The development of the Islamic finance in Kazakhstan will be one of the strategic tasks supported by the Government within the Islamic finance development road map.
Holding relevant forums and conferences is considered a way to boost public and business’ awareness of the Islamic finance in Kazakhstan. They play a role of platforms for exchanging information and pursuing dialogue where the current problems are discussed and resolved……………………………………….Full Article: Source

There are many chances of investment in Kazakhstan regarding International Islamic Banking and financial institutions are in looking on different options for investments in Kazakhstan because the world sees the Kazakhstan a central hub for Islamic banking and finance for CIS countries.
These are the views of Zubair Mughal, the Chief executive officer of Al-Huda centre of Islamic banking and economics, which he expressed in his speech in the International finance forum that is held in the Astana the capital of Kazakhstan in this week……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A Bahraini group that sets standards for Islamic finance in 45 countries is helping universities start Sharia-compliant business courses to avert a shortage of experts in the $1 trillion market.
The industry will need 15 percent more personnel over the next five years and 25 percent more in a decade, said Khairul Nizam, deputy secretary general of the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Paris plans to build a new Islamic center to address two issues, a dearth of mosques for the city’s sizable Muslim community and a new law banning street prayers. In the interim, Muslims been invited to worship in an unusual venue - an old fire station at the edge of the city.
For many practicing Muslims in Paris, Friday prayers means having to pack in overflowing mosques. Or when there is no more space, by rolling out prayer rugs on the city’s sidewalks. No longer……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Three insurance associations have entered into an agreement to form the Joint Insurance-Takaful Council (JITC), marking another milestone for the development of the insurance and takaful sectors in Malaysia.
The Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM), the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) and Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) in a joint statement today said it is in line with the objective to further liberalise and create harmonisation of the financial services sector, the JITC would foster a higher level of self-regulation of the industry……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The total Malaysian Islamic capital market (ICM) is projected to reach almost three trillion ringgit, RM2.88 trillion to be precise, in the year 2020, with the sukuk market set to break the one trillion-ringgit barrier to account for RM1.33 trillion worth of issuances and the market capitalization of Shariah-compliant companies accounting for RM1.55 trillion.
The fact that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the ICM for the decade 2010-2020 is projected at a healthy double digit 10.6 percent compared with 13.6 percent for the previous decade suggests that the growth prospects for the most developed Islamic capital markets in the world is indeed sustainable and exciting……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Bahrain has hired Citigoup Inc., BNP Paribas (BNP) SA and Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) to advise on the sale of about $1 billion in Islamic bonds next month, Central Bank Governor Rasheed al-Maraj said.
Bahrain will use the money to finance a budget deficit of about 5 percent of gross domestic product, Maraj said in an interview today at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. Bahrain will seek to keep borrowing costs at between 200 basis points and 230 basis points above U.S. Treasuries, Maraj said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Albaraka Banking Group BSC, Bahrain’s biggest publicly traded Islamic lender, and its unit in Turkey may raise a total $500 million in sukuk this year, Chief Executive Officer Adnan Ahmed Yousif said.
Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS is in the process of hiring banks to manage the sale of about $200 million in Islamic bonds by November, Yousif said in an interview in Washington yesterday. The parent bank may sell about $300 million by the end of the year, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Arab governments may soon buy Egyptian treasury bills to help the government reduce the highest borrowing costs it has faced since 2008, Egypt’s state news agency MENA reported Deputy Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi as saying.
Egypt is in talks with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to buy the instruments, Beblawi said while visiting Washington D.C. to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Kuwait Finance House (KFIN)’s unit in Bahrain is leading efforts to merge three Islamic lenders into a bank valued at $400 million, the Kuwait-based financial services company said.
The creation of the biggest Islamic bank in Bahrain and one of the biggest in the region will “serve as a platform for further merging operations in Bahrain and other markets in the area,” Kuwait Finance said………………………………………Full Article: Source

