Allen & Overy has advised HSBC Saudi Arabia as arranger and dealer on the establishment of Saudi Arabia’s first domestic Sukuk programme. The SAR 2.3 billion programme was established by Almarai Company, one of the largest integrated consumer food producers in the Middle East. Allen & Overy also advised HSBC on the first offering under the programme, a seven-year SAR 1 billion Sukuk.
The Allen & Overy team in Riyadh was led by Riyadh-based managing partner Julian Johansen and senior associate Jonathan Ibraaheem Marshall………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai government-owned Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) has submitted a three-part refinancing plan to creditors as it looks for a way to repay a Dh7.5bn ($2.04bn) sukuk.
This follows the company in late February asking Citi on how best to meet the looming November maturity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia could see up to RM80 billion worth of corporate bonds issued this year, driven by key pump-priming projects like the MY Rapid Transit, says AmInvestment Group Bhd.
“We expect issuance to be on the high side, in the region of RM60 billion to RM80 billion. The bulk of it has already been issued with the PLUS (Project Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan) issue. Islamic bonds, or sukuk, could form a large part of the . PLUS issued a RM23.35 billion sukuk in January………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates NBD’s new $1 billion dollar bond sale reportedly received $3 billion in bids from investors on Thursday. Two weeks ago, the bank, the UAE biggest by assets, received overwhelming response to its yuan bond sale, the first by a Middle East bank.
In January this year, Emirates NBD’s Islamic subsidiary EIB sold a $500 million sukuk. The sukuks were priced to yield 350 basis points over the mid-swap rate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Yields on Dubai government’s dollar-denominated bonds dropped to record lows amid speculation state-owned companies will repay obligations this year.
Business park operator Jebel Ali Free Zone put forward a fundraising plan to help repay a Dh7.5 billion sukuk maturing in November, MEED reported on March 20. “News reports about DIFC and JAFZ working toward refinancing their maturing sukuk this year have improved sentiment for Dubai’s credit,” said Nick Stadtmiller, head of fixed-income research at Emirates NBD………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesian finance ministry plans to raise 1 trillion rupiah (some 109.9 million U.S.dollars) in Islamic bond auction on March 27, in an effort to develop market for the Islamic instrument, the ministry said. The proceeds would be used to help plug the country’s budget deficit this year.
Sales of Indonesia’s Islamic bond on March 14 was oversubscribed with the amount of funds raised exceeding target with the number of bid received reaching 5.284 trillion rupiah ( some 576.54 million dollars) and the number of approval at 1.66 trillion rupiah (about 181.11 million dollars), higher than the initial target of 1 trillion rupiah (equal with 109.10 million dollars)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Baraka Banking Group was the latest Bahrain-based financial institution to forecast an upturn in the economic climate. Speaking after the bank’s annual meeting at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence and Spa, bank president and chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said 2012 had started well.
“We have had a good first two months and it looks like 2012 will be a good year for the bank,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi-listed Finance House is to buy privately-owned investment bank CAPM Investment to expand into investment banking and asset management, three sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Under an agreement between the two parties, Finance House will acquire CAPM’s investment banking and asset management licence, offering a premium of between 5 to 10 percent to the value of those businesses, one of the sources said speaking on condition of anonymity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian banks, including Islamic banks, continued to show improvement in profitability last year, Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) latest annual report shows. Pre-tax profits increased by 14.2 per cent to RM26.2 billion. The growth rate was, however, slower than the previous year’s 35.1 per cent.
Return on equity - a measure of how well banks use shareholders’ money to generate more money - rose by 17.4 per cent compared with 16.6 per cent in the previous year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s Islamic banking and takaful is close to gaining a 20 per cent share in the total banking and insurance market in near future. Malaysia Takaful Association (MTA) said the takaful industry has been steadily closing ground over its conventional peers with strong growth from both the family and general segments.
Under the Financial Sector Masterplan (FSMP) for 2000- 2010, Bank Negara Malaysia had targeted the Islamic banking and takaful to reach a fifth of the total banking and insurance market in 2010. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The country’s Takaful industry must energize and solidify itself to be competitive, dynamic and resilient to withstand the challenges faced by globalization and liberalization of the financial market.
Takaful Malaysia Association (MTA) President Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said Malaysia can become a hub for the banking industry and Global Islamic Finance by stimulating the Takaful industry to be strong, sustainable and counter productive to withstand any financial crisis………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Germany’s Gothaer Insurance Group is in talks to buy a majority stake in Turkish insurer Isik Sigorta from Bank Asya, four sources close to the process told Reuters, as it seeks to tap a potential growth market.
