From Arabnews.com: With investors globally holding more than $1.5 trillion in Shariah-compliant investments, there is a need to create adequate and straightforward regulation for Islamic investment instruments that industry players can use to grow their activities, a senior official at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) said recently.

“In addition to adequate regulations there is a need for creating the necessary framework for investment instruments targeting small investors, medium size investors, as well as professional or high net-worth individuals, who would like to invest their funds in accordance with Shariah principles,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Baker, executive director of financial supervisions at the CBB…….Full Article: Source

From Sukuk.net: The Islamic bond market has suffered badly during the economic downturn, but recent events could help the sukuk industry create future benchmarks, according to an economist.

Bahrain-based NCB Capital chief economist, Dr Jarmo T Kotilaine, believes that the fallout from the downturn could help sukuk create their own identity in the market…….Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: The average price of GCC corporate Islamic bonds, or sukuk, has jumped by a dramatic 29 per cent since the market reached its trough in February, a reflection that confidence in the Gulf is recovering fast, international law firm Trowers & Hamlins said yesterday.

In comparison, the average price of US corporate bonds remained virtually unchanged (falling two per cent) over the same period…….Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: The anticipated launch of IDB’s $500 million international Sukuk this month and a huge improvement in the average price of and yield from Sukuk over the last four months is further evidence that the market is rallying fast and on track for a dramatic upturn in confidence over the next year.

Economic and fiscal stimulus packages in the GCC countries, including the $10 billion bailout loan given to Dubai by the UAE Central Bank, the recent rally in world capital markets and rising crude oil prices, have impacted positively on the GCC Sukuk market in the past quarter…….Full Article: Source

From Forbes.com: Iran plans to issue $12.3 billion of foreign currency and rial-denominated bonds over the next three years to help finance the development of its major South Pars gas field in the Gulf, a state firm said on Sunday.
Total investment needs for remaining projects to develop South Pars, the world’s largest pure gas reservoir, amount to $50 billion, Pars Oil and Gas Company Managing Director Ali Vakili said in a statement. The company is part of the National Iranian Oil Company…….Full Article: Source

From BT: A stronger framework governing global Islamic finance is needed to track if funds are being invested according to syariah principles. “That is why we are pushing for stronger overall consistent governing framework for global Islamic finance,” CIMB Group Chief Executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak yesterday said.

While the future of Islamic finance is positive, he said, there is still room for further improvement especially in terms of rules and regulations on the global front…….Full Article: Source

From Iran-daily.com: Global Islamic finance is growing by as much as 20 percent a year since 2003, said State Street Corporation, the world’s leading provider of financial services to institutional investors.
In its seventh Vision Report, State Street underlined that total assets under management by Islamic financial institutions now exceeds $600 billion, Moj News Agency wrote…….Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Saudi Arabia plans to set up a Fannie Mae-style company to buy mortgages from financial institutions and help develop national sukuk and debt markets, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said.

The company would be formed in conjunction with Saudi Arabia’s first mortgage law, which should come into effect before the end of the year, Ibrahim al-Assaf said in an interview in Oman on Saturday…….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: There is huge potential for Islamic finance in Iraq, said the country’s central bank, adding that it was looking at ways to encourage the sector’s growth in response to demands from Islamic banks.

Islamic banks first opened in Iraq in the 1990s and seven of the country’s 42 banks are now Sharia-compliant…….Full Article: Source

From Menafn.com: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced Sunday the launch of the first edition of its Islamic Ijara KD series, Islamic KD Ijara Fund I.

In a press release, NBK said the fund was created to grant NBK Private Banking clients the opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of leasing contracts that were structured according to the principles of Islamic Shariah…….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: HSBC Amanah plans to raise $100m for its first Islamic bond fund, which it plans to start marketing on Monday.
The HSBC Amanah Sukuk Fund, domiciled in Saudi Arabia, will comprise Islamic bonds, or Sukuk, issued by 12 to 14 companies, mostly in the real estate, commercial banking and utilities sectors based in the GCC. The fund has a four-year maturity and will target mid- to high-single-digit annual returns, reporte Reuters…….Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Saudi Arabia and three other Gulf states will proceed with their monetary union plan and the location of a Gulf central bank would not be open for re-negotiation, the Saudi finance minister said.