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Kuwait Finance House (KFH) announced here on Sunday its branch in the Kingdom of Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) is leading preparations for the merger of three Islamic banks in Bahrain.
The possible merger will lead to the emergence of one of the biggest Islamic Sharia-compliant banking entities as a nucleus for even larger mergers in the region, KFH CEO and Managing Director of KFH-Bahrain Abdul-Hakim Al-Khayat said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd (KFH) is keen on expanding in Indonesia to tap Islamic banking opportunities in the world’s most populous Muslim nation. “We’re looking at Indonesia, but we don’t want to rush into anything,” chief executive officer Jamelah Jamaluddin said.
She said KFH would prefer to go in on a fresh licence, but the group is also actively looking at some potential acquisitions……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Jamal Bin Ghalaita has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Islamic Bank, he was previously Group Deputy CEO for Consumer Wealth Management at Emirates NBD.
Ghalaita’s appointment followed Emirates Islamic Bank’s (EIB) Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) at the bank’s head office in Dubai Festival City. During the meeting, the shareholders accepted the resignation of the Board of Directors, absolved them of their financial responsibilities and elected a new Board of Directors consisting of seven members, six of them from Emirates NBD Board of Directors in addition to Emirates NBD CEO……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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QInvest, Qatar’s leading Islamic investment bank, has forayed into Saudi Arabia as part of its expansion across the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.
QInvest Saudi Arabian unit, its first subsidiary, has kicked off operations with an initial capital of 50mn Saudi riyals. The entity has been granted license by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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ABC Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Noor Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (together the initial Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners) announce the successful closure and signing of a $350 milion equivalent Dual-Currency Syndicated Murabaha Financing Facility for Albaraka Türk Katilim Bankasi.
Launched at $150 million, the Facility was oversubscribed to close at $350 million with participation from 25 banks from across the globe. It is the largest Islamic Structured Murabaha Syndicated Financing ever raised by any Turkish financial institution to date……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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In the quaint world of Islamic finance, something is brewing between the regulator and one of the active players. RBI has show-caused Alternative Investments and Credits (AICL), a Kerala-based firm, asking it to explain the basis of its ‘participative financing’ deals.
The development is being closely tracked by the proponents of Islamic finance as the outcome could determine how such activities may be pursued in India. According to the regulator, AICL, a registered NBFC, is not complying with the fair practices code under which the financier has to lay down the terms and conditions of funding……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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The international economy should shift toward new models like Islamic finance to avoid periods of instability like the European debt crisis, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini said Friday at an International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington.
“The current architecture of the world’s economy, due to inconsistency between the financial and the real sectors, creates unavoidable periodical instabilities,” Hosseini said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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They are many chances of investment in Kazakhstan regarding International Islamic Banking and financial institutions are in looking on different options for investments in Kazakhstan because the world sees the Kazakhstan a central hub for Islamic banking and finance for CIS countries.
These are the views of Muhammad Zubair Mughal the Chief executive officer of Al-HUDA centre of Islamic banking and economics, which he expressed in his speech in the International finance forum that is held in the Astana the capital of Kazakhstan in this week. (Press Release)

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One of the important issues on the agenda of the second annual meeting of the Aman Union, the organization of investment and export credit agencies in the Arab and Islamic World, which is due to be held on Oct. 4-5 in Istanbul under the aegis of the Turk Eximbank, are the challenges facing the export credit insurance industry especially insuring risks in post-conflict countries and those undergoing economic and political transformation.
The prime movers behind the Aman Union are the Jeddah-based, Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Export Credit and Investment (ICIEC)………………………………………Full Article: Source

