Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), the biggest Sharia-compliant lender in the emirate, on Wednesday said it had repaid in full a US$500 million Islamic bond or sukuk from its own resources, reflecting what it said was its strong liquidity position amid difficult market conditions.
“ADIB’s ability to repay the sukuk from its own resources and without the need for refinancing demonstrates our strong liquidity position, especially in these challenging market conditions,” said Abdul Qadir Khanani, group treasurer at ADIB in a statement.
“The repayment of these sukuk shows the deep confidence that investors across a range of geographies have in ADIB and its long-term future. We will continue to explore potential opportunities to expand our funding sources as and when needed in the future.”
The five-year sukuk matured on Wednesday.
Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, head of research at NBAD Securities, agreed, saying the payment was a sign of the bank’s strong balance sheet and speculated that more issues from the bank were likely to follow.
“The bank may in the coming months be looking to refinance at a lower cost of funding or raise capital via an equity or an equity-linked instrument,” he said. “ADIB is generally in the forefront of issuing capital instruments. The bank issued a rights issue in 2015 and justified the exercise by suggesting banks generally need to have a mix of instruments in the capital structure.”
Other UAE banks have raised financing in recent months. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank said last month it had secured $600m three-year syndicated loan.
Despite the resilience of ADIB, banks in the UAE have not been having the best of times amid the oil price lull. Over the past two years, banks have been hit by dwindling deposits as governments scrambled to find cash as a first line of defence, making lending more difficult and riskier as defaults increased.
That has pushed up the loan to deposit rate, a measure of how much liquidity is available in the system, to 97.3 per cent, according to October data from the Central Bank. That has been rising since July, when that ratio stood at 96.6 per cent.
“Latest central bank data shows that liquidity continues to be tight,” said Shabbir Malik, a Dubai-based analyst at the Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes. “ADIB, however, is well positioned relative to the sector in terms of liquidity.”
ADIB had an advances to deposit ratio of 79.7 per cent as of September 30. At a time when many banks have also been hit profit-wise, the Islamic lender has held its own.
The bank said in October that its third-quarter profit rose 1 per cent, buttressed by higher revenue even as impairment charges rose.
Profit increased to Dh508.9m in the three months ended September compared with Dh503.2m in the same period last year. Net revenues rose 6.6 per cent to Dh1.37 billion versus Dh1.28bn in the same period of last year.
However, the bank’s chief executive at the time sounded a note of caution going forward, saying the lender would refrain from taking on too much risk amid a global economic slowdown.
“The levels of activity and growth in the major economies around the world remain challenging,” said Tirad Al Mahmoud.
“As a result, we continue to forecast modest new customer financing growth and, where credit extension is targeted, will continue our practice of only doing so in such a manner that the risk-related returns are commensurate with our long-term regulatory capital needs and return of shareholders’ equity goals.”
mkassem@thenational.ae
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Mercedes V250 Avantgarde specs
Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder turbo
Gearbox: 7-speed automatic
Power: 211hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0 l/100 km
Price: Dh235,000
'Falling for Christmas'
Director: Janeen Damian
Stars: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, Jack Wagner, Aliana Lohan
Rating: 1/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
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- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Stars: Pedro Pascal and Katee Sackhoff
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
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97% of Jewish-Americans are concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism
76% of US Jewish voters believe Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party are responsible for a rise in anti-Semitism
74% of American Jews agreed that “Trump and the Maga movement are a threat to Jews in America"
Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The specs
The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
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1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6 Romain Grosjean, Haas
7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9 Carlos Sainz, Renault
10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren
12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
13 Sergio Perez, Force India
14 Lance Stroll, Williams
15 Esteban Ocon, Force India
16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
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Stars: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor
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Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
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War
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Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
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Shadab Khan (Desert Vipers)
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Azam Khan (Desert Vipers)
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Mohammed Amir (Desert Vipers)
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Imad Wasim (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders)
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Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
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Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
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Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
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