From Btimes.com.my: The world’s top 100 Islamic banks managed to grow their assets by two-thirds last year, at a time when their conventional rivals were struggling to deal with the global financial crisis.

They had US$580 billion (RM2 trillion) of assets in 2008 as against US$350 billion (RM1.2 trillion) in 2007, according to The Asian Banker, a research company……………Full Article: Source

From Business-standard.com: India is fast emerging as the preferred destination for Islamic funds. In the last six months, the country has seen major Islamic finance players in the Gulf announcing investments of over $10 billion, said Shariq Nisar, chief executive officer of Bangalore-based Bearys Amanah Investment.

According to him, India is a more strategic option over countries like Malaysia and Pakistan because of the thriving stock markets . “It is estimated that Islamic finance business is worth $1 trillion and India can attract a sizable portion of it,” said Nisar, who screened and launched the first list of Shariah-compliant stocks in India……………Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: With debt markets gingerly reopening, Gulf companies eager to raise cash through issuing bonds have to make a decision: should they issue conventional or Islamic bonds, known as sukuk?

The SR7bn ($1.9bn) sukuk issued by Saudi Electricity Company, the kingdom’s state power utility, this summer could be a useful indicator……………Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: If the Islamic private equity industry has failed to live up to its expectations then Islamic venture capital has followed the same path with even less spectacular results. Indeed discussion of Islamic venture capital is largely theoretical because real life examples are few and far between.
The government of Malaysia has done more than any other body to promote and define the industry and indeed has launched a fund, albeit a small $10m fund, to help show the way……………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Malaysia’s Sime Darby, the world’s top planter by landbank, plans to set up an Islamic funding programme for up to 4 billion ringgit ($1.14 billion), a senior company official said on Wednesday.

The fund-raising could could signal a revival in demand for top rated sukuk, or Islamic bonds, after issuance slumped more than 56 percent in 2008 due to the credit crunch……………Full Article: Source

From Moneymanagement.com.au: MCCA Asset Management, a subsidiary of Islamic mortgage originator MCCA, has launched a shariah-compliant retail managed investment mortgage fund, designed to attract Muslim, as well as generally ethical investors.

The fund, to be known as the MCCA Income Fund, has been registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), with a Product Disclosure Statement and official launches scheduled for September……………Full Article: Source

From CNN: With irresponsible banking practices taking the blame for bringing about the global economic crisis, there has been a surge of interest in Islamic finance.
Now, a slew of academic courses are springing up to meet the demand of those wanting to break into an expanding market……………Full Article: Source

From Kuwaittimes.net: The United Arab Emirates central bank will set up a new panel for the interbank offered rate, an official said yesterday, in the hope that the change will lower the rates and spur lending.
The central bank expressed dismay earlier this month at persistently high interbank rates, saying they did not reflect the market……………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Even though bonuses are under pressure in the banks of the capital, none of them are planning any salary cuts.

“No bankers in the UAE that I know of are getting bonuses. Most companies are making losses so I don’t expect any bonuses this year,” said Ian Giulianotti, Associate Director at Nadia Recruitment and Management Consultancy……………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Moody’s Investors Service yesterday downgraded three Kuwaiti banks, citing weakening credit conditions, as the Gulf state’s banking sector grapples with the fallout from the financial crisis.

The three lenders are Gulf Bank of Kuwait, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Burgan Bank……………Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Saudi banks have intensified a drive to build up their investment abroad as an alternative to a slowdown in their lending to the domestic market because of waning confidence and debt default problems, official figures showed yesterday.

The drive constitutes a turnaround in a policy by most of the kingdom’s 12 commercial banks to cut their overseas assets and head back home just after the eruption of the global financial distress in September 2008……………Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Capital Intelligence, the international credit ratings agency, has affirmed the long and short-term ratings for United Gulf Bank (UGB) at BBB+ and A2 respectively. The outlook for the ratings remains ‘stable’.

UGB is nearing the final stages of its balance sheet restructuring, having sold the bulk of its portfolio of commercial bank investments (namely Jordan Kuwait Bank, Algeria Gulf Bank and Bank of Baghdad) to Kuwait-based Burgan Bank, another Kuwait Projects Company Holding (Kipco) group company……………Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a Aaa rating, with a stable outlook, to the Islamic Development Bank’s US$ 1.5 billion Sukuk MTN program.

Under the proposed sukuk structure, trust certificates (”certificates”) will be issued by IDB Trust Services Limited, a Jersey-based finance vehicle…………..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Gulf Finance House EC, the Bahrain- based Islamic investment bank, plans to offer stock to existing shareholders to boost its capital by $300 million.

The shares have a nominal value of $0.33 apiece, according to a company statement posted on the Dubai bourse today. The bank’s board will decide on the final offer price, it said……………Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN), the country’s national savings bank, is aiming to give out RM250 million in personal financing during the duration of the Islamic Banking Month campaign.

During the campaign period, which began in July and ends in September, BSN also targets to give out between RM100 million and RM150 million in home loans……………Full Article: Source

From Mydigitalfc.com: Shriram Life Insurance is launching pension plan to woo Muslim investors and to offer alternative investment options to its customers.
The insurer’s new pension plan, to be launc­hed next week, will also offer a Shariah-compliant option. The company has already received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda)……………Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: The performance of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and multi-family transactions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) exhibited further deterioration during Q2 2009, says Moody’s Investors Service in its latest Surveillance Report for the sector.
The rating trend of EMEA CMBS in Q2 2009 was significantly negative, with many transactions experiencing multiple notch downgrades, driven mostly by loan performance-related concerns……………Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Being ranked as one of the richest countries in the world is not enough for Qatar, which is focused on doubling its current visitor numbers by 2010.
Qatar is the richest nation in the GCC and one of the richest in the world with a GDP per capita in 2008 of almost US $72,000, according to the latest Global Insight from Jones Lang LaSalle (February 2009)……………Full Article: Source