of Bahrain, banks and investment companies in Kuwait. BBK engages in the provision of various services and banking products throughout its branches in Bahrain, Kuwait and India as well as its representative office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Arab Banking Corporation is an international bank with headquarters in the Diplomatic Area of Manama, Bahrain. It was incorporated as a joint stock company in 1980 through a special decree by the Amir of Bahrain. It obtained an offshore banking unit licence from the Bahrain Monetary Agency on 7 April 1980, and began operations in the same month. The bank is listed on the Bahrain Bourse and its major shareholders are the Central Bank of Libya (59.37%) and Kuwait Investment Authority (40.63%). Its network spreads across 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe, the Americas and Asia. It is expanding its retail banking network in the MENA region.
Murabaḥah, murabaḥa, or murâbaḥah was originally a term of fiqh for a sales contract where the buyer and seller agree on the markup (profit) or "cost-plus" price for the item(s) being sold. In recent decades it has become a term for a very common form of Islamic financing, where the price is marked up in exchange for allowing the buyer to pay over time—for example with monthly payments. Murabaha financing is similar to a rent-to-own arrangement in the non-Muslim world, with the intermediary retaining ownership of the item being sold until the loan is paid in full. There are also Islamic investment funds and sukuk that use murabahah contracts.
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) was established in the State of Kuwait, in 1977, as the first bank operating in accordance with the Islamic Shari'a rulings. KFH is listed in Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE), with a market capitalization of $8.2 billion as of May 2016. Assets total $55.52 billion and deposits amount to $34.97 billion
Khaleeji Commercial Bank BSC (KHCB) is an Islamic bank, headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, and operating under a Retail Islamic Banking license granted by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). It is a Public Bahraini Shareholding Company listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange. KHCB offers a range of banking and Investment products and services to high-net-worth individuals, corporate entities, and financial institutions. These include commercial and corporate banking, wealth management, structured investment products and project financing facilities.
Albaraka Türk was founded in 1984 in Istanbul Turkey and began actively serving in 1985 and commenced its commercial activities in 1985 as Albaraka Türk Özel Finans Kurumu. It is now known as the first Participation Bank in Turkey.
A Sharia Board certifies Islamic financial products as being Sharia-compliant. Because compliance with Sharia law is the underlying reason for the existence of Islamic finance, Islamic banks should establish a Sharia Supervisory Board (SSB) to advise them on whether their products comply, and to ensure that their operations and activities comply with Sharia principles. There are also national Sharia boards in many Muslim majority countries that regulate Islamic financial institutions nationwide.
Al Baraka Group B.S.C. is licensed as an Investment Business Firm – Category 1 by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse. It is a leading international Islamic financial group providing financial services through its banking subsidiaries in 15 countries offering retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of Islamic Shari'a.
Banking or banking activity that complies with Sharia —known as Islamic banking and finance, or Sharia-compliant finance—has its own products, services and contracts that differ from conventional banking. Some of these include Mudharabah, Wadiah (safekeeping), Musharakah, Murabahah, Ijar (leasing), Hawala, Takaful, and Sukuk.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) was a bank operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) until it merged with the First Gulf Bank in December 2016 to form First Abu Dhabi Bank. NBAD was the largest lender bank in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and in the United Arab Emirates. NBAD had the largest market capitalization among UAE banks.
Gulf International Bank (GIB) was established in 1976 during the first oil boom and is incorporated in the Kingdom of Bahrain as a conventional wholesale bank. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is headquartered in Manama in Bahrain.
Al Baraka (Pakistan) Limited (ABPL) came into being as a result of the first merger in the Islamic Banking sector of Pakistan. The merger took place between the branch operations of Al Baraka Islamic Bank (AIB) Bahrain, Al Baraka Islamic Bank Pakistan (AIBP) and Emirates Global Islamic Bank (Pakistan), and thus from 1st November 2010, the operations of the merged entity began. The second merger took place in 2016 with Burj Bank Ltd. As of September 2016, the Bank has a national presence in Pakistan with a network of 191 branches in more than 97 cities across the country.
Ahli United Bank is a regional bank based in Bahrain. Its head office is situated at Manama and is the largest bank in Bahrain. It is present in 8 countries in the Middle East and United Kingdom. Ahli United bank's ordinary shares are listed on Bahrain Stock Exchange since August 2000 and the Kuwait Stock Exchange since June 2006.
The Bapco Energies, formerly nogaholding, is a semi-independent agency within the Ministry of Oil and Gas in the nation of Bahrain whose mission is to develop the nation's petroleum resources. Established in 2007 as a unit of the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), the government's petroleum regulator, it became an independent agency when NOGA was abolished in September 2021.