“It is not derailed, it will continue. The monetary union will proceed as planned,” Ibrahim Al Assaf said in an interview in Oman on Saturday, less than two weeks after the UAE abandoned the GCC single currency project…….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: The Chief Operation Officer of Sharjah Islamic Bank, Mr. Ahmed Saad, stressed that institutions must provide the utmost care for their workforce, and provide an integrated work environment that covers all health and professional aspects, as they are considered the foundation for production and institutional development.
This came during the inauguration of the comprehensive health campaign organized by Sharjah Islamic Bank for its employees under the slogan ‘your health…your choice’ from May 31 to June 11…….Full Article: Source

From Brudirect.com: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a comprehensive takaful or insurance plan for members of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Army Cadet Platoon was signed yesterday.

The MoU between UBD and Insurans Islam Taib on Group Family Takaful coverage plan which is specifically designed for uniformed cadets is part of the university’s efforts to give financial protection to its army cadets against casualties and body injuries during their training…….Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: The year 2009 will be remembered as a milestone for Islamic banking where it passed the test of the crisis and proved its resilience, said an expert in Bahrain.

“This global financial crisis is a golden opportunity for the industry as a whole to come to the front and re-establish itself globally as a main stream and a provider for debt and equity, as well as a lawful and genuine choice,” Dhafer Salih Alqahtani, managing director and co-founder, Daraham Capital, said at the two-day fifth annual fund forum which concluded in Bahrain last week…….Full Article: Source

From Biz.thestar.com.my: While competition in the local investment banking scene is expected to become more intense in line with the recent liberalisation of the financial sector, some bankers appear relatively unfazed, choosing instead to focus on the sector’s prospects.

Says CIMB deputy chief executive officer, corporate and investment banking, Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani: “In the investment banking space, foreign advisors have, for a long time, been active participants in Malaysian transactions.”……Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: Both our customers and investors would like to see a formal Islamic banking law adopted in Azerbaijan. So far, we do not have any problems of tax neutrality for our products because they are the same for both conventional and Islamic banking.
However, once we introduce more Islamic products such as Diminishing Musharaka home financing and so on then the question of double stamp duty may arise…….Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) said it may raise the size of its Islamic bond program to $6bn to soften the impact of global financial turmoil on its members, which include some of the world’s poorest nations.

“The bank is in great need to issue these sukuk (Islamic bonds) to attract resources from the market and respond to the growing demands it is getting from its member states,” Chairman Ahmed Mohammed Ali told Reuters…….Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: GE and Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala are currently applying for certain legal and regulatory approvals needed prior to the commercial launch of the joint venture. Once approved, the joint venture will be headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
GE and Mubadala each will allocate up to $4 billion in equity for the joint venture over a three-year period. The venture will have two strategic pillars; access to investment opportunities generated through GE Capital’s existing global origination platform; and building a Middle East and Africa platform with select focus areas aligned to both partners’ capabilities and regional presence…….Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Salama, the world’s largest takaful and re-takaful group, has tied up with Crédit Agricolé Asset Management (Caam) Group to offer a bouquet of Shariah-compliant funds to investors.

The three Islamic funds are Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) quantitative fund, an active Asian equities ex-Japan and a Global Equity fund of Islamic funds…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Saudi Arabia’s central bank ordered the country’s banks to freeze the accounts of Maan Al Sanea, the Saudi billionaire who owns a stake in HSBC Holdings, people familiar with the instructions said.

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) sent circulars to the legal departments of Saudi-based banks on May 28 and May 30 telling the lenders to freeze the accounts, including credit cards, of Al Sanea, his wife and four family members, according to one person who read the documents…….Full Article: Source

From Menareport.com: IBQ today announced the expansion of its credit card portfolio with the launch of a new range of premium payment solutions, all of which offer 5% Cash Back on purchases made using the card.

The new IBQ Gold MasterCard, IBQ Platinum Visa and IBQ Infinite Visa are all fully Chip and Pin-enabled, and aim to provide the bank’s customers with a secure, flexible and convenient payment solution in addition to a wide range of unique and exciting shopping and travel benefits…….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Saudi Arabia is exploring opportunities for investments in Europe, Asia and the United States in sectors including technology and auto parts for its new $5.3 billion investment company, its finance minister said.

