From Canadianbusiness.com: As the Anglo-Saxon ex-masters of the financial universe struggle to emerge from a perfect storm of bad loans, bad bets and a deep recession, an alternative approach to business transactions is having a moment in the sun: Islamic finance, based on teachings from the Qur’an.

Some governments, including the United Kingdom and Japan, have begun trying to tap into money from the Middle East by floating debt as sukuk, or Shariah-compliant bonds……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain’s $750 million sovereign sukuk issue attracted an order book of about $4 billion with strong demand from the Middle East, a lead manager said, giving a promising sign to cash-stripped corporates to tap markets.

Bahrain, the first sovereign to issue a sukuk in the Arab region this year and only the second globally……..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain has announced that the latest Sukuk issuance of the government of Bahrain has been successfully placed. The initial size of the sukuk offering was $500 million, but the issue was oversubscribed by almost eight times.

As a result, the value of the sukuk was raised to $750 million. “One of the major reasons behind this issue was to establish a yield curve benchmark for longer-term Islamic securities,” said CBB executive director banking operations Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa……..Full Article: Source

From Sukuk.net: Bahrain’s launch of a $750m benchmark sukuk bond was a further sign of a marked return of investor confidence in the Gulf, according to a research note by Standard Chartered Bank released on Thursday.

It follows a flurry of Islamic bond launches over recent months, which would help regional governments fund their economic diversification ambitions, as well as contribute to a much needed deepening of the debt capital markets and the gradual building of a yield curve, the note said……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain could be set for a surge of foreign investment after one of Abu Dhabi’s foremost investment companies pledged to turn the region into a leading destination for capital.

Invest AD (formerly known as the Abu Dhabi Investment Corporation), is looking to attract investment to the Mena and GCC regions……..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Islamic bonds with a face value of $650 million sold by Saudi billionaire Maan al-Sanea’s Saad Group are priced for a default, according to ING Investment Management.

Saad Trading Contracting & Financial Services Co.’s debt securities, known as sukuk, are trading for 25 cents on the dollar compared with this year’s high of 79 cents on Feb. 26, data compiled by Bloomberg show……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: BankMuscat said on Thursday its exposure to troubled Saudi businesses Saad Group and Ahmad Hamadt Al Gosaibi Group & Brothers (AHAB) totals 66 million rials ($171.4 million).

“Bank Muscat has direct exposure to these groups amounting to approximately 49 million rials through our Riyadh Branch,” it said in a statement on the Oman bourse website……..Full Article: Source

From Alibaba.com: Indonesia could decide by September whether to amend double taxation laws that make Islamic financial transactions costlier than conventional deals, a parliamentarian said on Wednesday.

The Indonesian parliament is debating a bill that would change the double taxation law. The tax hit holds back the expansion in Indonesia of the $1 trillion global Islamic financial industry, bankers and lawyers say……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Saudi privately-owned Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi & Brothers Company (AHAB) on Thursday said it had discovered evidence of substantial financial irregularities within its financial services arm.

“While this review is in its early stages, the preliminary findings indicate strong evidence that there have been substantial financial irregularities within the financial services arm”, it said in a statement……..Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: Private sector credit growth continues to decline in the Kingdom, with the twelve-month rate falling to just over 10 percent in April from a high of almost 33 percent in June 2008.
Lending growth is now lower than deposit growth — a trend that was last seen in February 2008……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain’s Stock Exchange said on Thursday it halted Kuwait-based Global Investment House’s sale of a 14 percent stake in Bahrain’s Al Salam Bank due to a dispute with an investor.

‘As about 162,000,000 shares from Al Salam Bank’s shares owned by Global Investment House are currently a matter of a legal dispute with an investor at Bahrain’s courts, it has been decreed according to article 1 to halt the sale process,’ the exchange said in a statement……..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Dubai’s Arabtec Holding said on Thursday it had won a 2 billion dirham ($544.7 million) contract to build towers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The deal is the latest for Arabtec in the kingdom after starting work on a university project in Riyadh as it looks to diversify away from its home market in Dubai……..Full Article: Source

From Menareport.com: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), once again has been recently recognized by the pre-eminent international finance magazine “Euromoney” as the “Best Bank for 2009” at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2009 Middle East Dinner held recently in Doha.
IBQ’s Managing Director George Nasra received the award in Doha on behalf of NBK……..Full Article: Source

From Albawaba.com: Majid Al Sayed Bader Al-Refai, the Founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Unicorn Investment Bank, has been named ‘Banker of the Year’ as part of the Banker Middle East Industry Awards for 2009.
The Awards are based on peer recommendations and are designed to recognise and reward excellence throughout the global Islamic finance community……..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: The achievements of the financial and banking sector were celebrated at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2009 ceremony last night.
More than 250 senior banking executives attended the dinner at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain for the much anticipated announcement of the winners……..Full Article: Source

From Iraqsinconvenienttruth.com: The Islamification of Britain continues unimpeded by voter objections to the colonisation of our country, with the latest development being the launch of an Islamic finance programme in Cardiff to help prepare “finance professionals” for the system.

The new programme, called the Islamic Banking Finance Centre UK (IBFC-UK), has been established in partnership with Islamic Banking & Finance Institute in Malaysia (IBFIM) and Cardiff University’s Business School and Centre of Islam……..Full Article: Source