Turkey’s Bank Asya, which offers banking services that comply with Islamic law, holds a 65.42 percent stake in Isik Sigorta, according to the insurer’s website. Other shareholders may also sell their stakes, the sources said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Arcapita Bank BSC, a manager of Islamic-compliant investments with $7 billion under management, was forced into bankruptcy by hedge funds that sought to be repaid in full, a lawyer for Arcapita said.
Restructuring talks on the company’s $1.1 billion loan due in March “were derailed when several hedge funds who bought that debt on the secondary market at a discount threatened an involuntary bankruptcy if they didn’t receive par” on their investments, attorney Michael Rosenthal told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in Manhattan………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahraini investment house Arcapita’s move to file for bankruptcy protection in the United States, while a milestone for debt restructuring in the Gulf, is unlikely to prompt other regional firms to follow suit.
Arcapita became the first Gulf Arab firm to file for Chapter 11 in the US on Monday, under pressure from hedge funds which demanded full repayment ahead of the maturity of a $1.1 billion Islamic finance facility on March 28………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia made further progress as it Islamic financial system transitions to become an international Islamic financial centre, recording commendable growth despite the volatile international financial markets and uncertainties clouding the global economy.
Total assets in the Islamic banking sector increased by 23.8% to RM434.6bil to account for 22.4% of total banking system assets as at end-2011. The volume of Islamic foreign currency business conducted by international Islamic banks and international currency business units within licensed Islamic banks has also increased substantially over the years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic finance industry is becoming one of the fastest growing components of the global financial system, with experts projecting growth rates of between 15 percent to 20 percent per annum.
The Middle East region, which has played a pivotal role in the development of the Islamic banking and finance industry internationally, is witnessing a rapid expansion in the market share of its Islamic financial institutions with billions of dollars moving from the conventional banking system to the Shariah model………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic finance industry is becoming one of the fastest growing components of the global financial system, with experts projecting growth rates of between 15 per cent and 20 per cent per annum.
The World Islamic Banking Report noted that Islamic banking assets in the Mena region increased to $416 billion in 2010, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate of 20 per cent compared to less than nine per cent for conventional banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp. plans to sell as much as $1 billion of the first global Shariah-compliant dollar bills by the middle of the year, according to Chairman Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
The Kuala Lumpur-based multinational agency postponed the offering last year as it awaited a credit rating, an issue that will be resolved at a meeting in the Middle East this month, Zeti, who is also governor of Malaysia’s central bank, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Growing trade in Islamic bonds in the Gulf region this year could be driven further by increased private sector interest in Sukuk on the back of strong activity by banks, the 51st ACI Financial Markets World Congress will be told in Dubai this weekend.
Nick Stadtmiller, Head of Fixed Income Research at Emirates NBD, said over $6 billion of Sukuk have been sold by GCC entities so far in 2012 compared to issuance of $7.3 billion for all in 2011, with the UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim Group paving the way for more private sector involvement in Islamic finance through its recent Sukuk sale………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jebel Ali Free Zone FZE, a business park operator in Dubai, put forward a fundraising plan to help repay a 7.5 billion-dirham ($2 billion) Islamic bond maturing in November, MEED reported, citing people it didn’t identify.
The state-controlled company proposed reducing debt by 700 million dirhams, raising a loan of about 4 billion dirhams and selling an Islamic bond or sukuk of about 2.4 billion dirhams, MEED reported on its website………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates NBD, the UAE’s biggest bank by assets, said that it has picked banks to arrange a new five-year dollar bond. The bank is reportedly planning a benchmark-sized deal, normally understood to be at least $500 million.
The bank said it had mandated Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC and NBAD, as joint lead managers and joint book runners for the US dollar Regulation S transaction. The bond would be issued under Emirates NBD’s $7.5 billion programme………………………………………..Full Article: Source

RAM Ratings has maintained the respective AA3 and A2 ratings of MRCB Southern Link Berhad’s RM845 million Secured Senior Sukuk and RM199 million Junior Sukuk . Meanwhile, the ratings of the Senior and Junior Sukuk continue to be on negative Rating Watch.
On 9 March 2012, the Prime Minister announced that motorists who do not use the Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway (”EDL”) will not be required to pay toll charges. The announcement differs from the terms of the concession agreement, under which all motorists (with the exception of motorcycles) that use the JB-Singapore Causeway must pay the EDL toll charges………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Following the conclusion of its Annual General Meeting (AGM), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced that the assembly has approved the distribution of a 12.5% cash dividend for the year 2011, with the concurrence of the Central Bank of the U.A.E.
