From Gulf-times.com: Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB), a new fully Shariah-compliant investment bank, was formally launched at a ceremony attended by a galaxy of dignitaries including former US president Bill Clinton at the Museum of Islamic Art last night.

QFIB is the first independent Islamic investment bank to be licensed by the Qatar Financial Centre. It has an authorised capital of QR3.6bn and aims to become one of the leading financial institutions in Islamic investment banking in Qatar and the GCC by adopting a unique business model…..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Investment banks have “tremendous opportunities in the changing global economic situation because of the realistic value of assets”, said Mike de Graffenried, chief executive officer of Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB).
“There are challenges, but with a prudent investment strategy and careful planning we can capitalise on the opportunities in Qatar and the GCC,” Graffenried told Gulf Times yesterday…..Full Article: Source

From IHT: Kuwait’s Cabinet wants to pass its $5.15 billion stimulus bill as an emergency decree, bypassing parliament, the finance minister said Tuesday, as the oil-rich country’s economy stumbles amid the global economic crisis.

Mostafa al-Shimali told Alrai daily that the worldwide crisis was affecting everybody, and the “economic situation as well as public opinion” were pushing for quick action…..Full Article: Source

From Xinhua: Kuwaiti investment companies have lost 9.2 billion Kuwaiti dinars (32 billion U.S. dollars) from the start of the global financial crisis last August to the end of this January, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Tuesday quoted official data as saying.

The figures published by the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) said overall capital of conventional and Islamic companies at the end of January stood at 20.8 billion dinars, compared to 30 billion dinars in July. ….Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU is considering raising 3 billion dirhams ($817 million) in fresh capital and converting emergency government deposits into regulatory capital as Gulf banks brace for an economic slowdown.

The bank’s board of directors would discuss the two measures on March 25, the bank said on Tuesday in a statement on the bourse website…..Full Article: Source

From Forbes.com: Bahrain is finalising a $500 million Islamic bond, the central bank governor said on Tuesday, as the Gulf Arab state seeks to raise money to offset lower oil revenues.
Rasheed al-Maraj did not give details about the sovereign bonds in his remarks to reporters, but a source familiar with the matter said the issue was aimed at covering part of the Gulf Arab oil-producer’s expenditures because a fall in crude oil prices have hit its budget…..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Ahli United Bank, Bahrain’s largest bank by market value, said on Tuesday that it was eyeing acquisitions outside the Gulf but would hold off from doing any deals until markets settle.

‘To be realistic in the current environment, we have to wait until the dust settles down on the banking scene. Until we better understand the economic valuations of our targets,’ Ahli’s chief executive Adel al-Labban told reporters at a banking conference…..Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Bahrain-based lenders Al Salam Bank and Bahrain Saudi Bank said on Monday that their planned merger, which would create a bank with combined market value of $400 million (Dh1.569 million), is on track.

Al Salam and Bahrain Saudi Bank said yesterday in a joint statement posted on the Bahrain stock exchange that the due diligence and evaluation is expected to be completed in the coming weeks…..Full Article: Source

From Khaleejtimes.com: Urgent action is needed to shore up Dubai World’s Nakheel, developer of the emirate’s signature palm-shaped islands, and Dubai Holding, an investor in Sony of Japan and Europe’s EADS aerospace group, Dubai’s finance chief said on Tuesday.

However, Emaar Properties, the largest real estate developer in the UAE, is not asking for emergency financial support because “it believes it can handle” the crisis, Nasser Al Shaikh, Director-General of the Department of Finance, said in an interview…..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: With the global economy slowing down, ADIH is planning to capitalise on the opportunities in distressed assets. This could be the first distressed assets fund from the Middle East. The Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) is planning to launch a fund to acquire distressed assets.

The likely size of the fund or the timeline of the launch is not known. The firm is however looking at new sectors like cleantech and pharma, and expanding to newer geographies. ….Full Article: Source

From Albawaba.com: Shamil Bank Member of the Board of Directors and Annual General Meeting Chairman, Mohammed A. Rahman Bucheerei said today that 2008 had proved, generally, a positive year for Shamil Bank.

Shamil BankSpeaking following the Ordinary and Extraordinary Shamil Bank Annual General Meetings that were held at the Bank’s headquarters in Seef Tower, Bucheerei said that despite the financial crisis and the subsequent global economic slowdown, 2008 had been a busy year at Shamil Bank…..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: The Insynergy UK Sharia’a Growth Fund, advised exclusively by Gulf Finance House’s Asset Management division has broken into the top ten of 297 competing funds in the IMA UK All Companies sector for performance in 2009.
Insynergy selected GFH as their advisors on UK Sharia’a equities in October 2008. The fund is distributed in the UK through AXA; one of the world’s leading financial institutions. ….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: QNB is likely to launch the initial public offering of its Syrian subsidiary by May next year. The board of directors has “agreed to the broader plans to finalise the IPO next May, after obtaining the required approvals from the Central Bank of Syria”, QNB executive general manager and chief business officer Ali Ahmed al-Kuwari said.

QNB, Qatar’s largest bank in terms of assets and capitalisation, is offering 32.5% to the general public in Syria…..Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Despite challenging business environment, the Qatar Islamic Insurance Company (QIIC) yesterday announced that it will reimburse 19 percent cash surplus to its policyholders for 2008 backed by robust financials.

The company’s chairman told the annual general meeting of the shareholders amidst thunderous applause: “The board has decided to reimburse policyholders cash surplus equaling 19 percent of the premiums written in 2008, the highest so far.”….Full Article: Source

From Bernama.com.my: Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) has announced the appointment of Mohamad Safri bin Shahul Hamid as the deputy chief executive officer of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd.

Safri is a sukuk specialist and was involved in many transactions, both onshore and offshore, including the world’s first exchangeable sukuk, the world’s first Islamic residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) and the world’s first hybrid sukuk…..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Oman’s real growth in gross domestic product could fall by as much as half to around 3 percent in 2009 as the financial crisis bites, the sultanate’s central bank governor said.

Hamood Al-Zadjali told Reuters on the sidelines of a banking conference in Bahrain that inflation was set to fall to around 6 percent on average this year after hitting double digits in 2008, while credit growth was expected to ease to around 20 percent due to the economic slowdown…..Full Article: Source

From Thejakartaglobe.com: PT Bank OCBC NISP Tbk expects to launch a Shariah banking unit in the second half of 2009, with full operation expected to start next year in three branches in Jakarta, Surabaya, East Java Province, and Bandung, West Java Province.

Parwati Surjaudaja, the bank’s president director, said on Monday that OCBC NISP, which is 74.73 percent controlled by Singapore’s OCBC Bank, had allocated Rp 100 billion ($8.7 million) for the Shariah unit and projected capital expenditures of Rp 2 billion to Rp 3 billion…..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The ninth GCC Banking Conference, which opened today (March 24) in Bahrain, has drawn more than 600 participants.

The two-day conference with the theme “A new era in international banking practices: Implications for the GCC markets” is being held at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain, Hotel & Spa under the patronage of Prime Minister of Bahrain, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa…..Full Article: Source

From Morningstar.com: Bangladeshi authorities said Tuesday they were investigating dozens of Muslim charities in the impoverished country over allegations they are funding militants.
Finance minister A.M.A. Muhith said the government had decided to begin the probe a month after a mutiny at a military base in the capital, in which authorities suspect Islamic militants played a role…..Full Article: Source