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There is a proposal to set up a governmental authority in Qatar to promote the effective management and investment of Waqf assets, the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs HE Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak bin Imran Al Kuwari said.
Opening a regional workshop on “Endowments- Investment and Management” here yesterday the Minister underlined Qatar’ s interest in promoting the endowments at the legislative and institutional levels……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Bahraini group that sets standards for Islamic finance in 45 countries is helping universities start courses in Sharia-compliant business practices to avert a shortage of experts in the US$1 trillion (Dh3.67tn) market.
The industry will need 15 per cent more personnel over the next five years and 25 per cent more in a decade, said Khairul Nizam, the deputy secretary general of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions. Pakistan is offering its first doctorate in Sharia banking, while the UAE has introduced an Islamic Masters of Business Administration……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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A Bahraini group that sets standards for Islamic finance in 45 countries is helping universities start Shariah-compliant business courses to avert a shortage of experts in the $1 trillion market.
The industry will need 15 percent more personnel over the next five years and 25 percent more in a decade, Khairul Nizam, deputy secretary general of the Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, said in a Sept. 20 interview. Pakistan is offering its first doctorate in Shariah banking, while the United Arab Emirates has introduced an Islamic Masters of Business Administration……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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With stock markets the world over recording huge losses over the last week and the volatility in the markets set to continue due to the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, concerns over the down grading of the US credit rating and the weak US and EU growth figures, investors are pondering which asset class to seek refuge in.
Do they place safe by moving their funds into cash or commodities such as gold, or do they stay put in bonds and equities, or go for investments in “bricks and mortar” property investments?………………………………………Full Article: Source

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Dubai’s Nakheel made a 2010 profit of Dh860 million ($234.1 million) and sees a rise in revenue this year as the property developer revamps its operations post its $16 billion debt restructuring, its chairman told a local newspaper.
The rise in profit, which provided a strong boost for the company after the 2009 real estate crash left it financially crippled, was due to an increase in the company’s activities, said chairman Ali Rashid Lootah in Arabic language daily al-Khaleej on Sunday, without elaborating……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Two of the most-recognised names in the UAE property and financial sector have partnered to offer residents a unique opportunity to buy a home in the strategically located Business Bay area of Dubai.
Deyaar Development, the regional real estate company, and Tamweel, the UAE-based Islamic home finance provider, are jointly offering ready units at four Deyaar projects in Business Bay at an optimal flat rate - with no additional fees from either the developer or the finance provider……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Director of the Maldives branch of Amana Takaful, Hassan Ali Manik, has resigned his post scarcely a week after the company announced the launch of a landmark IPO on the local stock exchange.
Manik’s resignation will take effect from the 21st of September. In a statement, Amana Takaful said Manik was tendered his resignation “citing business and personal commitments”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Global Banking Corporation (GBCorp) said it will take part in the 7th annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference (WIFFMC 2011) which opens in Bahrain on Sunday.
The two-day conference is being held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain with more than 400 key players in the global Islamic funds and investments industry taking part……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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More than 400 industry leaders from international Islamic funds and investments industry will be in Bahrain to attend the 7th Annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference (WIFFMC 2011) which opens tomorrow.
The event is being held under the theme “Achieving International Scale: Creating Vibrant Islamic Financial Markets and Re-Invigorating the Islamic Investments Industry.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

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China Islamic Research Center’s honorary director, Sha Pengcheng, said that Chinese Muslim businessmen would expand their business in exporting halal food from the country to other parts of the world, reported Xinhua News.
Pengcheng added that although around 500 million non-Muslim people consumed halal food, in addition to the 1.5 billion Muslims around the globe, nevertheless, the country’s halal food industry wasn’t competing with other markets……………………………………….Full Article: Source

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Bahraini group that sets standards for Islamic finance in 45 countries is helping universities start courses in Sharia-compliant business practices to avert a shortage of experts in the US$1 trillion (Dh3.67tn) market.
The industry will need 15 per cent more personnel over the next five years and 25 per cent more in a decade, said Khairul Nizam, the deputy secretary general of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions. Pakistan is offering its first doctorate in Sharia banking, while the UAE has introduced an Islamic Masters of Business Administration……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bank Islam, which is expected to hit another year of record profit, is still open to the idea of growing through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) despite two unsuccessful attempts earlier.
“To grow the bank domestically, I am all for it, but it’s a matter of getting the right candidates,” managing director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said. “Shareholders are open to the idea, but we must ensure that candidates are suitable on all fronts. In terms of synergies, it shouldn’t be a case of just one plus one.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Agrobank is on track to become probably the first fully-fledged Islamic agriculture bank in the region by 2015. Chief executive officer Wan Mohd Fadzmi Wan Othman said the bank, which has been corporatised since 2008, has embarked on a restructuring exercise within the organisation.
“Our focus will still remain in the agriculture sector. We’re in the midst of a `find and shine’ process to tap our employees’ talents and capabilities,” he said………………………………………Full Article: Source

