From Maktoob.com: The indicated pricing of Bahrain’s sovereign sukuk issue, seen as an important gauge for the battered Gulf Arab sukuk market, has come in at the low end of expectations, an expert said on Monday.

Gulf Arab state Bahrain is to issue a benchmark-sized dollar five-year sukuk at initial guidance of a spread of 350 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, an official at one of the lead managers said earlier…….Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: Saudi Arabia said it would launch its new market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, and bonds on Saturday, offering firms new sources of funding amid tight credit conditions.

Trading of bonds would run from in the mornings, the regulator said on the Gulf Arab state bourse’s website…….Full Article: Source

From Reactionsnet.com: The UK and Germany could be two of the biggest untapped Western markets for takaful insurance, according to Andrew Rear, director and head of EMEA insurance at consultancy firm Oliver Wyman.

East Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have the largest Muslim populations – and biggest takaful markets – followed by the Middle East and North Africa. ……Full Article (Subscription Required) : Source

From Reuters: Dubai mortgage lender Tamweel rejected a media report saying it needed $1.55 billion in funds to restart its financing operations, but did not say how much it did need.

“We do not agree with either the analysis of the conclusions of this media report,” Tamweel said in a statement on Monday…….Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: The Saudi Industrial Development Fund, a government lender with $5.3 billion (Dh19.4bn) in capital, said demand has increased this year from companies seeking project finance as the global credit crisis constrains bank lending.

“This year we will have more in terms of the number of loans but not the amounts,” Mohammed Dobaib, acting director general of the Riyadh-based fund, said in an interview…….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: With the election of four women into the Kuwaiti parliament, the Majlis el-Umma, the northern GCC state has proved once more to be an exception in the GCC.
However, Kuwaiti citizens are now expecting new initiatives from the government to help diversify the economy. They have good reason to do so: With Kuwait’s GDP being heavily dependent on oil revenues, the economy might post its largest decline in 2009, according to the IMF…….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Emirates NBD on Monday launched its new credit card targeting the premium end of the retail banking sector.

The credit card launched in collaboration with Emirates airline’s frequent flyer programme Skywards, and Visa Inc, will be available in two categories - Infinite and Platinum…….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Qatar Finance and Business Academy, a joint initiative of the Qatar Financial Centre and the Qatar Foundation, aims to be the GCC financial knowledge hub by 2013 and a global benchmark by 2015.
The academy - whose senior management is drawn from prestigious institutions such as Columbia, Harvard, London Business School, INSEAD and IESE - will launch in October its internationally accredited courses in banking, insurance, asset management and capital markets as well as Islamic finance, seeking to bridge the gap in the supply of quality human capital…….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Moody’s Analytics is pleased to announce its agreement with Dubai Islamic Bank to provide the bank with its credit risk assessment tool: RiskAnalyst.
This partnership emphasizes Moody’s Analytics’ leadership in the Middle East as the pre-eminent provider of credit risk management systems to financial institutions…….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Saudi Saad Group’s credit problems will affect the way ratings agency Moody’s assesses privately held firms across the Gulf region due to weaknesses in the operating environment, a senior analyst said.

Privately held Saad Group, part of a $30.6 billion network of firms, sent shockwaves through the Gulf last week, saying it would restructure its debt after it ran into unspecified difficulties and the Saudi central bank froze the accounts of its billionaire chairman Maan al-Sanea…….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has assigned a rating of AA-IS to CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd’s proposed Tier-2 Junior Sukuk Programme.

The rating is positioned one notch lower than MARC’s assigned long-term financial institution rating on CIMB Islamic of AA+. ……Full Article: Source

From Americanchronicle.com: Talal Al-Tawari, Head of GCC Equities Division at Gulf Investment Corporation has said that “the Gulf Premier Fund”, the first of its kind in the Gulf region, has achieved a year- to-date return of 11.49%, as expected.
He said that the GCC economies were the most stable despite the deep global financial crises witnessed today. Al-Tawari emphasized that the posted a strong performance and high return since it was launched in April 2003, with a return of 80.14%…….Full Article: Source

From Islamonline.net: The global financial crisis has seriously affected the import-based Russian economy as today the country is facing a wave of lay-offs.

Giant automobile plants, such as VAZ—a Russian automobile manufacturer in the town of Volzhsk—has recently dismissed thousands of workers, and established a two-week working schedule a month…….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Plans by Gulf Arab states to launch a single currency could be delayed by three years to 2013, a Saudi newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting an unidentified senior Gulf source.

‘It is impossible for the (single) currency to be launched within six months.’ al-Hayat newspaper quoted the official as saying. ‘I expect the new deadline to be 2013,’ the official said…….Full Article: Source

From Islamonline.net: Grappling with a chocking financial meltdown, Australia is eyeing a share of the booming Islamic finance market to beat a growing recession and create more jobs.

“I think there’s great opportunities such as Islamic finance,” Chris Bowen, Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, told the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, June 8…….Full Article: Source