From Reuters: The growth of Islamic lenders is hampered by a lack of products to absorb abundant liquidity in their markets, said ratings agency Moody’s.

Moody’s said its ratings on Islamic banks were stable thanks to ample liquidity, high profit margins and conservative approach to lending…………Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Zain Saudi Arabia, a unit of Kuwait’s biggest mobile-phone company, got a two-year $2.5 billion Islamic loan facility, or Murabahah, from eight banks as Saudi companies tap products that comply with Muslim Shariah law to expand operations in the kingdom.

“The funds will be used to repay its existing Murabahah, facilitating the mobile telecom operation’s ongoing network expansion and future growth,” the Riyadh- based company said in an e-mailed statement today…………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Islamic insurers can help rid the Islamic bonds market of crippling concerns over the compliance of structures with Islamic law, or sharia, industry experts and executives said.

Global issuance of sukuk fell 56 percent year-on-year to $14.9 billion in 2008, according to Standard & Poor’s, as the market was caught up in the global liquidity freeze but also due to a debate on whether the majority of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, were sharia-compliant…………Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: The specificities of Shari`ah-compliant financial services offered by banking and financial institutions need to be supported by a strong legal framework, according to the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).

It says that legal firms rendering services to institutions Islamic financial services (IIFS) need to understand the specificities of these institutions and the parameters in which they operate as well as establish a legal framework within these parameters…………Full Article: Source

From Alibaba.com: Tawarruq must meet the standards of industry body AAOIFI and cannot be a standalone funding tool, a top scholar said, outlining conditions for the use of a structure that has split the sharia banking sector.

Tawarruq is a bedrock of the $1 trillion Islamic finance industry and is widely used as a financing and liquidity management instrument…………Full Article: Source

From Zawya Dow Jones: The Bahrain Financial Exchange, or BFX, plans to woo investors in oil-rich Saudi Arabia and aims to sell a minority stake to a strategic investor, the exchange’s director said Tuesday.

The new bourse, licensed by Bahrain’s central bank, plans to start operations in the first quarter of 2010…………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House, which plans a capital increase of up to $300 million, on Tuesday named Merrill Lynch as advisors and KPMG as issue manager.

GFH announced last week it would boost its capital to strengthen its balance sheet after reporting three consecutive quarterly losses amid high provisions…………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Saudi Arabia-based Sabb Takaful held its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) where the shareholders have approved capital hike of SR300 million (Dh294.23m) through rights issue.

The subscription period for the rights issue will begin on August 15 2009 and end on August 26…………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: The Syrian unit of Qatar National Bank has raised at least 1.7bn Syrian pounds ($37mn) through a public offering that closed last evening, a person close to the matter said.
The shares are offered to Syrian private investors at 500 pounds a share in an IPO that ran from July 12 until yesterday…………Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ, the Persian Gulf state’s biggest lender complying with Muslim banking rules, soared to a nine-month high in Doha trading after signing a $200 million loan agreement with Qatar Petrochemicals Co.

Qatar rose 2.8 percent to 91 riyals at 10:03 a.m., the highest since Nov. 6…………Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: AMMB Holdings Bhd posted a net profit of RM258.2mil for the first quarter ended June 30, a 27% jump compared with RM202.9mil recorded in the previous corresponding period, thanks mainly to contribution from the Islamic banking business and growth in other banking segments.

Excluding one-off adjustments, the group’s net profit for the quarter was RM263.7mil versus RM201.4mil a year ago…………Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: The Bahraini Islamic lender Capinnova Investment Bank has reported a net loss of $821,000 for the second quarter of 2009.

The Sharia-compliant investment bank started its operation at the beginning of the year with an authorised capital of $500m and a paid-up capital of $125m…………Full Article: Source

From Coventrytelegraph.net: The West Midlands is establishing a global presence in the field of Islamic finance, partly because our European rivals are reluctant to adapt to principles set out in the Koran around 1,400 years ago.

Islamic finance is a hotly debated topic at present, and the Government seems determined to establish the UK as an international Islamic finance centre, targeting the Middle and Far East markets in particular…………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Political pride is likely to delay much-needed consolidation of Gulf stock exchanges, with regional bourses focusing instead on alliances with global players and diversification from cash equities.

Bahrain will launch the ninth stock exchange in the region next year — the UAE alone has three bourses — and with volumes low and fees high, the case for consolidation is strong…………Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Islamic finance, which borrowed features such as products from conventional banks, can now return the favor by lending its set of principles for good governance and responsibility, the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah said on Tuesday.

“To date, Islamic banks have borrowed from conventional finance in terms of products.But, I think, the time has come where the flow of information and knowledge can and should flow the other way as well,” he said in his keynote address at the second day of the World Capital Markets Symposium, here…………Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: Although hiring in the finance sector remains depressed across the region, Yasaar Human Capital, formed last month, believes Islamic finance will survive and even prosper in the downturn.

Yasaar, the recruitment company based in Dubai, will focus on improving the quality of executive talent among Islamic financial institutions such as banks and brokerages, says Fuwad Beg, the managing director…………Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: A Dubai court has rejected bail for seven defendants in the 1.8-billion dirham ($490 million) Dubai Islamic Bank swindling case, UAE daily Emirates Business reported.

The investigation, one of the biggest fraud cases to rock the emirate, involves the accused seeking financing for transactions using fake companies and documents…………Full Article: Source

From Talkislam.info: Capitalism does not equal America. Capitalism is a failing system which needs a backup. Islam is a proven system which can replace capitalism. Then America will be Islamic.

Uh…logic errors aside, can you go ahead an show me a list of current Islamic countries that are on top of their game? Show how that government will work within the context of the West. You have Indonesia, maybe, and…. Turkey? Maybe? A little weak…………Full Article: Source