Panel of international Islamic finance experts said Oman’s banking and finance sector can learn from other countries’ experiences in Islamic banking, which is a new field here. At a seminar hosted by Deloitte, the experts gave advice to local members of the finance industry on way of implementing Sharia-compliant banking in the Sultanate.
They noted that Oman can use existing models, thus develop the sector quickly. “Oman has a very unique opportunity. It can take lessons from abroad when it takes on Islamic finance within its own borders,” said Dawood Ahmedji, from Deloitte’s Islamic Finance Knowledge Center (IFKC)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has stressed upon the Islamic banks to diversify their investment portfolios by enhancing financing to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), agriculture, housing finance and microfinance sectors of the economy.
Addressing as the chief guest at a two-day first World Islamic Finance Summit 2011 on Wednesday, SBP Deputy Governor Muhammad Kamran Shahzad said that Islamic banks cannot only increase their depth and breadth, but also contribute to higher financial inclusion levels in the country by targeting these underserved sectors of the economy……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Affin Islamic Bank Bhd has set aside RM1.1 million out of its RM5 million zakat for the education sector and the rest to be channelled to the deserving groups.
Its chief executive officer, Kamarul Ariffin Md Jamil, said RM311,000 was for education purposes and the balance of RM700,000 would be distributed to various institutions of higher learning nationwide, including RM65,000 for education and sponsorship of an Islamic forum……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysian state investment agency Khazanah Nasional yesterday evening decided to postpone its debut dim sum sukuk as financial markets suffered from a severe bout of volatility.
The deal was supposed to be a landmark transaction for Khazanah, which is keen to promote Islamic financing in the offshore renminbi space. But, despite its blue-chip status, the market volatility proved to be too much and the leads — BOC International, CIMB and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) — decided that the most prudent decision would be to hold off……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Malaysian government’s investment holding arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd., which is looking to issue as much as $78.3 million in yuan-denominated Islamic trust certificates, or sukuk, postpone the pricing of the bond due to volatile market conditions, people familiar with the situation said Thursday.
The news came as yields on long-dated Japanese government bonds fell to multi-month lows in Tokyo, weighed down by similar falls in Treasury yields after the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting Open Market Committee announced the previous day it will increase its share of longer-dated Treasurys by $400 billion by June 2012……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Nakheel properties has hit back at foreign media reports doubting the real value of its land assets following the issuance of Dh3.8 billion sukuk (Islamic bonds) by the Dubai-based developer to unpaid contractors.
Nakheel chairman Ali Rashid Lootah was reacting to reports by Reuters and other agencies and newspapers that the company’s property is overestimated on the grounds much of it is unreclaimed seabed……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sadly for Trade Creditors wishing to convert Islamic Bond paper into hard cash on the secondary market this latest sukuk back up collateral revelation comes as a major blow. The resale value will begin to plummet, that is if finance house is prepared to buy until the implications of this piece of news has been fully digested.
We talked of a 20% discount off the sukuk’s face value for a cash resale, we are now likely looking at considerably more. That is going to leave a lot of members of the trade creditors group in some financial trouble. I believe one company was reported in AB as looking to offload a bond allocation to the face value of AED 320 million……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bonanza–Pragmatic Shariah fund is intended to give an alternative investment opportunity to 150 million Indian Muslims.
Bonanza Portfolio Ltd with Pragmatic Wealth Management Pvt Ltd has launched India’s premier Shariah Portfolio Management Services. The service is titled as Bonanza-Pragmatic Shariah fund and is intended to give an alternative investment opportunity to 150 million Indian Muslims……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Naomi Heaton, chief executive for LCP, said the London Central Apartments fund would appeal to some of the more wealthy clients, both domestic and overseas investors, who are looking to invest in property in the capital.
She said: “The world’s super-rich are viewing prime London residential property the same way as they do gold and there is a limited supply of both……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Allianz Takaful announced a partnership with MedGulf for the markets of Bahrain and Qatar to further develop their insurance platforms. To start the partnership Allianz Takaful will transfer 75% of Allianz Takaful to MedGulf BSC (Bahrain).
In this new partnership, Allianz Takaful will continue to sell the whole range of takaful and insurance products in the market of Bahrain and Life and Health products in Qatar……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic finance has grown significantly in the past few years and could become the largest segment in a number of banking systems in the Middle East by 2020 with a penetration rate in excess of 50 percent of the local banking assets. In Malaysia and Bangladesh, it would be close to 50 percent, based on a research by HSBC Amanah using historical compound annual rate of growth.
Yakub Bobat, global head of HSBC Amanah Commercial Banking, on September 20 told a Sibos conference being held in Toronto, Canada that at the end of 2010, the penetration rate of Islamic assets in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait was more than 30 percent, Malaysia 22 percent, and United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh 18 percent……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Non-Muslims are increasingly showing an interest in Islamic education and financial products, according to panellists at the first-ever Sibos session dedicated to Islamic finance.
Daud Vicary Abdullah, president and chief executive of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, which offers post-graduate education in Islamic finance, said at the Sibos panel yesterday that more than a third of students to the university were non-Muslims and he expected this to increase……………………………………….Full Article: Source

