From Yalibnan.com: The rise of Islamic Banking over the past 40 years into an institutional financial structure spread over the globe has been a phenomenon that has attracted lots of interest. As is often the case whenever a new idea arises its rise is associated with many falsehoods, half truths and unfulfilled promises.

The whole concept of Islamic Banking rests on 4 Qoranic verses that speak against Ribaa
http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2008/12/islamic_banking.php” target=”_blank”>Source

From Bernama.com: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Malaysia) Bhd (BTMU) has embarked on an initiative to take a leadership role in promoting Islamic financing to its clientele across the globe.

It aims to not only attract such transactions to Malaysia but also to pro-actively participate in the transactions originating from the Middle East and other region….. Full Article: Source

From Sukuk.net: BNP Paribas and Natixis Transport Finance as Lead Arrangers, Global Coordinators and Book Runners have closed for AirAsia, a US$336 million Syariah-compliant French Single Investor Ijarah, for the financing of up to eight Airbus 320-200 aircraft.

This is the first Islamic French-Malaysian optimised transaction of this kind, BNP Paribas, Natixis and AirAsia said in a joint statement….. Full Article: Source

From Dailytimes.com: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued 730 licenses to commercial banks to open new branches/sub-branches in calendar year 2008 under its Branch Licensing Policy (BLP). This is the highest ever number of licenses given by the State Bank in any year, a statement released by SBP said.

In 2007, the State Bank issued a total of 474 branch licenses. As of December 16, 2008 the total number of bank branches operating in the country was 8,886….. Full Article: Source

From AME Info: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities has been over subscribed by 325 %.

Subscriptions worth BD19.5m were received for the BD6m issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days….. Full Article: Source

From FT: In a dire year for mutual funds, the Amana Trust Income Fund, the main Muslim investment fund, has trumped those from all other faiths in the US by losing only 25.8 per cent of its value for the year – half the average 44 per cent loss for US stock funds.

The two Amana funds, which invest according to Islamic principles, are seeing such strong inflows that they are having difficulty finding enough stocks to buy….. Full Article: Source

From Iflr.com: Partly fuelled by a flood of petrodollars resulting from the record high of global oil prices, the demand for international Islamic financial assets has increased rapidly during the last few years.

Sukuk has developed as one of the most significant mechanisms for raising finance in the international capital markets through halal (Islamically acceptable) structures. As an alternative to conventional bonds, multinational companies, as well as governments, use international sukuk issuance whenever they wish to borrow money from financial markets….. Full Article: Source

From Thejakartaglobe.com: The Shariah banking sector is asking Bank Indonesia, the central bank, to relax regulations in anticipation of tight liquidity in 2009 resulting from the global economic turmoil.

“In a situation like this, the funds in savings accounts and time deposits can dissipate very rapidly, so we need to have extra liquidity reserves,” Benny Witjaksono, president director of PT Bank Mega Syariah, said on Friday….. Full Article: Source

From Rehmaninstitute.wordpress.com: Earlier this month, the Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) was performed by around 3 million pilgrims. The Hajj — an Abrahamic tradition dating back to the pre-Islamic era– has been a cornerstone of the Gulf economy since ancient times. The “Hajj economy” has shaped the development of the Gulf throughout history.

While the direct economic impact of the Hajj is easily observable, the strategic implications for GCC — and particualrly Saudi — competitiveness is more subtle….. Full Article: Source

From Sukuk.net: India-based Reliance Asset Management and Kuwait-based Global Investment House join three other international Islamic fund managers already licensed by the Securities Commission.

Malaysia’s Securities Commission has allowed two more financial institutions to set up Islamic fund management operations in the country, as Malaysia aims to serve as a global hub for Islamic investments….. Full Article: Source

From AME Info: Shamil Bank, a leading Bahrain-based Islamic commercial and investment bank and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ithmaar Bank, has appointed Krishnan Hariharan as the bank’s new Senior Manager, Risk Management.

In his new role, Hariharan will report directly to Shamil Bank Chief Executive Faisal Alalwan. Hariharan comes to Shamil Bank with more than 24 years of experience in the banking and finance industry in the sub-continent and the GCC regions….. Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic banking division of the UK’s HSBC Group, complete with its new brand logo “Islamic Finance for Life,” recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary in the plush surroundings of the ballroom of the London Hilton Hotel in Park Lane.

Despite the doom and gloom of the credit crunch and the global financial crisis and recession, Zed Cama, the CEO of HSBC International Banking Group, reaffirmed the global banking major’s commitment to Islamic finance and its development for the next decade. Saudi Arabia and Malaysia are the two biggest markets for HSBC Amanah….. Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Qatar Islamic Bank has decided to issue new shares worth 3.8 billion riyals ($1.04 billion) to the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund.

Qatar Islamic shareholders approved a proposal to issue about 39.38 million new shares at their Oct. 12 closing price of 97 riyals to the Qatar Investment Authority, Gulf Times reported after a shareholder meeting….. Full Article: Source

Most recently, alburaq, the UK’s most innovative Islamic ‘mortgage’ provider, has responded to interest-rate cuts by improving its range of Shari’ah-compliant Home Purchase Plans.

‘Our new product range means our new customers now have products priced from the equivalent of 5.49% on their home finance,’ explains Keith Leach, Head of alburaq. He continues: ‘The new year could bring even lower rates for our customers. If rates continue to fall as predicted, from March 09 many of our customers could be paying a rate equivalent to 4.5% or less….. Full Press Release: Source

From Aawsat.com: The Board of Directors of the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF) has approved allocation of $ 72.2 million for five member states, namely Bangladesh, Indonesia, Burkina Faso, Jordan and Chad.

The Board of Directors, which has recently held its meeting under the chairmanship of Dr Ahmad Mohammed Ali, the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), reviewed the ISF’s activities and future plans….. Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: AmBank (M) Bhd hopes to grow its deposit base with the launch of three products – Family First, AmStar Extreme and “auto pay-win”. Head of retail distribution Brad Gravell said the bank was currently putting up an integrated strategy to promote its new deposit products.

This is to position itself as one of the top three banks for the current account segment in the next 12 months from sixth now….. Full Article: Source

From Aboobarza.wordpress.com: Last October, Hong Kong Chief Executive, Donald Tsang, announced the island’s financial hub would establish itself as an Islamic finance centre.

Last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) underlined that, despite the global financial crisis, the plan was still much on track and “considerable resources” would be devoted….. Full Article: Source