From Thejakartapost.com: The fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) opening in Jakarta on Monday is indeed a great opportunity to convince investors and sovereign funds from the Middle East that Indonesia is quite an attractive place for both direct and portfolio investments, after the crumbling of the financial markets in the developed world.

The enactment last year of the laws on sukuk (Islamic bonds) and sharia banking is strengthening the legal foundation for Islamic financial services….. Full Article: Source

From Rferl.org: Political and business leaders at the World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta this week have been praising the prudence of Islamic financial institutions.

They say Islamic banks have not been hit by the global financial crisis as hard as their Western counterparts because they refrained from investing in toxic assets that were deemed “un-Islamic.”…. Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is finalizing new tax laws which would facilitate the introduction of Islamic finance.
Professor KC Chan, the Secretary for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Hong Kong Government, confirmed the plans in his keynote speech at the inaugural Asia Sukuk Summit held on the 18-19 February. He said, “These measures seek to address disadvantageous treatments on the issuance and transactions of Sukuk vis-à-vis conventional bonds….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: The Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE) said on Tuesday it is considering setting up an index of sharia compliant stocks to compete with the likes of Malaysia in capturing a slice of the Islamic investment market.

“We plan to look into it … to see whether there is potential. Other exchanges in the Asian region are doing it so we might be left behind. We have to study it carefully,” PSE President Francisco Lim told Reuters….. Full Article: Source

From Thejakartapost.com: As the Fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) officially opened Monday, participating nations geared up to promote their lagging Islamic finance system amid the ongoing crisis in the “conventional” system.

Malaysia Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said as the conventional financing system continued to collapse, having a serious impact on the global economy, it was high time for the Muslim world to turn the “adversity into an opportunity”….. Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: A popular but disputed Islamic banking contract will eventually fall out of favour as financial markets strive for wider acceptance, syariah scholars said yesterday.

The bai bithaman ajil or deferred payment sale contract is the mainstay of Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry. But it is viewed with suspicion in the Middle East where some scholars say it is nothing more than an interest-based loan….. Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: The $1.62 billion rights issue of up to 2.212 billion shares is aimed at strengthening Maybank’s Tier-I capital to 11 per cent from 8.1 per cent. The 9-for-20 rights issue is likely to be priced at a 30-40 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights share price. The issue was announced on 27 February.

The following trading day, 2 March 2009, Maybank shares touched a new low for the year, just above last October’s low point , which was the lowest level since April 1999….. Full Article: Source

From Menafn.com: A record number of industry leaders have already confirmed their partnership with The 4th Annual World Takaful Conference (WTC 2009), testimony of the overall significance of the forum in shaping the future of the global Takaful industry.

The 4th Annual World Takaful Conference (WTC 2009), the world’s largest gathering of Islamic insurance leaders, builds on 4 years of successfully meeting industry needs….. Full Article: Source

From Forexpros.com: Corporate issuers are eager to return to the Islamic bond market but a lack of secondary trading could distort the pricing of an estimated $45 billion worth of sukuk in the pipeline and deter future issuance.

The credit crunch and growing prospects of a global recession have virtually frozen sukuk markets worldwide, and the issue of distorted pricing could exacerbate issuers’ reluctance to return to the markets, threatening a crucial source of funding for companies and governments….. Full Article: Source

From Cri.cn: The 5th World Islamic Economic Forum issued the Jakarta Declaration after concluding its session in Jakarta on Tuesday evening.

“We recognized that the recovery from the unprecedented current economic crisis, which has affected all nations, will require a concerted global effort through greater inter-governmental and public-private collaboration,” said the declaration….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Malaysian national mortgage firm Cagamas Bhd has sold 75 million ringgit ($20.23 million) of Islamic medium term notes to fund the purchase of sharia housing loans, the company said.

With this issue, the amount of Cagamas debt securities outstanding in the market totals 20.6 billion ringgit, Cagamas said in a statement….. Full Article: Source

From Bernama: The global financial crisis calls for more concerted efforts to bring Islamic finance to a higher level of resilience, Bank Negara Malaysia’s governor Tan Sri Dr Akhtar Aziz said today.

“Of importance, in this process, is to embrace the values of Islamic finance of justice and fairness that benefits the society and the system,” Zeti said at the launch of Public Islamic Bank Bhd here….. Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Pakistan’s central bank has set a target of 10 billion rupees ($125 million) for a three-year Islamic bond, the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement on Tuesday.

Bids for the bond, called the Government of Pakistan Ijara Sukuk can be tendered from 11:15 a.m (0615 GMT) on Tuesday and the tender will be opened at 11:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on Wednesday….. Full Article: Source

From Menareport.com: Doha bank continued its record of success by producing the best financial performance ratios and the highest organizational and service levels yet again in 2008.

Locally, four new branches have been inaugurated in 2008 taking the total number of branches operating in Qatar to 33 including 5 Islamic branches. The bank also has 11 e-branches, 12 pay offices, 3 mobile branches and 109 ATMs around the State of Qatar….. Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Zainudin Ishak has been appointed the new executive director and chief executive officer of HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

In a statement today, HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd said, Zainudin had 19 years of hands-on experience in managing a conventional and Islamic insurance company….. Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Kuwait’s troubled Global Investment House plans to shut some branches abroad and scale back investments as it faces the global economic downturn, its managing director said.

‘It’s not the time to have branches in 16 countries. We will try to reduce our operations. Some branches which in our view are not strategic today will be closed,’ Maha Al-Ghunaim told CNBC Arabia television in an interview aired on Tuesday….. Full Article: Source

From Iflr.com: Companies in the Gulf have unique challenges in liability management and nowhere near enough short-term Islamic instruments, reveals a Congress in Doha. As companies everywhere struggle to refinance their bonds, Islamic issuers are finding they have peculiar advantages and disadvantages.

The spread on bonds in the Gulf has widened dramatically in the past six months. The swap margin on DP World’s 10-year bond from 2007, for example, has widened from 250 basis points to over 900. It was issued at 100 basis points. …. Full Article: Source

From Minivannews.com: Islamic banking is a system of banking that is compatible with Sharia or Islamic law. As Islam prohibits riba or usury as well as investing in businesses that are haram or forbidden in Islam, such as those relating to the consumption of alcohol or pork, Islamic banking circumvents these proscriptions.

Above all, it is centred on the belief that money has no intrinsic value and, profit and loss must be shared between the bank and the client….. Full Article: Source