From Btimes.com.my: Standard & Poor’s believes the outlook for Islamic finance remains strong despite the sharp fall in global sukuk issuance to US$14.9 billion (RM52.89 billion) last year from US$34 billion (RM120.7 billion) in the previous year.

In its Islamic Finance Outlook 2009, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services credit analyst, Mohamed Damak said the sukuk market suffered heavily last year but the outlook for asset-backed sukuk remained positive, despite the doubts raised by the disruption in global financial markets and in structured finance…….Full Article: Source

From Manilatimes.net: While the financial meltdown may have painted a universal picture of gloom and doom in the conventional banking arena, on the fast growing Islamic finance (IF) front the mood is one of cautious optimism.

It is generally felt that Islamic banks adhering to the sharia banking code have weathered the financial crisis with commendable fortitude because of its practice of staying away from investing in toxic assets that have taken such a heavy toll on the global banking system…….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Islamic venture capital, a sub-sector of Islamic finance, needs to be nurtured going forward as it is still new in the country.

The Deputy Minister of Finance, Senator Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said to date, only a fund has been set up by Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (MAVCAP) under its outsource programme…….Full Article: Source

From Menafn.com: The Malaysian government is setting aside a sum of USD 1.72 billion for the Sharia-compliant venture capital sector, in a bid to boost global Islamic financing, a top official told KUNA Wednesday.

Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin said there is constant growth in international interest in Islamic investment, and particular rise in demand for Islamic Sukouk…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfweeklyworldwide.com: The total value of Bahraini banks’ Islamic banking assets increased by 50 per cent in 2008 to $24.6 billion (BD9 billion), according to figures issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

This increase, at a time when traditional banking institutions worldwide saw widespread depreciation in their assets, is a testament to the ongoing success and resilience of the Islamic banking system. By its very nature it precludes some of the riskier practices that have led conventional banks into their current situation…….Full Article: Source

From Afriquejet.com: The conference on Islamic finance, organis ed by the Bank of Mauritius, opened Tuesday in Pointe-aux-Piments, in the north of the island, bringing together nearly 200 participants, some of whom came from Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Sudan, PANA reported.

Inaugurating the conference, Mauritian Minister of Finance Ramakrishna Sithanen said he wanted to turn Mauritius into the favourite gateway to the region in the field of Islamic finance…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) will buy back $50.6 million (Dh185.7 million) of its sukuk maturing in 2012.

The buy-back price will be 88 per cent of the bonds’ face value, the bank said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai on Wednesday…….Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: The debt market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has the potential to grow to $1.6 trillion (Dh5.8trn) per annum but currently remains in its nascent stage, according to economic experts speaking at an event organised by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) yesterday.

The event – Issuing and Structuring Bonds and Sukuk – saw discussions on the IMF Global Financial Stability Report (April 2009), which said debt securities form just three per cent of the Mena capital markets…….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Terengganu Investment Authority Bhd., the first wealth fund set up by a Malaysian state, will sell 30- year Islamic bonds and may issue securities backed by oil royalties to raise a combined 11 billion ringgit ($3.1 billion).

Terengganu Investment Authority will price 5 billion ringgit of Islamic bonds next week, officials at the fund said in an interview today. The bonds will be guaranteed by the Malaysian government, whose debt is rated A3 by Moody’s Investors Service, the seventh-highest investment grade…….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain announces that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 200%.
Subscriptions worth BD10m were received for the BD5m issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days…….Full Article: Source

From Menareport.com: The UAE has decided not to be part of the proposed monetary union agreement between the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an official source at the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
The source said the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has been officially notified today of the UAE’s decision…….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd (Takaful IKHLAS), which is launching its Ikhlas Hajj Savings takaful here, is eyeing a 25 percent increase in total premiums to RM22 million for its Sarawak operations in the financial year ending March 31, 2010.

Takaful IKHLAS president and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said today, the company had achieved RM18.39 million from total premiums of RM588 million nation-wide in the financial year ending March 31 this year compared to RM17.94 in the previous financial year…….Full Article: Source

From Linexlegal.com: The Malaysian Central Bank announced today new measures to boost the financial services sector which includes the relaxation of foreign shareholding restrictions in local insurance companies.

This client alert discuses these new measures, which are consistent with the gradual liberalization of the Malaysian insurance sector under the Financial Sector Master Plan promulgated in 2001…….Full Article: Source

From Thejakartapost.com: Sharia banks should diversify their services away from mostly SMEs and start to progressively cater for corporations as well, to speed up growth.

“Sharia banks should also tailor services to catering for the needs of local corporations. Otherwise, the target of reaching 5 percent of *volume of* the banking industry in two years cannot be reached,” Muliaman D. Hadad, deputy governor of Bank Indonesia, said Tuesday…….Full Article: Source

From Asiaone.com: As the world’s best-known banking systems from Europe to the United States desperately try to drag themselves out of quicksand, it makes sense for business schools to expose students to alternative forms of financial practices.

A course in Islamic law, banking and commerce, which debuted at the Singapore Management University earlier this year, was heavily over-subscribed…….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: Malaysia’s first and only Islamic venture capital, Musharaka Tech Venture, expects to start making some investments with its RM35 million fund this year, an official said.

The fund, set up in July last year, will focus on information and communications technology (ICT) companies…….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the Number One Bank in the UAE, has received the approval of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to open a full fledged branch in Hong Kong.

‘This step comes in line with the Bank’s strategy to expand in regions that offer attractive opportunities for the banking industry’ said Qamber Ali Al Mulla, senior general manager of NBAD’s International Banking Division…….Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Saudi Arabia said yesterday it had more than doubled its capital spending on development projects in the first quarter, awarding contracts worth SR40.6bn ($10.83bn) to spur the non-oil sector.

The world’s top oil exporter said late last year it would invest $400bn in the coming five years mainly to build infrastructure in the country of 26 million people…….Full Article: Source