Bahrain’s Capivest BSC, Elaf Bank BSC and Capital Management House BSC will hold shareholder meetings this month to vote on a merger of the three Islamic financial institutions, the transaction adviser said.
The merger, expected to be completed in the second half of 2012, will create an institution with a shareholders’ equity of almost $350 million and assets of more than $400 million, Kuwait Finance House (KFIN) Bahrain BSC said in an e-mailed statement today. The new company will have a “more competitive” edge, the statement said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sadara, the $20 billion petrochemical joint venture between oil giant Saudi Aramco SDABO.UL and Dow Chemical, picked four banks to manage the Islamic bond, or sukuk, portion of its multi-billion dollar fundraising, three sources said on Tuesday.
Deutsche Bank, Riyad Bank 1010.SE, Alinma Bank 1150.SE and Bank Al Bilad 1140.SE have been mandated for the deal, likely to be denominated in riyals, which will be only the second project finance sukuk ever to be raised in Saudi Arabia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia Airlines said yesterday its 2.5 billion ringgit ($785 million) Islamic bond has been fully sold, allowing it to tap a new source of funds as it tries to recover from losses. Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said Retirement Fund Inc, which is a Malaysian state pension fund, has bought 1 billion ringgit ($314 million) of the bonds.
The airline, which suffered a hefty 2.52 billion ringgit ($791 million) loss last year, has said it aims to return to the black by 2014. Ahmad Jauhari said the Islamic bond, also known as a sukuk, would help the company shore up its capital while implementing a recovery plan………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has found enough takers for its RM2.5bil 10-year perpetual junior sukuk of which the first tranche of RM1bil bonds had been fully-subscribed by Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP).
With the first tranche of the funding in place and MAS having received firm commitments for the remaining RM1.5bil issue, the next big step for the airline is to unveil its business plan, and that according to MAS group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya would be announced on June 21, the same day as the airline’s AGM………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian Airline System Bhd. said Tuesday its 2.5 billion ringgit ($800 million) perpetual Islamic bond issue has been fully subscribed, with state-run Retirement Fund Inc. pledging to buy MYR1 billion of the bonds.
Other investors, whom the company didn’t name, have committed to subscribe to the remaining MYR1.5 billion, Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) today issued RM2.5 billion Perpetual Junior Sukuk Programme, and the first tranche of RM1.0 billion was fully subscribed by Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP)
The sukuk, which was the first pillar of the airlines’ funding plan to shore up its capital base, was arranged by Maybank Investment Bank Bhd……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Development Bank of Kazakhstan is bidding to become the first issuer from mostly Muslim Kazakhstan to sell bonds in Malaysia, the world’s leading market for Islamic debt.
State-owned DBK is meeting investors in Kuala Lumpur ahead of a potential sale of sukuk, or Islamic bonds. The move comes after years of speculation about a potential sovereign-linked Kazakh issue in the ringgit market, and also underlines Malaysia’s growing appeal as an alternative international funding market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), a state-owned industrial park, plan issued a $650-million, seven-year Islamic bond on Tuesday to help refinance an upcoming maturity and has set initial price guidance for the deal, arranging banks said.
Profit rate guidance for the sukuk is indicated at between 7 and 7.25 percent and the new issue had attracted orders of about $1.75 billion at 1200 GMT (4pm UAE time) on Tuesday, according to an update from lead arrangers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesia’s government raised 800 billion rupiah ($85.06 million) of project-based sukuk in an auction on Wednesday, slightly below its target, the finance ministry said.
The six-year project-based sukuk was at a yield of 5.92188 percent, down from 6.14266 percent in an auction last month, belying a recent trend of rising yields in government debt auctions amid global investor nerves over risky assets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An article in Bloomberg discussed the prospects for Afghanistan to issue a sukuk to fund its budget deficit when international troops in the country leave (along with a lot of aid that accompanies them) in 2014. I have offered a skeptical comment to an earlier Bloomberg article that reported about a proposal to allow Islamic banking in Afghanistan.
