From Bloomberg: The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it plans to refine its Islamic finance regulations to boost the industry, betting demand will grow as investors seek alternative assets.

There’s still interest in bonds and other products that comply with Muslim Shariah law amid the global financial crisis, the central bank’s Managing Director Heng Swee Keat said in an interview in Singapore yesterday. The city state will maintain its regulation standards as it grows its Islamic finance market, he said…….Full Article: Source

From Themalaysianinsider.com: Singapore and the region will attract more funds from the Middle East as the global financial crisis has underscored the importance of diversification, says Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) managing director Heng Swee Kiat.

Heng said the ability of Islamic banks to mobilise savings and deploy them productively will make Islamic finance more relevant…….Full Article: Source

From Forbes.com: Islamic finance needs to address its over-reliance on real estate and the lack of a robust money market which puts the industry at risk, a top Malaysian central bank official said on Wednesday.

Islamic financial markets were billed as a safe and moderate alternative as conventional banks plunged into a crisis, but a slump in property prices in the Middle East has hit some sharia financial institutions…….Full Article: Source

From Mahtoob.com: The Islamic finance industry needs to be clearer about the nature of its sukuks, or Islamic bonds, if their growth is to be sustained in the long term, ratings agency Moody’s said in a reported on Wednesday.

The nascent Islamic finance industry is debating whether it should replicate conventional financial products or develop its own structures…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: A new report has called for investors in sukuk - or Islamic sharia-compliant bonds - to favour “substance over form” when assessing the associated risk.

“As sukuk issuers begin to face distress, it is important that investors focus on the substance and not the form of their risk, which is a concern in Islamic finance,” says Khalid Howladar, senior credit officer for asset-backed and sukuk finance at Moody’s Investors Service, who has authored the special report entitled The Future of Sukuk: Substance over Form? ……Full Article: Source

From WSJ: The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, agreed to examine a Qatari proposal to set up a bank to fund development projects in the oil-rich region, the group’s secretary said.

The Qatari proposal comes as the GCC moves closer towards integrating its political, economic, security and defense policies, said Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the GCC’s secretary general, said Tuesday in a press conference in Riyadh…….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Foreign investors can expect to get the best in terms of facilities and incentives when they invest in the growing Islamic financial banking and services in Malaysia, the country’s top government bank official said.

Bank Negara Deputy Governor Datuk Mohd Razif Abd Kadir gave this assurance at a dialogue to showcase Malaysia’s efforts in making the country as a premier international Islamic financial centre…….Full Article: Source

From Asiaone.com: Islamic banks and financial institutions managed to avoid the fallout from the sub-prime crisis, largely because they refrained from investing in toxic assets that were deemed ‘un-Islamic’.

And this prudence has put Islamic finance in good stead with investors looking for safe havens, said Professor Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, secretary-general of the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB)…….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Even bigger hurdles in the quest for a Gulf Arab single currency lie ahead after Tuesday’s decision to base a planned regional central bank in Saudi Arabia cleared one obstacle to monetary union, analysts said.

To avoid new snags that may further delay the union, initially planned for 2010, Saudi Arabia may have to counter any perceptions it is overly dominant in the region by leaving the central bank’s governor job to another bloc member…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: The decision to locate the future central bank of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Saudi capital Riyadh has been broadly welcomed as an important step towards progress on eventual monetary union.

However, the UAE - considered one of the frontrunners in the bid - has expressed its “reservation” at the decision…….Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: Dubai Islamic Bank said Wednesday it plans to buyback up to $200 million of its $750 million sukuk outstanding in the market.

The bank will hold “a partial cash tender offer of up to $200 million of the $750 million trust certificates due 2012 of DIB Sukuk Co Ltd,” it said in a London Stock Exchange disclosure…….Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Bahrain’s central bank confirmed on Wednesday it has appointed Deutsche Bank, HSBC Bank and Calyon - the investment banking arm of Credit Agricole - as lead managers for its upcoming sale of sovereign Islamic bonds.

The country plans to sell $500 million of five-year bonds compliant with Islamic law from May 27, central bank spokeswoman Nayla Ali Al Khalifa said last month…….Full Article: Source

From Hurriyet.com: Turkey may sell bonds convertible into shares in state-owned companies such as the national airline Turkish Airlines as early as this year, two government officials said.

The securities would be backed by revenue from the companies and could be swapped for stock or Treasury bonds after three years, the officials said by telephone in Ankara yesterday…….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The high growth rates reported in the global takaful industry cannot be sustained forever and companies must gear up for the challenges ahead, said a top Bahrain-based expert.

Solidarity chief executive Sameer Al Wazzan was speaking at the opening of a two-day takaful seminar at the Elite Suites…….Full Article: Source

From Dailymirror.lk: Pan Asia Bank and Amana Takaful Insurance have collaborated to offer Bancatakaful, under which, Takaful life policies will be offered to all Pan Asia Bank customers through the Pan Asia Bank branch network.
Undoubtedly, this is yet another first from Amana Takaful Insurance & Pan Asia Bank, who are rapidly moving towards the pinnacle of excellence in finance sector in Sri Lanka…….Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: State-backed Zakat Fund hopes to urge the authorities concerned to make it mandatory for companies listed on the Qatari bourse (Doha Securities Market-DSM) to pay 2.5 percent of their annual profits to be distributed among the needy.

Islam makes it obligatory for individuals and companies to set aside 2.5 percent of their surplus yearly income for Zakat payment…….Full Article: Source

From Just-international.org: The business model and growth of the Islamic finance sector — the only financial system in the world today that is based on the teachings of a major religion — may present new opportunities for American households — Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The Islamic home financing sector is active in nearly 40 states in the United States. While operating on an interest-free business model, Islamic home financial institutions are compatible in every way with modern capitalism, just like conventional financial institutions…….Full Article: Source

From Businessneweurope.eu: Fattah Finance was launched in March, immediately after Kazakhstan’s law on Islamic finance came into force. By moving quickly, the firm hopes to carve out a large share of the market for Sharia-compliant financial services.

A subsidiary of Almaty-based financial services provider Almaty Financial Centre, Fattah currently offers only brokerage services, but plans to expand its range of activities later this year as it grows its team…….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: The International Islamic Trade Finance Corp (ITFC) hopes to extend at least US$2.5 billion (RM8.85 billion) in trade financing to Muslim countries this year, its chief executive officer Dr Waleed A. Al-Wohaib said.

ITFC is the trade arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB)…….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: Overseen by a patchwork of regulators and religious authorities, the Islamic finance industry has taken major steps to standardise products and reduce the regulatory uncertainty that is seen as impeding development of the market.

The debate over regulations flared last year when compliance of some Islamic bonds with syariah was thrown into question by the industry auditor, the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI)…….Full Article: Source