From Dubaicityguide.com: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced today its financial results as of September 30, 2009, demonstrating its resilient operations and robust core business despite global challenges facing the financial services sector.

The bank reported a net profit of AED 1.12 billion for the first nine months of 2009, continuing the trend of positive performance in the year to date……………………..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), the region’s leading Islamic bank, has appointed Sameh Al Awadhallah as Head of Branches.
Sameh, a UAE national, will lead the bank in this critical role at a time when ADIB is committed to achieve the status of best in class in sales and service culture in branches. Sameh’s appointment is commensurate with the Bank’s aggressive retail expansion strategy……………………..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Ahli United Bank (AUB) reported a net profit of $183.7 million for the first nine months of this year, compared to $280.1m in the same period last year.

The net profit for the third quarter was $40.1m compared to $68.4m……………………..Full Article: Source

From Banking-business-review.com: In order to give an impetus to the Indonesian sharia market, five banks including Bank Central Asia (BCA) are expected to launch standalone sharia units next year – reported Reuters.
Industry officials are of the opinion that the removal of double taxation, which made transactions expensive, would encourage more banks to enter into Islamic banking susidiaries……………………..Full Article: Source

From Pressabout.com: With the global financial crisis raising doubts over the world’s conventional financial system, the banking industry in Indonesia stands to benefit from the global downturn and expects to continue rapid growth in the coming years.
The financial crisis is having no negative impact on the development of Islamic banking in the country……………………..Full Article: Source

From Khaleejtimes.com: Al Tomooh Finance Scheme for Small National Businesses and Emirates Islamic Bank have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to provide Al Tomooh customers the option to avail Shariah-compliant financing including Murabaha, Istisna’a, Ijara.

The move comes in light of the increase in demand on Islamic Financing. Applicants will benefit from the Al Tomooh Finance scheme under the conditions and regulations of Islamic Financing, according to a Press statement on Sunday……………………..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (Aman) has reported a Dh6.4 million ($1.74 million) profit for the third quarter against a loss of Dh21.1 million for the same period last year, due to the collapse of the global credit market.

The company made Dh26.34 million in profits for the nine month period of 2009, a rise of 326 per cent compared with the same period in 2008……………………..Full Article: Source

From Menafn.com: Oman Insurance Company, the number 1 Insurance Company in the UAE, announces the launch of its endowment plans.
The company’s endowment plans, SPECTRA & SPECTRA PLUS are uniquely designed to meet the changing needs of the customers. Our two unique plans SPECTRA & SPECTRA PLUS offer customers short payment periods with long-term benefits……………………..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: More than 53 per cent of Arab investors see the global economy recovering from crisis, said a survey conducted by Mubasher Info.

It revealed that the majority of Arab investors are optimistic that the global economy is now recuperating from the crisis……………………..Full Article: Source

From Timesofmalta.com: A recent international meeting on Islamic finance examining the advantages of Malta acting as a centre for Shariah-compliant finance in the region concluded the country was strategically well-positioned to act as the “Bahrain in the Mediterranean”.

Malta, the international experts present agreed, could be the ideal centre from where Islamic finance institutions may reach and penetrate the European Union and North African markets……………………..Full Article: Source

From Legalweek.com: When the fast-growing sukuk market ground to a halt in 2008, the future looked grim. But as the Islamic capital markets turn, will a deluge of issues come with it?

Since the general election in India on 13 May, what does the future hold for the liberalisation of the country’s legal sector?…………………….Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Governments in Muslim nations in the Middle East and Asia are increasingly turning to Islamic finance to raise funds, giving a necessary but perhaps not sufficient shot in the arm for the $1 trillion industry.

Deeper liquidity is essential to winning investors back to the market after the credit crisis sapped demand and issuance and triggered the first ever major defaults of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, this year…………………….Full Article: Source

From Dow Jones: The Dubai government told investors Thursday it will decide whether to launch a global bond sale in the next two weeks once it has gauged the interest of a broad range of investors, according to two investors who met with top officials from Dubai’s Department of Finance.

The bond offering would be part of Dubai’s effort to tackle its $80 billion debt pile, most of which was incurred during the emirate’s property, tourism and logistics boom. It has used half of a planned $20 billion bond program and is considering tapping the remainder…………………….Full Article: Source

From Spiegel.de: Germany’s Muslims are finally getting a bank offering financial products that comply with Sharia law. It is a market worth billions, and one that many major banks around the world have long discovered.

