From Business24-7.ae: Islamic finance can provide some suggestions to the G20 countries to consider asset-backed financing, securitisation of real assets, avoidance of excessive leverage and intelligent use of derivatives, said Rushdi Siddiqui, Head of Islamic Finance, Thomson Reuters.

“While the world economy is worth trillions, the Islamic finance industry is approaching the $1 trillion (Dh3.6trn) mark. So it may not yet be a true global heavy weight, but lessons can be shared,” he said………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: An unprecedented global financial crisis has raised a variety of questions regarding the banking industry, and has also unleashed a rethinking momentum that has not spared the very model of capitalism that we live in today.

Indeed, Islamic finance has attracted significant attention as an alternative or potential solution………Full Article: Source

From Thejakartaglobe.com: The recovery of the global sukuk market and a lack of Shariah-compliant assets around the world should encourage domestic firms to tap the Islamic financing market, executives at HSBC’s Shariah unit said.

The sukuk, or Islamic bond, market is showing signs of recovery, with Indonesia and Bahrain successfully selling international sukuk this year after almost a year-long hiatus due to the global recession, said Mahmoud Abushamma, head of HSBC Amanah Syariah………Full Article: Source

From Twocircles.net: Salman Khurshid, Minister of State for Minority & Corporate Affairs, assured to cooperate in the future programmes related to Interest-free Islamic Banking. He expressed his opinion after his meeting with Mr. H Abdur Raqeeb, Convener of the National Committee on Islamic Banking, today.

Mr. Raqeeb, General Secretary of the Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF), met with Mr. Khurshid to discuss about the feasibility of Interest-free Islamic Banking in India………Full Article: Source

From Menafn.com: Bahrain Based Seera Investment Bank B.S.C.which recently won accolades for its BWA acquisition as Deal of The Year 2009 by the Financial Times’ The Banker, today said the outlook for structured Islamic investment deals has not diminished despite the global economic downturn.

According to Mr. Abdulla Janahi, Seera’s Chief Executive Officer: “Our business approach which comprises working on an equity syndication model has played a pivotal role. We are confident that with our strategy of tapping niche investment opportunities and through the business model we follow, the medium and long term potential for structured Islamic investment deals is actually quite good.”……..Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Saudi Arabia unveiled the latest in a series of innovations to its capital markets earlier this week when it opened a regulated bond and sukuk (Islamic bond) market. The move comes at an opportune time.

Many Saudi banks are at the limits of their credit capacity, with loan-to-deposit ratios exceeding the limit imposed by the central bank. Bank loans extended in 2008 equalled the total of the previous two years, according to Mohammad Al Jasser, the central bank governor………Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: Despite the global financial crisis, Saudi banks offer the best sustained profitability prospects and growth outlook among GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) banks as they are not distressed, and they are among the best regulated in the region, according to a Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch report released this week.

Saudi Arabia is better positioned than most GCC countries to weather the global recession as it was more prudent during the boom and has a large internal market with growth potential………Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: Kingdom Holding Co (KHC) will invest close to 1.5 billion Saudi riyals ($400 million) during the first year of developing its Jeddah project, Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman, executive director of Local Investments and Development told Arabiya TV on Wednesday.

“Other than our own investment in the project and the investment of our partners, we may consider bank loans or sukuk to finance the project,” Maiman said………Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: Kingdom Holding Co.(KHC) said yesterday it had signed a contract with Emaar Properties for development services through an affiliate that does not involve an investment by the UAE firm.

“Kingdom Holding confirms that there is a contract for development services between Emaar Properties PSJC and Kingdom Holding, representing Jeddah Economic Co.,” the firm said………Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Lovells acted as counsel to the lead managers, Calyon, Deutsche Bank and HSBC, on a $750,000,000 sukuk for the government of Bahrain, which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The Lovells team was led by Lovells’ Global Head of Islamic Finance, Rahail Ali, who was assisted by of counsel Imran Mufti, senior associate, Daniel Rankin, associates Roger Fankhauser and Sema Kandemir and trainee solicitor Mark Brighouse………Full Article: Source

From Khaleejtimes.com: In a fresh sign that property prices in the UAE may have hit bottom, more banks are relaxing their lending limits for mortgages and are seeing an increase in their overall mortgage business.

HSBC now lends up to 75 per cent of a property’s value, whereas until April it lent only as much as 50 per cent of the value. Other banks have followed in HSBC’s footsteps………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: The UAE on Wednesday took the first step to reduce public debt and limit state-owned enterprises’ exposure to the debt market by enacting the Public Debt Law at the Federal National Council (FNC).

According to the public debt draft law passed by the FNC, the total value of the country’s public debt should not be more than 45 per cent of GDP or Dh300 billion whatever less of both at the time of issuing the public debt bonds, according to a WAM report………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: The average appreciation witnessed by IPO stocks in the Mena in the past 12 months is 38.04 per cent, reveals exclusive research by Emirates Business.

This paper tracked 42 IPOs floated since June 2008 on 10 stock exchanges in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) and found that Dar Al Takaful, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, has seen a 198 per cent appreciation since flotation (August 4, 2008) and is the best-performing IPO so far in the past 12 months………Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Noor Islamic Bank said on Wednesday its mortgage business is 40-50 percent up on the start of the year, a further sign UAE banks are easing lending.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Dubai Property Society, a gathering of real estate experts, Fahd Reaz senior product manager in personal and home finance for Noor Islamic Bank said: “Things have improved from last year, it’s a stable situation. The market has improved.”……..Full Article: Source

UAE-based Noor Islamic Bank has formed an alliance with UAE Exchange to offer an additional card payment option for its card customers in the UAE.

