Turkey’s government plans its first-ever issue of Islamic bonds this year, overcoming sensitivities about Islamic finance in the secular republic as it seeks to tap a rich pool of investors flush with oil money.
A sovereign sukuk issue from an economy regarded as one of the most progressive and successful in the Muslim world would signal intent on Turkey’s part to play a bigger role in Islamic finance. The size of the global sukuk market is estimated at more than $100 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egypt plans to offer US-dollar certificates of deposit (CD) to Egyptians living abroad at the beginning of March to help it raise foreign currency, al-Borsa newspaper on Tuesday quoted Finance Minister Mumtaz al-Saeed as saying.
Egypt has said it is looking to sell CDs as well as Islamic sukuk instruments and land sales to Egyptians living abroad to help plug an external financing shortage estimated at $11 billion over the next 18 months………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic banking group, has achieved highest net profit among Saudi banks. As of December 31 2011, the bank posted a net profit of 7,378 million riyals (RM5.95 billion), an increase of nine per cent from last year.
Its shareholders’ equity reached 33 billion riyals (RM26.61 billion), up 8.3 per cent from last year, while total assets increased 20 per cent to 185 billion riyals (RM149.17 billion) last year. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A long-awaited mega Islamic bank to be headquartered in Bahrain may be launched this year and $600 million of its $one billion capital will be contributed by Islamic banks in the Arab region, a senior banker has said.
The remaining capital will be subscribed by local sovereign wealth funds and other financial institutions and investors, said Adnan Youssef, chairman of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, the country’s oldest Islamic lender, may assume the listing status of its parent company BIMB Holdings Bhd, sources said. BIMB owns 51 per cent of Bank Islam, from which it derives the bulk of its earnings. “BIMB have been discussing the pros and cons of such a move. They may want to simplify the BIMB group structure,” one of the sources told Business Times.
Bank Islam accounts for some 85 per cent of BIMB’s profit before zakat and taxation (PBZT). The rest of the BIMB group’s earnings comes mainly from a listed Islamic insurance firm, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd (STMB), in which BIMB owns a 65.2 per cent stake………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Net profit at Chambank, one of three private Islamic banks in Syria and 32 percent owned by Commercial Bank of Kuwait, soared 553 percent last year, standing out among a string of strong earnings reports from the banking sector.
“A lot of the Syrian private banks held a lot of dollars and because of that this gave them a huge windfall. They took advantage and made exceptional profits,” said Talal Samhouri, a Jordan-based financial expert and asset manager………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain-based Seera Investment Bank has reported a net income before provisions of $73.4 million, thanks to the bank’s recent exit from one of its major investments last year.
Announcing the results on Tuesday, the Sharia-compliant bank said its net profit for the year stood at $61.4 million with a return on equity of around 20 per cent. This compares to a net profit of $7.2 million for 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwaitization at Warba Bank had crossed 62% in a very short span of time, said Anas Yousef Al Ateeqi, Chief Human Resources Officer at Warba Bank. Such percentage exceeds the level endorsed by the Central Bank, explained Al Ateeqi, which reflects Warba’s commitment to introduce local expertise and talents into the bank’s different segments.
“This should create significant support to the bank in the coming phase with hopes to achieve our aspirations in the near future.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Kuwait’s Burgan Bank has reached a deal to buy a 70 percent stake in Turkey’s Eurobank Tekfen, a partnership of Greece’s EFG Eurobank and Turkey’s Tekfen Holding, sources with knowledge of the deal said.
The stake sale comes as Greek banks, hit by the country’s sovereign debt crisis, look to boost their capital base to cope with a protracted recession and rise in non-performing loans………………………………………..Full Article: Source

More than two years after the Dubai debt crisis erupted, the restructuring of corporate debts remains in legal limbo as it is unclear how banks can get back their money from government-linked enterprises in the Gulf state.
The impasse, which is aggravated by deficient bankruptcy legislation, is finally pushing some banks to lose patience and consider legal action. But their tougher stance is being matched by a hardening of the government’s attitude to bailing out state-linked entities, raising the risk of further delays in completing these restructurings………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai’s Department of Finance raised $675 million from a dual-currency financing to complete phase 1 of the Al-Sufouh Tram project in the emirate.
The facility comprises a $401 million loan which will amortize over 10 years from 2015, the government’s Media Office said in an e-mailed statement today. The second portion is a six-year $274 million Islamic Ijara facility, split equally in dollars and dirhams, and amortizing over three years from 2015………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Despite a challenging market environment, Islamic finance made progress in 2011, supported by vigorous underlying trends. The industry saw growth in terms of volume, geographic reach and quality increase due to strong demographic growth and rise in the size of Islamic financial market, Bank Sarasin’s 2012 Islamic Wealth Management Report said.
In 2011, the sukuk market recovered from its 2008 shock, when many investors withdrew funds to invest in the developed world. A huge rise in yields rewarded the investor who was loyal to this market………………………………………..Full Article: Source