There are four million Muslims living in Germany. They eat, drink and pray in accordance with the precepts of the Prophet Muhammad. But when it comes to monetary transactions, the principles of the Koran have played hardly any role in Germany. That is about to change…………………….Full Article: Source

From Thestandard.com.hk: Hong Kong will sign a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia at the end of the month to pave the way for Islamic financial business, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung.

Chan told lawmakers yesterday the administration will step up competition to tap the potential lucrative Islamic market…………………….Full Article: Source

From Independent: Malta is preparing legislation to allow Sharia compliant banking and other financial services to attract investment, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said.

He revealed that the government is keen to expand the financial services industry offering to the Arab world by allowing banking in consistency with the principles of Islamic law…………………….Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: The one-trillion-dollar GCC fund market offers rare opportunities to global investors and fund managers. The Gulf economies are on the rebound with a GDP growth forecast of over 4 percent in 2009, especially at a time when other economies are still facing difficulties due to the aftershocks of the economic meltdown, a senior government official said Wednesday.

“We have 2,700 registered funds in Bahrain, with over $10 billion assets under management [it] will continue to be one of the best places to invest in,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, chief executive of the Economic Development Board (EDB), the official economic development agency of Bahrain…………………….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd is offering special Islamic financing packages during its carnival on Oct 24 and 25.

The event will be held from 10am to 6pm at selected branches which includes Bayan Lepas in Penang, Taman Molek in Johor Baharu, Jalan Satok in Kuching, Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, Batu Unjur in Klang and Shah Alam…………………….Full Article: Source

From Nzherald.co.nz: An Islamic bank has been burned by tens of millions of dollars from its investment in one of New Zealand’s most iconic brands.

It has been revealed the Bahrain-based Kuwait Finance House was owed more than $54 million when it decided to pull the plug on Canterbury Clothing’s European operations earlier this year…………………….Full Article: Source

From Aawsat.com: Bahrain Islamic Bank, the country’s biggest Islamic retail bank by market value, on Wednesday swung to a quarterly loss as it booked higher provisions on bad loans.

The bank said net loss for the three months ended Sept.30 was 1.36 million Bahraini dinars, compared with a net profit 6.26 million in the year-earlier quarter…………………….Full Article: Source

From Individual.com: American Financial Group (AFG) Inc. is considering to invest in Islamic bank in Indonesia, a Bank Indonesia official said.
AFG and a number of investors from Saudi Arabia have indicated interest in sharia banking business in the country after the new law on income tax was passed, deputy director for sharia banking Mulya E. Siregar said…………………….Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited (PQGTL) and Alfalah Islamic Banking have signed an agreement according to which Pak-Qatar General Takaful would provide comprehensive Takaful coverage to Bank Alfalah’s Auto Ijara portfolio.
The agreement was signed by DCEO Pak-Qatar General Takaful Rohail Alikhan and Mr. Ijaz Farooq, Incharge Bank Alfalah Islamic Banking…………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The Saudi insurance sector is heading towards a wave of consolidation as new players squeeze into an already crowded market, the head of Tawuniya, the country’s largest insurance company said.

The Saudi central bank has authorised some 30 new insurance firms to be set up over the last three years to unlock the sector’s growth potential and increased the competitive pressure on Tawuniya, the kingdom’s most lucrative insurance firm and one of its oldest…………………….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: There are more investment opportunities in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries following the global recession, says deputy international trade and industry minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Oil and gas-rich Muslim nations, for instance, have shifted some of their interest from the developed world to investments in fellow developing Muslim nations…………………….Full Article: Source

From Dow Jones: The International Finance Corp. said Wednesday it will list a $100 million, five-year Islamic bond with the Nasdaq Dubai and Bahrain stock exchanges.

The private-sector financing arm of the World Bank plans to become the first non-Islamic financial institution to issue a so-called sukuk for term funding in the Gulf Cooperation Council. The bonds comply with Islamic law, known as Shariah, by not charging interest. Instead, sukuk make payouts derived from underlying assets sold to a special purpose vehicle that is the issuer of the paper……………………Full Article (Subscription Required): Source

From Business24-7.ae: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of World Bank, is planning to lower the cost of its $100 million (Dh367m) sukuk listing in Dubai and Bahrain after discussing it with the bourses, Emirates Business has learned.