National Bonds Corp, the Dubai-owned Islamic savings scheme, may invest in the Nakheel sukuk issued to trade creditors in part-payment for outstanding bills, its CEO said.
The Islamic bonds issued under the government-owned developer’s $16.1bn restructuring plan tumbled in their first week of trading as holders flooded the market……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Nakheel PJSC, the Dubai government- owned developer that issued Islamic bonds last month, based 3.8 billion dirhams ($1 billion) of sukuk on a seabed off the emirate’s coast, two people familiar with the transaction said.
The underlying assets are plot 502 in the Persian Gulf and plot 513 in the desert, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. Property, which typically back sukuk, is leased out and payments to investors are usually in the form of rental income or profit……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Much of the land backing a $1.03 billion sukuk bond from Dubai property developer Nakheel is unreclaimed seabed, Reuters quoted bank sources as saying, leaving trade creditors holding the paper with scant recourse to tangible assets in the event of a default.
The Islamic bond, or sukuk, is part of Nakheel’s $16 billion debt restructuring deal which repays trade creditors 40 percent in cash and 60 percent via the bond……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund is to sell the first renminbi-denominated Islamic bond, a move that underscores the growing diversification the products available in the Chinese currency.
The issuance is relatively small to test the interest in the unusual offering, say fund managers and analysts of Islamic markets. The fund, Khazanah, is said to be targeting Rmb500 million (USD 78 million)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

It’s not just porky dim sum dumplings that are off-limits for religious Muslims. Dim sum bonds, or debt issued in renminbi, are also verboten for Islamic investors for whom conventional bonds conflict with religious prohibitions on interest.
Enter Khazanah, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, which is launching the first-ever Islamic bond in renminbi. Halal dim sum anyone?………………………………………Full Article: Source

The continuing expansion of the Saudi economy should underpin the steady growth of the insurance sector. However, the main catalyst for growth in recent years - the rise of compulsory health insurance remains miniscule, the “Saudi Arabia Insurance Report Q3 2011” said.
Of the G20 economies, few have experienced growth in their insurance sectors that could match that of Saudi Arabia between 2005 and 2010. Life premiums have soared from SR193 million to SR1.40 billion……………………………………….Full Article: Source