Turkey may issue its first sukuk, an Islamic finance tool, to be linked to the toll revenues of a planned bridge over the Bosphorus, daily Vatan claimed without quoting sources. The Treasury has already started a study on the issue, the newspaper said.
The paper said Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s Jan. 30 speech at a Capital Markets Board (SPK) meeting in Istanbul was a signal for the attempt. Turkey may issue its first sukuk this year, Babacan said at the meeting………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Maybank Investment Bank ( Maybank IB) clinched the top spot in the Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd’s (MARC) 2011 Lead Managers League Tables by issue value and issue count. Maybank IB had managed in total of 12 MARC-rated sukuk or bond issuances which amounted to RM9.41bil.
AMInvestment Bank Bhd and CIMB Investment Bank Bhd were rated second and third respectively in the sukuk or bond value category. Meanwhile, in the category of issue count, Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd came in second while AMInvestment Bank Bhd was in third placing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bangladesh government has set up a seven-member committee to find ways to float sovereign bonds in the international market to ease pressures on the balance of payments, the country’s accounting record.
The committee formed last week and headed by Syed Manjurul Islam, additional secretary of the Finance Division, will submit a report within one month. Members of the committee include representatives from Bangladesh Bank (BB), National Savings Directorate, Policy Research Institute (PRI) the finance ministry and managing directors of Sonali and Trust banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egypt’s newly-elected Islamists say they want to introduce an index of companies that comply with sharia law as part of a wider move towards an Islamic economy.
Officials from Freedom and Justice, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, and from Nour, a party of ultraconservative Salafi Islamists, argue that such an index would encourage a slice of investors who, they allege, have shunned the bourse for fear that it might somehow contravene religious law………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gulf Arab companies and governments, facing over $60 billion (Dh220 billion) of maturing debt to refinance in 2012, will increasingly need to move away from relying on traditional funding and embrace “out of the box” thinking in a tough global environment.
The Gulf Cooperation Council states, most flush with cash after a year of high oil prices, are likely to succeed in handling this year’s refinancing challenge without systemic crises. Governments will intervene if needed to avert big, corporate bond defaults that might destabilise markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Rajhi Bank announced the appointment of Azrulnizam Abdul Aziz as Chief Executive Officer of Al Rajhi Bank (Malaysia), the wholly owned subsidiary of Al Rajhi Bank (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).
“We are very pleased to appoint Azrulnizam as Chief Executive Officer of Al Rajhi Bank (Malaysia),” said Mr Abdullah Al Rajhi, Group CEO, Al Rajhi Bank (KSA), in a statement released on Feb 2………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the first and the largest Shariah-compliant bank in the UAE, said on Thursday that it recorded a 25 per cent rise in net profit in 2011 compared to the previous year.
The bank’s net profit for 2011 increased to Dh1.01 billion from a net profit before restatement of Dh806 million in 2010, demonstrating sustained growth across the bank’s core operations, DIB said in a statement. DIB’s net profit for 2010 has been adjusted due to the restatement of the results of an associate company………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ajman Bank, an award-winning Islamic financial services institution committed to transforming the experience of Islamic banking, announced today its financial results for the 12 months ending December 31, 2011, continuing the bank’s impressive growth since its foundation in 2009.
Ajman Bank reported a positive net profit of AED 7 million for 2011, a year-on-year increase of 75 per cent compared to the AED 4 million profit reported in 2010. (Press Release)

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) posted a stellar set of earnings in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, with net profit up 554% to RM83.82 million from RM12.81 million a year ago.
Its earnings were boosted mainly by higher net income from Islamic banking operations via the expansion of personal financing and also lower taxation. Net income from Islamic banking operations was RM113.17 million compared with RM52.92 million a year ago………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A report by Moody’s in October stated 29 percent of loans extended by Bahraini retail banks in the kingdom were real estate-linked. This is particularly the case for Islamic banks, who like the sector because of its sharia-compliance. Concern about their capital bases has already seen the central bank advocate the merging of five Islamic banks, which should be completed during the first quarter.
“Conventional banks have relatively less real estate exposure, especially compared to before the financial crisis, but Islamic banks have been affected and if you follow their results, there have been impairments on assets,” said Waruna Kumarage, senior analyst for asset management at SICO Bahrain………………………………………..Full Article: Source