The company, Sanabil al-Saudia, has not yet started operations but its owner, the state’s Public Investment Fund, is already eyeing possible acquisition targets, Ibrahim al-Assaf told Reuters in an interview in Oman…….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: A ‘very high’ economic resiliency imparted by massive hydrocarbon reserves and an exceptionally high per capita income have put Qatar among the highly developed economies such as the US, Germany, the UK and France, according to a Moody’s analysis.
Moreover, a ‘high’ financial robustness bolstered by the government’s strong balance sheet and net external creditor position made Qatar rub shoulder with Australia, Hong Kong and China, said Moody’s credit analysis, which comes ahead of the 3rd Qatar Economic Forum, which begins today…….Full Article: Source

From Wam.ae: The UAE has managed under its prudent leadership to recover from the world financial crisis rapidly, said H. H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, at a keynote address to the Islamic banks conference.
”The conference seeks to devise a sound concept to deal with the choking economic crunch the governments, firms and individual are passing through,”Sheikh Hamdan told the meeting which was opened by H.H.Sheikh Majed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority…….Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: Based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Bukhatir Investment is a diversified business group, with interests in construction, education, engineering services, information technology, manufacturing and real estate.
The facility agreement was signed at a ceremony held at Bukhatir Group’s offices in Sharjah and was attended on behalf of KHCB by Tariq Al-Arabi, Senior Manager (Corporate Banking), and by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, Chairman of the Group…….Full Article: Source

From Todayszaman.com: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will extend some $100 million in loans with one-year terms to Turkish exporters that have experienced trouble as a result of the ongoing global financial crisis.

Officials from Turkey’s Eximbank informed the Anatolia news agency on Sunday that the IDB will give money to Eximbank, a bank formed with the aim of lending support to Turkish exporters. Eximbank will in turn extend the funds to exporters…….Full Article: Source

From Albawaba.com: Deyaar Development PJSC, a regional real estate company dedicated to innovation, customer care and long-term sustainable growth, today announced continued strategic partnerships with leading banks to offer highly competitive financing options exclusively to Deyaar customers, including up to 90 per cent financing and repayment periods of up to 25 years.

As part of the strategic partnerships, customers will, subject to meeting the bank’s credit approval requirements, be able to avail special financing schemes for properties developed by Deyaar, enabling them to benefit from favourable repayment terms and quicker approvals…….Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Leading IT solutions provider International Turnkey Systems Group (ITS), winner of the Best IT Solutions Provider at the prestigious Islamic Finance Forum Awards, is gearing up for more business as the Islamic finance industry seeks greater integration with the global banking system.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) said earlier that it believes that more funds will migrate into the Islamic banking system, and such growth is set to prompt banking and finance institutions to integrate into the global banking system…….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Ms. Safa Abdul Rahman Al-Hashem, Chairman and Managing Director, Advantage Consulting Company, said that Islamic finance needs to be revitalized.
Ms. Al-Hashem, said:”Despite all the skepticism the world had toward the Islamic banking system in the GCC, particularly in Kuwait, not only does the integrity of the system hold, but Islamic finance also remains the most optimal solution to avoiding the repercussions of the Financial Crisis.”……Full Article: Source

From Menareport.com: Dubai-based private equity group Abraaj Capital, which has raised about US$ 7 billion since inception in 2002, announced today the opening of its office in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh with a dedicated investment team to tap growing opportunities in the largest Arab economy.
The team of eight, headed by Executive Director Sari Anabtawi, 46, will work to identify new investment opportunities as well as work with existing Abraaj partner-companies to grow their business in Saudi Arabia and the region…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, on Sunday opened the “Islamic banking between reality and hope” conference.

The conference being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, will conclude on June 3…….Full Article: Source

From Iqna.ir: The annual international summit of the economy and finance ministers of the Islamic countries will be held for three days in Ashkhabad, the capital of Turkmenistan, from Tuesday, June 2.

According to the WAS news agency, the summit will be organized by the Islamic Development Bank under the supervision of Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan president…….Full Article: Source