During the AGM, the bank’s 2011 financial results were also approved. For the 12 months ending December 31, 2011, DIB reported a net profit of Dhs1.01bn. In addition, the assembly reviewed the Fatwa and Sharia Supervisory Board Report, and reappointed Deloitte as the bank’s external auditors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd expects its pre-tax profit for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2012 to be less robust compared to previously on the back of a challenging environment, its Managing Director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said.
He said the external environment was not favourable for growth as the European economy is still very fragile, while the United States remains uncertain, with the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC)expected to slow down………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME), the largest Islamic bank in Europe whose main shareholders are Boubyan Bank and the Public Institution for Social Security, has today announced it signed a £14 million leasing deal with Global Marine Systems Ltd., the largest independent provider of submarine cable installation, maintenance and engineering services worldwide.
Under the terms of the agreement, BLME will support Global Marine in the purchase and refit of an offshore power cable installation barge. Once completed, the barge will be uniquely suited for the installation of a full range of subsea power cables. The increased demand for this type of cable installation barge is directly tied to the growth of offshore electricity transmission being constructed to connect the off-shore wind farms now being built throughout the North Sea and surrounding waters. (Press Release)

Bank Nizwa, Oman’s first Islamic bank, yesterday announced that it has partnered with Kuwait-based Path Solutions, for the delivery and implementation of the bank’s core banking system.
Path Solutions is a market leader in Islamic banking software solutions and Bank Nizwa has chosen to implement its state-of-the-art banking system called iMal………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Symantec Corp. in collaboration with partner HelpAG today announced that Dubai Islamic Bank, the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, has deployed Symantec Data Loss Prevention to enhance its protection, discovery and management of confidential data.
The implementation resulted in Dubai Islamic Bank increasing the efficiency of its security controls, helped monitor and secure valuable data, reduce costs and enhance the banks overall compliance strategy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Singapore’s Islamic authorities have given Muslims more leeway in planning their personal finances. Muslims may now change the beneficiaries of their insurance policies. This is known as a revocable nomination under insurance laws.
In a new fatwa, or religious ruling, that takes effect on Thursday, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) says such nominations do not contradict Islamic principles………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company has announced the opening of its new branch in Dubai.
Conveniently located in Business Point Building in Port Saeed area, Al Ittihad Road, the new Deira branch is expected to welcome a significant number of customers and stakeholders who will enjoy a wide range of Takaful services and products………………………………………..Full Article: Source

For the insurance industry, a number of planned enhancements to the Risk-Based Capital Framework (RBC framework) were completed in 2011.
This included the necessary changes to converge the valuation rules for financial instruments under the RBC framework with the Financial Reporting Standards 139………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic finance industry is becoming one of the fastest growing components of the global financial system, with experts projecting growth rates of between 15% to 20% per annum.
The Middle East region, which has played a pivotal role in the development of the Islamic banking and finance industry internationally, is witnessing a rapid expansion in the market share of its Islamic financial institutions with billions of dollars moving from the conventional banking system to the Shari’ah model………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesia’s Shariah-compliant insurance assets increased by 32 percent to 9.2 trillion rupiah ($1 billion) in 2011 from a year earlier, according to data from the Capital Market and Financial Supervisory Agency.
Islamic insurance, or takaful, has grown by 50 percent on average in the last five years, the agency said. Malaysian insurers Mayban Ageas and Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd. plan to expand in Indonesia to take advantage of the growth rate, the companies told Bloomberg this month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Acritical issue involving Islamic funds is that they are established with domestic investors in mind and are not sellable globally, thus limiting the investor base.
Their success is generally assessed on an individual market basis as they are more popular than conventional funds in markets with large Islamic populations such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sudan aims to raise $1 billion to $1.5 billion this year with Islamic “sukuk” bonds that offer stakes in an oil pipeline, a move the African country hopes will draw more Gulf Arab investment to its debt market, a senior official said.
Sudan Financial Services Company, which issues Islamic bonds on behalf of the government, wants to offer the dollar-denominated sukuk within two months, General Manager Azhari Eltayeb Elfaki told Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) has proposed a three-part refinancing plan to creditors for its $2.04 billion Islamic bond which matures in November, a report said on Tuesday.
The state-linked industrial free zone held a meeting with bankers in Dubai this week, Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) said quoting unidentified sources present at the meeting………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, plans to sell 50 billion rials ($232 million) of Islamic bonds early April to finance government projects, central bank Governor Mohamed Awad Bin Humam said.
The Central Bank plans to target Islamic lenders in the country, and may offer a profit rate of “little less” than 20 per cent, Bin Humam said from the capital Sana’a. Islamic bonds pay profit rates to adhere to the religion’s ban on interest………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dana Gas, which has US$1bn in Islamic bonds maturing in October, said money owed by customers almost doubled last year. Total trade and other receivables climbed to US$501m from US$255m in 2010, the Sharjah, UAE- based company said in its consolidated financial statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse.
