From Thestar.com: CIMB Islamic, the global Islamic banking and finance franchise of the CIMB Banking Group, has 19 mandates from clients in Asia, including the Middle East, to raise nearly US$2.5bil from Islamic capital markets.

It is also set to launch an infrastructure fund worth nearly US$500mil in the region in the next three months…..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ, the Gulf state’s biggest lender complying with Muslim banking rules, is seeking to raise $200 million for a Europe-based fund that will invest in Islamic bonds, known as sukuk.

The EFH Global Sukuk Plus Fund will be operated by QIB’s European Finance House Ltd. unit in London, and managed by Aleksandar Devic, a former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. credit analyst. ….Full Article: Source

From Thaindian.com: Greed and individualism must give way to a cooperative approach of Islamic financial system to rid the world of the current economic meltdown, a renowned Muslim scholar said Sunday.

Nejatullah Siddiqui, the scholar, was speaking at the inaugural session of the conference on Islamic Finance and World Economy organised by the Department of Business Administration, Aligarh Muslim University in collaboration with the Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (TASIS)…..Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: “The opportunities offered by Islamic finance in promoting global financial stability and financial inclusion are worth assessment by the leadership of the G-20 countries,” said Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) President Ahmed Mohamed Ali here yesterday.

Ali was echoing calls by the Islamic finance industry experts that the faith-based alternative investment model has something to offer to the global financial system, which has been teetering on the brink of meltdown following the impact of a credit crunch as a result of risky investments in junk derivatives such as subprime CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) in the US…..Full Article: Source

From Ukinvest.gov.uk: Islamic banking could help Europe and the world survive the global financial crisis, a leading spokesman has said. Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said that stabilising global markets is a priority for East and West alike.

He told bankers and financiers at Mansion House that a principle of Sharia law is that money should measure rather than create value. And he noted that Islamic banks control £720 billion worldwide, have grown by 10% to 15% growth in the past few years and already have close ties with London…..Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Cash-rich Abu Dhabi may sell as much as Dh36.7 billion ($10 billion) of international bond, three credit rating agencies said on Friday.

The bond is part of a Global Medium Term Notes (GMTN) programme that the emirate has mandated Citi, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan to arrange, Gulf News has learnt. The emirate is expected to kickstart a roadshow for the bond this week…..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The Syrian economy grew 6.5 per cent in 2007 and last year, showing that the government’s policies were effective, Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri said.

‘Certain economic indicators reflect the correctness of our plans. GDP registered 6.5 per cent growth in 2007 and 2008. These figures inspire optimism and show we are on the right track,’ he told a meeting of engineers…..Full Article: Source

From Theasianbanker.com: HSBC in Thailand, in collaboration with DataConsult, recently organised the Third Thailand Islamic Finance Conference. This provided an opportunity for both public and private sectors to explore Islamic finance as an alternative funding source for Thailand’s financial market.

The Thailand Islamic Finance Conference provides public sector officials, state enterprise directors, bankers, financiers and private sector business leaders with a better understanding of the opportunities offered through Islamic finance, an area seeing the fastest growth among the global banking and financial services sector…..Full Article: Source

From Bernama: The government is urged to make Islamic banking as one of the most important agendas in efforts to build energy capacity in future.

The representative from the Pahang Umno Liaison Body, Amiruddin Mohd Said, who made the proposal when tabling the motion on economy at the Umno general assembly 2008, here today, said Malaysia had the expertise needed to realise the agenda…..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: State-owned Islamic Bank of Thailand will issue the country’s first Islamic bond in a plan to raise funds for expansion, its president said on Friday.

The bank will sell 200 million ringgit ($55.42 million) of mudaraba bonds in neighbouring Malaysia, Dheerasak Suwannayos said…..Full Article: Source

From Themalaysianinsider.com: Malaysian Rating Corp will offer from July services to rate the sharia compliance of Islamic financial institutions, its chief executive said today.

This rating would allow investors to assess the degree to which an institution adheres to the sharia’s tenets, the agency’s CEO Mohd Razlan Mohamed said…..Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com: Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd is selling seven pieces of land together with an 18-storey office building in Kuala Lumpur to Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (EXIM) for RM63 million.

The disposal, which is in line with its strategy to focus on managing family and general takaful business, will provide Syarikat Takaful a gain of RM543,000…..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Egypt’s central bank cut its key overnight interest rates by 50 basis points on Friday, citing slowing inflation and reduced growth in the manufacturing sector and in Suez Canal receipts due to the global economic slowdown.

The bank said it cut its overnight deposit rate to 10 per cent and its overnight lending rate to 12 per cent, following a 100 basis point cut at the bank’s last policy meeting in February…..Full Article: Source

From Muslimnews.co.uk: Islamic finance and banking must be developed as an alternative to the discredited Wall Street model of doing business, the World Islamic Economic Forum resolved as it wrapped up in Indonesia on March 4.

More than 1,550 delegates including prime ministers, presidents, princes and sheikhs from 38 countries issued a declaration calling on the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to take the lead in promoting Islamic finance…..Full Article: Source

From Masnet.org: Back in the 1960’s, the F.B.I. Counter-intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) practically wrote the book on tactics used by the U.S. government to target Black radical organizations and groups that opposed the war in Vietnam.

One time-tested strategy was based on draining the resources of (usually) poor and financially-strapped groups by tying them up in litigation and lengthy court battles – while, at the same time, alienating them from their financial donors. Is this one of the factors behind the Investigative Project/Jihad Watch crusade against Imam Mahdi Bray? Let’s look at the facts and connect the dots: ….Full Article: Source