Customers of Noor Islamic Bank cards will now be able to make their monthly payments at any of the 77 branches of UAE Exchange located across the country………Full Article: Source

From Albawaba.com: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in the UAE, announced that it is offering up to 90 per cent financing for properties across the UAE. Property buyers can avail of Al Islami Home Finance for up to 25 years for ready and under-construction properties from approved developers. This financing is available to UAE nationals and expatriate residents. In addition, DIB is offering refinancing solutions for properties that are already completed………Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Bahrain’s Albaraka sees full-year net profit at about last year’s level as it invests in its banking systems and opens new branches. It also plans to list its Syrian unit, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

Albaraka, Bahrain’s largest Islamic bank by market value, is in an inward-looking phase of its development, as it consolidates the group’s operations in twelve countries before eying new markets in Asia and Europe at a later stage………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Qatar’s support package to banks has reached up to 60 billion riyals ($16.49 billion) and has helped avert a liquidity squeeze in the Gulf state, the country’s prime minister was quoted as saying.

“If we didn’t dispense these sums over three phases, the financial crisis could have been bigger,” Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani was quoted as saying by Raya newspaper………Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: BIMB Holdings Bhd does not intend to sell its 51% stake in Bank Islam (M) Bhd, says group managing director Datuk Johan Abdullah.

“It is a major core subsidiary and in terms of revenue and net profit contribution, we had about 80% as at last year. This is a strategic investment for us,” he said after the company EGM yesterday………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: A subsidiary of Malaysian shipping firm Tanjung Offshore Bhd will sign a deal on Thursday for a 162 million ringgit ($45.88 million) Islamic leasing facility, the deal’s arranger said.

Tanjung Kapal Services Sdn Bhd will take the facility, Standard Chartered Bank said in an invitation to the signing ceremony. It gave no other details about the deal………Full Article: Source

From Gulfweeklyworldwide.com: Unicorn Investment Bank managing director and chief executive officer Majid Al Sayed Bader Al Refai has been named Banker of the Year at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards.

The ninth Annual Banker Middle East Industry Awards was held at the Gulf Hotel under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) last Wednesday………Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Dubai Bank today announced that it has received top honors in the Islamic banking category of the Banker Middle East Awards, reaffirming its leading role in the industry.
The bank was named ‘Best Islamic Bank’, surpassing several contenders across the Middle East region. ……..Full Press Release: Source

From AP: Federal laws targeting the financing of terrorism give the government unchecked power over U.S. Muslim charities and have made Muslims fearful about giving to charity as required by their faith, an advocacy group contends in a report released Tuesday.

As a result, some have stopped donating or limited how much they give out of worry they could be swept up in a federal investigation, according to the report by the American Civil Liberties Union………Full Article: Source

The Islamic Banking is being developed and promoted all over the World. Recently not only Muslim countries such as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Kuwait, State of Qatar and others, but also countries not directly connected with Islam: England, France, Japanese and others have shown interest to it.

The Islamic Banking is very young. In contrast to the traditional European model of financial management it has no long history and development experience. Russian bankers got the experience of collaborations with Arabian colleagues three years ago. A Russian bank “Globaks’ announced an economical transaction of the attraction of credit of Dubai Islamic Bank in 2006 year. In 2007 year the agreement about the starting of the collaborations of Slavinvestbank with the financial institutes of the Meddle East countries was achieved.

And in the March a very major event was took place - The First International Conference Islamic Banking; specifics and prospects. It helped to apprise of the approaches an principle this direction for Russia

Nevertheless there is no actual promotion of the Islamic Banking yet. Though Russia is multi confessional country: by opinion of specialists up to 25 million of Muslims live in Russia. By diagnostic of experts, the Islamic Banking should continue to develop in Russia, to offer this service to Russian Muslims in the country in the Republic where people confess to hereditary of way of Islam.

In the early of 1990 years there were business negotiations about founding of financial institutions, offering products according of Seriate in Mahachkala the capital of Dagestan Republic. Now demands for the Islamic products are under examination. Now one of Dagestan Bank “Express” extensively offer of the Islamic debit card as one of hall products.

According to Mr. Ali Aliev, who is the First Vice President of Association of Dagestan Banks – “as of day Republic of Dagestan is a part of the investment processes, taken place at the south of Russia. Now it is profitable to invest in the regions, not to the traditional markets, which are already crowded.

The Islamic Banking will be developing say the Arabian economists. Though, it is difficult to assess the possibility of the durability of the Islamic Banking for Economic Crisis.

A lot of the Islamic financiers say about the big challenge for the Islamic Banking in 2009 year. And the one of goals for the Islamic Banks is the increasing of their business, offered products, a success which will be depend on product range, type of clients, which a bank is aimed, and the conditional of the market in this time.

If the Islamic finance products offered by professionally and a client has a good investment products for the private individual clients and also for corporate and government facilities, very often the Islamic products are more better then the other type of bank operations of a tradition bank said Mr. Aliev.

Despite that in Russia, as in other countries, it has no legislation which it is promoted to the Islamic Banking, anyway there is a possibility of the developing of the Islamic Banking in Dagestan through the structured products – pointed the Dagestan banker.

According to his version, it is not necessary that a share has been issued by an Islamic company. Shares, which are on the Russian stock exchange market RTS, are not be the Islamic shares, but they have Islamic characteristics according claims of the Muslim investors as there are company, for example, they do not business of the developing and selling of alcohol products. In other words despite companies are not Muslim their shares can be approach as social and mental shares for Muslim people. It is a decision of the situation which can become of the beginning of the developing the new model of financing which is the worth financial model by bankers and investors from the World.
Source: Press Release from Association of Dagestan Bank