From FT: Muslim presidents, prime ministers and princes on Monday called on the world to adopt Islamic financial practices to overcome the global crisis and urged Islamic banks to undertake “missionary work” in the west to promote shariah banking.

Almost every speaker at the opening of the fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Jakarta lambasted the excesses of “irresponsible, unregulated western financial markets” for triggering the crisis, and touted shariah banking as a framework for a more stable global financial system….. Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: NASDAQ Dubai yesterday launched the region’s first Sharia-compliant tradable security backed by gold to satisfy a growing demand for the precious metal as a safe haven in the global recession.

The product, which trades in the same way as an equity share and tracks the price of gold, is aimed at the region’s high-net-worth individuals who are looking to diversify their portfolio, while conforming with Islamic investment principles….. Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: Now is the time for Muslim countries to take advantage of the current global economic woes and turn the crisis into an opportunity by capitalising on Islamic fi­­nance, the Prime Minister said.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi blamed “unbridled greed in a financial system with no accountability on money lending” for the collapse of the conventional financial system which caused serious implications in the global economy….. Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: The country’s Islamic banking system continued to expand last year where assets, deposits and financing recorded annual increase of 23 percent, 26.9 percent and 22.5 percent respectively.

Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said total Islamic banking assets as of to date stood at RM192.8 billion, deposits RM154.6 billion and financing RM104.6 billion….. Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: A top official has predicted that the UAE’s economic growth will pick up next year and investments will remain strong.

Salah Bin Omair Al Shamsi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said even as the global financial turmoil deepens in the coming year, Abu Dhabi will able to maintain its economic growth….. Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Standard Chartered Bank’s global Islamic banking business brand Saadiq was launched in Bahrain yesterday. “Standard Chartered has a reputation for innovation in Islamic banking,” said Standard Chartered Middle East and North Africa regional chief executive officer and Islamic Banking Board chairman Shayne Nelson.

“With more than 150 years of international financial expertise and a true global network, we are able to scale our product capabilities across geographies and comply with worldwide Sharia principles.”…. Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: AmIslamic Fund Management Sdn Bhd, a new unit under the AmInvestment Bank Group, expects its Islamic assets to more than double over the next two years.

AmInvestment Bank group chief executive officer for the Funds Management Division Datin Maznah Mahbob said, the Islamic assets under management were close to RM1 billion at present….. Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Muslim nations need to forge closer ties to meet challenges posed by the global financial crisis, Indonesia’s president said Monday at the opening of the annual World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proposed creating a Muslim support fund, noting that Islamic nations account for nearly half of the 50 least-developed and heavily indebted countries in the world….. Full Article: Source

From Thejakartaglobe.com: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi claimed on Monday that “unbridled greed” in the conventional financial system was the root cause of the current global economic crisis and that a proposed Islamic financial system was an alternative to a failed Wall Street model.

“It is obvious that the conventional financial system has collapsed … Through lack of choice, we have inherited a system where people can trade what they do not own….. Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) yesterday announced that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al Salam Islamic securities has been over subscribed by 300 per cent.

Subscriptions worth BD18 million were received for the BD6m issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: The Islamic Development Bank aims to increase its lending this year by 15 percent from $4.5 billion in 2008, helped by raising funds from a planned sharia-compliant bond, its president said on Monday.

“This year, actually, our plan is to increase (lending) 15 percent but probably it depends on our ability for mobilisation of resources, as you know the market is not clear,” Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of the IDB, told reporters….. Full Article: Source

From Alibaba.com: Indonesia, which just sold $3 billion of global bonds, may raise a further $500 million from a Samurai bond soon and issue a global sharia-compliant bond this year, an official said on Friday, to fund its budget deficit.

With elections this year and economic growth under pressure from the global slowdown, Indonesia has said it will spend 73.3 trillion rupiah ($6.11 billion) on a fiscal stimulus package that includes infrastructure projects and tax measures….. Full Article: Source

From Cri.cn: Indonesia is expected to become a major Shariah financial center in near future, said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the opening of the 5th World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta on Monday.

“As the country with the world’s largest Muslims, blessed with dynamic economic potentials, we envision Indonesia to become a major Shariah financial center in the near future,” he said, adding that he invited all participants to come and invest in this prospective sector….. Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd remains on track to achieve the remaining goals of its transformation programme after posting “satisfactory” half-year results, said managing director Datuk Zukri Samat.

Including provisions, the Islamic banking group posted a group profit before zakat and tax of RM104.7 mil for the half year ended December 2008….. Full Article: Source

From The Islamic Finance and Banking: The industry saw strong growth in 2007 despite the start of the subprime crisis and was still expanding fast until the summer last year, when the credit crunch began to take its toll.

“This year the syariah banks are going to be exposed to the crisis the entire year. Those who survive this year will come out as winners, but others, especially the smaller banks, could merge, be taken over, or simply disappear,” BMB Islamic UK Ltd chief executive officer Dr Humayon Dar said in a media interview in Kuala Lumpur yesterday….. Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Universal harmonisation of sharia interpretation is possible although market demands require the use of debatable structures for now, the Islamic Bank of Thailand said on Monday.

Islam, which is the basis of sharia finance, has different schools of thought, leaving religious scholars divided on the validity of certain contracts and resulting in a fragmented industry….. Full Article: Source