“The whole process is more difficult. It’s more expensive in structuring and doing it and the pricing tends to be higher than global markets,” Nina Shapiro, IFC Vice-President for Finance and Treasurer told this newspaper on the sidelines of a conference yesterday……………………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Shariah indices performed well during the financial crisis compared to their conventional counterparts but this performance – far from being limited to volatile times – is spread across the full market cycle.

Over the past 11 credit-challenged quarters, the MSCI World Islamic Index has maintained a good track-record with lower volatility than the MSCI World Index……………………Full Article: Source

From Seekingalpha.com: It seems as though two prominent Middle Eastern investment companies - Kuwait’s Investment Dar and Saudi Arabia’s Saad Group - are at the cusp of a legal battle that will largely determine the $1,000bn Islamic-style bond industry.
This bond industry is one of the fastest growing niches of international finance. The deal is simply this: invest in Islamic operations that can technically comply with Islamic law against interest while providing a product that creates a guaranteed or floating interest rate that is, well, not an interest rate. A product such as this is called a sukuk……………………Full Article: Source

From Cantos.comThe last few years have seen the Islamic finance sector expand rapidly; growth in 2007 reached nearly 30%.

In Autumn 2009, BDO in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed over 170 global financial institutions to establish if this growth was expected to continue, what products and services are deemed most attractive and the barriers that institutions feel may hinder the growth of Islamic finance…………………….Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com:Shariah Indices have performed better than their conventional counterparts throughout the credit crisis. Over the last eleven credit-crisis challenged quarters, the MSCI World Islamic Index has delivered a good track-record with lower volatility than the MSCI World Index.
However, it is not just this out performance in volatile times that speaks positively for Shariah Investing but its performance across a full market cycle……………………Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Dubai World, the state-owned holding company grappling with $40 billion of debt, may be able to sell bonds to repay loans, including a $3.5 billion Islamic bond due at year-end, two bankers familiar with the group’s plans said.

Some of the money needed to settle the Islamic bond, or sukuk, of Dubai World’s real-estate unit Nakheel PJSC may be raised from a bond sale and the rest from local lenders, said the bankers, who declined to be identified because nothing has been decided yet……………………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Dubai’s Emirates airline has appointed BNP Paribas to arrange a $289 million bond offering for two Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, for delivery in 2009 and 2010.

Emirates, the world’s largest non-alliance airline by international passenger traffic, has mandated the French bank to arrange the $289 million facility, guaranteed by U.S. Export-Import Bank, BNP Paribas said on Wednesday……………………Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: Although Malaysia is recognised as the market leader in Islamic finance, there is still scope to enhance its position, says National Economic Advisory Council chairman Tan Sri Amirsham Abdul Aziz.

He said local technology companies should reposition themselves and fully leverage on the recognition as a solution provider for the Islamic finance system……………………Full Article: Source

From Themalaysianinsider.com: Owing to a pick-up in property sales, analysts do not expect the national Budget to be tabled tomorrow to hold goodies for the sector, except perhaps for Islamic real estate investment trusts (Reits), given that Syariah financing is a key area of promotion for the government.

After an initial bout of activity, Malaysian Reits have become under-invested on the lack of size, liquidity, investor understanding and news flow……………………Full Article: Source

From Finextra.com: Callataÿ & Wouters, a provider of core banking and multi-channel distribution solutions, today announced the formalisation of its partnership with the IA Group Sdn Bhd (IA), a Malaysian management consulting, technology and outsourcing company.
The two companies are partnering to develop an Islamic banking solution for the region and global market……………………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Increased provisioning for bad loans and a decline in income from investments have led Bahrain Islamic Bank into a quarterly loss.

Bahrain’s biggest Islamic retail bank by market value said on Wednesday provisions for impairments in the third quarter increased more than threefold to 2 million Bahraini dinars ($5.31 million) from 600,000 dinars in the same period last year……………………Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: First Gulf Bank (FGB), one of the region’s leading financial institutions, announced today its financial results for the third quarter, reporting a Net Profit of Dhs930m, which is 20% higher than the second quarter of 2009, and 9% higher than the third quarter of 2008.
André Sayegh, FGB’s Chief Executive Officer, said:”At a time where the global economy is witnessing slow recovery, FGB stands out as a solid financial institution, delivering a strong performance……………………Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Doha Bank has achieved 17 percent increase in operating income for nine months ending September 30 this year, demonstrating the bank’s robust growth and sustainable performance.

