1. ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE:
WHAT’S IN IT FOR CANADIAN COMPANIES?
Mohammad Fadel
Canada Research Chair in the Law and Economics of Islamic Law
University of Toronto Faculty of Law
October 16, 2006

2. OVERVIEW OF ISLAMIC BANKING SECTOR
Centers of Islamic Finance
Malaysia
Persian Gulf
United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
Bahrain
England ????

3. History of Islamic Banking
Local Islamic banks formed in the 1970s in Muslim countries such as Malaysia, Pakistan and Dubai
Originally emphasized joint-venture structures akin to private equity
Quickly evolved to provide short-term credit facilities by using the murâbaha structure

4. History of Islamic Banking (II)
With increase in scale, Islamic banks began to branch out to more complex financing schemes, including:
Retail banking, including, deposit taking and consumer lending
Bonds (sukûk)
Medium- and Long-term leases (ijâra)

5. History of Islamic Banking (III)
Impact of 9/11 – Reverse Capital Flight
Perception of hostile climate in many Western jurisdictions, in particular, the United States, led to repatriation of dollars by Arab investors to Middle Eastern banks
Islamic banks, along with conventional banks in the region, benefited from this reverse flight of capital
Increase in Oil Prices Led to Dramatic Increase in Liquidity in the Gulf

6. History of Islamic Banking (IV)
Conventional Banks Open “Islamic Windows”
Conventional banks began to respond to requests from Muslim clients to offer products that complied with Islamic law
As the size of the potential market became clear, conventional banks responded with the creation of divisions dedicated to Islamic banking

7. History of Islamic Banking (V)
Conventional International Banks with Islamic Windows:
Citigroup
HSBC
Deutsche Bank
UBS
ABN AMRO
Standard Chartered Bank

8. History of Islamic Banking (VI)
Almost all regional banks have followed the international banks in creating “Islamic” windows and some have converted, or are in the process of converting, to the Islamic banking model

9. Size of Islamic Banking Sector
No precise measure of size of deposits held in Islamic banks or Islamic divisions of conventional banks
Ranges from a low of $250 billion to a high of $750 billion
As much as $300 billion held in Islamic investment funds awaiting investment opportunities
Arab investors hold approximately $800 billion of assets in European banks, with a growing trend to invest that money in Islamic products

10. Role of Islamic Finance in World Credit Markets
Demand Side
Sovereign Debt
International Agencies
Corporate Debt
Project Finance
Consumer Debt

11. Sovereign Islamic Debt
In recent years, several Islamic Countries and their instrumentalities, as well as non-Islamic countries, have issued sovereign debt in the form of sukûk:
Department of Civil Aviation, Dubai: $1 billion
Qatar: $700 million
Pakistan: $600 million
Malaysia: $600 million
German State of Saxony-Anhalt: €100 million
Bahrain: $79.5 million

12. International Agencies
International Agencies Have Issued Sukûk in recent years:
Islamic Development Bank: $400 million
World Bank: $200 million

13. Islamic Corporate Debt
Private Issuances of Sukûk:
DP World: $3.5 billion 7.5% sukûk, convertible into equity at the time of a qualifying initial public offering
National Central Cooling Company: $200 million, rated BBB- by S&P
Listed on London Stock Exchange
Previous issuance by same issuer listed on Luxembourg Stock Exchange

14. Islamic Corporate Debt (II)
Global issuance of sukûk has exceeded $20 billion
Dow Jones Citigroup® Sukûk Index
Comprised of seven sukûk
$2.8 billion aggregate principal amount
Each issue rated at least A by S&P
Average tenor 3 years

15. Islamic Corporate Debt (III)
Biggest challenge thus far is limited secondary trading market for sukûk
Demand for sukûk has far exceeded supply; offerings typically oversubscribed, even after substantial upsizing of the offering at times
DP World offering originally contemplated for $2.8 billion but was upsized to $3.5 billion to meet excess demand; no road show needed to market the offering

16. Islamic Finance and Project Finance
Infrastructure projects in the Gulf region largely financed on a corporate basis until the mid-1990s
Sadaf, a joint venture between Shell Oil and Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), first important project finance transaction in Gulf region, closed in 1995
Project Finance now preferred structure for infrastructure investment

17. Islamic Finance and Project Finance (II)
Islamic sources of capital traditionally played minor role in project finance in Gulf
In recent years, however, no deal gets done without a substantial Islamic tranche
Financing needs exceed capacity of commercial banks and export credit agencies
Desire of project hosts to diversify sources of capital and take advantage of local capital to the extent feasible

18. Islamic Finance and Project Finance (III)
Rabigh Refinery and Petrochemicals Project, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
$9.9 billion total cost, of which $5.8 billion was debt
$4.1 billion equity split between Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical
$2.5 billion loan provided by Japan Bank for International Cooperation
$1 billion loan from Saudi Public Investment Fund
$1.7 billion commercial loan
$600 million Islamic tranche

19. Islamic Finance and Project Finance (IV)
YANSAB Project
$5 billion greenfield petrochemical project
$3.5 billion debt:
$1.067 billion, 13-year tranche from Saudi Public Investment Fund
$850 million, 12-year Islamic tranche
$700 million export credit agencies tranche
$533 million 12-year commercial bank tranche
$350 million working capital facility
ABN AMRO was sole arranger, underwriter and bookrunner on deal

20. Islamic Finance and Project Finance (V)
Future Demand for Project Finance
Last two years saw $40 billion of project finance in gulf region
Saudi Arabia estimates it will invest $90 billion in domestic power generation over the next fifteen years
Other states in the gulf also investing heavily in infrastructure projects, particular petrochemical
There will be a continuing demand in the region for capital to invest further expansion of the region’s infrastructure

21. Opportunities for Canadian Banks
Deal flow shows no sign of abating
International banks have shown an ability to compete successfully
Because of the size of new deals, Islamic banks need to partner with international banks to take advantage of their larger distribution networks
Success of sukûk issues means that conventional market investors have grown comfortable with their structure and will invest in them so long as credit profile meets investors’ needs

22. Opportunities for Canadian Banks (II)
Success in penetrating markets for arranging credit could lead to mandates in upcoming equity offerings
Future opportunities to advise in connection with an inevitable consolidation of banks in the Gulf region
Opportunities for wealth management of wealthy Islamic investors
Merrill Lynch identified 300,000 U.S. dollar millionaires in the Middle East

23. Opportunities for Canadian Issuers
Canadian Issuers, public and private, may consider tapping the Islamic capital markets
Because of Islamic finance is asset-based, Canada’s mining industry is a natural fit with the structures so far developed in Islamic finance
Because of high-liquidity of Islamic banks and Islamic investment funds, issuers who tap this market may be able to obtain relatively favorable pricing relative to the conventional market

24. Opportunities for Canadian Infrastructure Firms
Because of infrastructure boom in Gulf region, large premiums have been paid on Engineering, Procurement and Construction contracts
Successful competition for infrastructure projects inevitably requires support of export credit agency
Export Development Canada would have an important role to play in promoting Canadian firms’ expertise in the region

25. Conclusion
Islamic finance and conventional finance are quickly converging in the Gulf region
As conventional investors gain more comfort with Islamic structures, cost differential between Islamic products and conventional products have almost disappeared
As a result, Islamic products may be more practical because they appeal to both Islamic and conventional investors

26. Conclusion (II)
It is not too late for Canadian banks to compete for business in the Islamic finance arena
To do so successfully, they will need to establish a presence in the region, as have their competitors