A sukuk provides a different set of opportunities and challenges from Islamic banking. It is easier in many ways to issue a sovereign sukuk than it would be to develop a prudently regulated Islamic banking system, because the investors would demand a higher return (whether sukuk or conventional bond) based on the ability to get recourse in case the government defaults in the future………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic investors, some of which have attracted controversy for snapping up swathes of farmland abroad, are turning to the likes of logistical and silo efficiency to ease food shortages through a $600m fund.
The Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) on Tuesday launched a food and agribusiness fund in which it said it was already “receiving strong interest from several target investors”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, a member of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank group, started a $600 million agriculture and farm fund to promote investments in Muslim nations.
The fund is a partnership between the Islamic Cooperation and a management team advised by Dutch Rabobank Group’s unit Robeco, the Islamic financial institution said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The World Bank is hoping to raise a $500 million fund to invest in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), saying that the region’s needs in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings are more than it can manage itself.
International Finance Corp, a unit of the World Bank, is setting up the fund in addition to the $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion it expects to invest in the region over the next year, aiming to take advantage of a surge in investment opportunities since the Arab Spring, its regional director said. The IFC, along with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said in April that it plans to invest up to $100 million on major infrastructure projects across the Middle East and North Africa. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has started organising specialised training programme for its officers ahead of the launch of Islamic financial services in the Sultanate.
Leading consultancy Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services (IFAAS) has been roped in by the central bank to design and deliver the course to these officers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Bank of Oman (NBO) said its shareholders have approved a board proposal to start Islamic banking window operations, as the Sultanate’s lenders seek to benefit from services that comply with Islamic laws.
The shareholders also approved increasing capital to RO200 million from RO160 million, the bank said in a statement to the Muscat bourse yesterday. The paid up capital of the Bank shall be RO110.8 million, divided into 1,108,025,000 shares of RO0.100 each………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) signed a four-year licensing agreement with Sedania Corp Sdn Bhd’s unit IDOTTV, to use the latter’s Islamic banking platform to promote its personal financing-i scheme.
IDOTTV is the developer of the Islamic banking Tawarruq trading system As-Sidq, a system which uses telecommunication airtime as the commodity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) has signed a cooperation agreement with the University Dental Hospital Sharjah (UDHS) to offer financing packages to patients, making it possible to pay treatment fees to the UDHS in convenient installments.
The signing ceremony was attended by HE Mohammed Abdullah, CEO of Sharjah Islamic Bank and HE Dr Sami Mahmoud, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, who signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations in presence of a number of senior officials from both sides. (Press Release)

Non-Muslims in South Africa are turning to Islamic finance to guarantee investing their money in fields that are not negative for society, such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling.
“Many non-Muslims choose Islamic banking products because they like knowing that their funds will never be invested in industries that are potentially negative for society, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling and pornography,” Arrie Rautenbach, head of retail markets at Absa bank,said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The global Family Takaful gross contributions in 2012 are estimated to be $1.7 billion, accounting for 20% of the total global Takaful gross written premiums and the Family Takaful market is set to reach $4.3billion in the next five years, according to an expert.
“The tremendous growth in the family Takaful segment, especially in Malaysia, outpaces that witnessed by both general Takaful and the conventional life insurance market. Between 2007 and 2011, net contribution for Family Takaful increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 20%, outpacing general Takaful business………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Bhd (HLM Takaful) expects its new medical rider called “Medic Pro” to attract new business premiums of RM5 million in the next financial year ending June 30 2013.
HLM Takaful CEO Mohd Fauzi Yaakub said Medic Pro was strategically designed to offer customers hassle-free hospital admission service………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic Banking and Finance Malaysia (IBFIM) has inked an agreement for the computerised Takaful Basic Exam (TBE) IT infrastructure development and implementation with Open University Malaysia (OUM).
IBFIM’s Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Adnan Alias said the university would offer its IT expertise to meet the Takaful industry’s needs………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Brunei should consider tapping into the international Takaful market by providing incentives for multinations to settle in the country and further develop the Sultanate’s Takaful infrastructure and necessary expertise.
The director of Minarah MultiConsulting Ltd said that there are over 700 million Muslims in the far east to cater, providing a great opportunity for Brunei’s Takaful industry………………………………………..Full Article: Source