Dana Gas said US$212m of the total was owed for more than four months………………………………………..Full Article: Source

According to Khalid Bin Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Investments, the company is exploring the option of Sukuk, and is negotiating with investors and financial institutions.
Emirates Float Glass (EFG) factory, a subsidiary of Glass, which is wholly-owned by Dubai Investments, was inaugurated on 19 March, and it aims to add a second phase to the Mussafah manufacturing unit. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The government has collected Rp 13.6 trillion (US$1.49 billion) in an Islamic debt-paper (sukuk) issuance, the highest amount since it was introduced in 2008, after seeing strong demand from local individual investors.
“During the offer period, investors ordered Rp 19 trillion, but we could only provide Rp 13.6 trillion, which is the upper limit of all previous Islamic retail bonds,” Rahmat Waluyanto, the Finance Ministry’s director general for debt management, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has assigned Saudi Electricity Company’s (SEC) upcoming international debut Sukuk issue an expected ‘AA-(EXP)’ rating. The rating is in line with SEC’s ‘AA-’ Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating and SEC’s 2010, 2009 and 2007 domestic Sukuks’ ratings.
The final rating is contingent upon the receipt of final documentation conforming materially to information already received and details regarding the Sukuk amount………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 170 per cent.
Subscriptions worth BHD 34 million were received for the BHD 20 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days. The expected return on the issue, which begins on 22 March 2012 and matures on 20 September 2012, is 1.34 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Commodities trading group Noble is looking to diversify its funding sources to the ringgit market, more specifically into Islamic financing.
The Singapore-listed company has set up a M$3bn (US$981.7m) multi-currency sukuk Murabahah programme valid for 20 years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The federal government has cut struggling Islamic lender Amlak’s debt burden by $1.1bn, the UAE economy minister said yesterday, in the latest effort to revive the Dubai mortgage provider whose stock has been halted since 2008.
The move could give Dubai’s battered property sector a boost as the federal government helps clean up the damage from Dubai’s 2009 real estate bust. Amlak, which is 45%-owned by Dubai’s largest real estate firm Emaar Properties, was one of the highest profile victims of Dubai’s construction boom which abruptly ended after the global financial crisis in 2008………………………………………..Full Article: Source

BankMuscat, the flagship financial institution in the Sultanate of Oman, has assigned RO 150 million of capital for its proposed Meethaq Islamic banking window.
The final allocation will be determined by business opportunities in the market and the Board has indicated that the assigned amount may increase if required. The capital allocation will be subject to necessary regulatory approvals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jawad Mohammed has received the distinction of becoming the highest scoring candidate in the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ).
Jawad, a bank analyst with the Central Bank of Bahrain, achieved this award from a cohort of over 350 candidates worldwide with an exceptional exam score of 96% - one of the highest results in any exam in the history of the Institute………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The government committee overseeing the overhaul of Amlak Finance has cut the company’s debt by Dh4 billion (US$1.08bn) as attempts to clean up the after-effects of Dubai’s debt crisis proceed.
The committee had succeeded in lowering the Islamic mortgage company’s total debt “in coordination with the federal Government and the local parties concerned”, said Sultan Al Mansouri, the Minister of Economy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Tunisia will opt for a simple decree amendment limited to sukuk issuance before working on a global structure for Islamic finance, according to local lawyers.
A finance ministry official announced the creation of the Tunisian government’s latest pro-Islamic finance initiative last week………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Muslim nations are “laughing” at European efforts to grapple with a debilitating debt crisis in Greece, which has serious ramifications for the world’s biggest open market, the head of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) has said.
Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam spoke to AFP in Brussels as European Union plans for a backstop bailout enabling Athens to refinance tens of billions of dollars of debt repayments and budget commitments were being thrashed out among eurozone officials………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bangladesh Bank Governor called upon the Islamic banks and the Islamic windows of conventional banks in the country to pursue vigorous promotion of Islamic micro and SME finance to attain faster poverty eradication with deeper, wider financial inclusion.
While entering into partnering engagements with Islamic MFIs (Microfinance institutions) and area agents in off-branch locations, they need to exercise utmost care in steering clear of the money laundering, hundi, terrorist financing — influences that may be active in different regions of the country, Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Dr Atiur Rahman said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Arcapita Bank BSC, a manager of Islamic-compliant investments with $7 billion under management, filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. after failing to reach an agreement with creditors.
Arcapita, formerly known as First Islamic Investment Bank, and five affiliates sought Chapter 11 protection today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, listing assets of $3.06 billion and liabilities of $2.55 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source