The operating income for the nine months ended September 30 this year has increased by 17 percent to an impressive QR1,545m compared to QR1,324m for the same period last year, announced H E Sheikh Fahad bin Mohammad bin Jabor Al Thani, Chairman of Board of Directors of Doha Bank. …………………..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Doha Islamic plans to open three more branches in Qatar in view of the growing demand for Shariah-based banking products and services. Doha Islamic is the Shariah-based arm of Doha Bank.
Doha Bank Group chief executive R Seetharaman said the number of Doha Islamic branches would go up to eight from the current five in the next few months……………………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: In a move to enhance its risk management policies, Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with Emcredit to use its credit information reporting services. This announcement was made yesterday by Emcredit, the UAE’s first government-backed credit bureau.

Through Emcredit’s Credit Scope, which provides factual records of a company’s or individual’s credit history, EIB will gain an accurate perspective on its borrowers’ repayment history as well as their capability to service new and existing debts……………………Full Article: Source

From Azernews.az: The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), the country`s leading bank, plans to introduce Islamic banking in the South Caucasus republic, its board chairman, Jahangir Hajiyev, has announced.
He noted, however, that the measure can be enacted no earlier than in 2010……………………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Takaful International has signed an agreement with Qatar Islamic Insurance Company to launch the ‘Heya’ insurance product in the Qatar.

Present at the signing ceremony in Doha were Qatar Islamic Insurance family takaful and health manager Mohammed M Al Ja’bari, Takaful International chief executive officer Younis Al Sayed, assistant general manager family takaful Ali Ebrahim Noor and Family Takaful manager Reema Ghuloom Nawrooz……………………Full Article: Source

From Islamicfinancespot: In the last 25 year, Islamic banking practice has progressed tremendously. The past two and a half decades, serious research done, has established that Islamic banking is a viable and efficient way of financial intermediation.
Several Islamic banks have been established during this period under mixed, social and economic settings. Recently, many conventional banks, including some major multinational Western banks, have also started using Islamic banking techniques. All this is encouraging……………………Full Article: Source

From Koreaherald.co.kr: The Korean government should offer incentives to Korean investors buying Islamic financial products, known as sukuk, to help attract more money from the Middle East, according to the head of Doha Bank’s Seoul unit.

“While the Korean government is scrambling to attract Islamic funds by discussing tax benefits to investment in some types of Islamic bonds sold by Korean issuers, incentives for Korean sukuk investors are also very much in need,” Kwon Kwan-soon, who heads the Doha Bank Seoul Representative Office, said…………………..Full Article: Source

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From Reuters: Power utility Saudi Electricity 5110.SE said it would borrow from banks and use Islamic bond to help finance a 6.88 billion riyals ($1.84 billion) contract signed on Tuesday.

The Gulf’s largest utility by market value signed the agreement awarding South Korean builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction and Arabian Bemco Contracting Co the contract to expand al-Qurrayah power plant…………………..Full Article: Source

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From Thenational.ae: Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) is launching a US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) Sharia-compliant hospitality development fund to invest primarily in projects in the MENA and Asia regions.

The three-year fund will focus on airlines, tourism, accommodation, food services and leisure, ADIH said in a statement…………………..Full Article: Source

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From Business24-7.ae: Jordan is considering issuing Islamic debt, or sukuk, by the year end to help it cover part of its spiralling budget deficit that has worsened due to the global downturn, finance ministry officials said yesterday.

They said a finance ministry committee was set up to study how to introduce the Islam-compliant paper for the first time in the kingdom, which relies on conventional six-month, one-year and three-year maturity T-bills and bonds…………………..Full Article: Source

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From Alarabiya.net: The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has set price guidance for a $100 million Islamic bond, the proceeds of which will be used to fund projects in Yemen and Egypt, an executive said on Tuesday.

Michael Essex, director of the IFC’s Middle East and North Africa department, told Reuters the organization had set price guidance at 35-40 basis points over 5-year U.S treasuries…………………..Full Article: Source

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From Thestar.com.my: One of the most contentious issues regarding Islamic banking and finance is whether the whole concept is in line with Islam. On one side are sceptics who argue that there is no difference between Islamic banking and conventional banking. To them Islamic banking is simply conventional banking in Islamic garb.

The argument often offered by this group is the practice in Islamic banking of using interest rates in the calculations of the “selling price”…………………..Full Article: Source

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From Ameinfo.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been fully subscribed by 100%. Subscriptions worth BD5 million were received for the BD5m issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.
The expected return on the issue, which begins on 22 October 2009 and matures on 22 April 2010, is 0.95%…………………..Full Article: Source

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