From Thenational.ae: Total assets at the world’s 100 largest Islamic banks climbed by 66 per cent to more than US$580 billion (Dh2.13 trillion) last year, according to a report by Asian Banker.

The dramatic jump reflects the rapid growth of the Islamic finance industry as a whole, analysts say. While little reliable data exists on Islamic assets globally, the overall industry is by some estimates worth about $1 trillion and growing…………..Full Article: Source

From Theasianbanker.com: Despite the financial turmoil in late 2008 that crippled so many large Western institutions, Islamic banks have continued to grow in prominence and size.
The top ten banks remained largely the same as the ones that dominated our previous ranking in 2008, with Bank Melli Iran (BMI) still topping the list and Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank in second place…………..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Deciding which financial products are permissible under varying interpretations of Islamic law is the main task of the more than 200 top religious scholars who sit on the sharia boards of Islamic banks.

Differences of opinion among scholars have seen some financial products deemed un-Islamic in certain centres but permissible in others, creating uncertainty in the $1 trillion industry as it looks for new ways to grow…………..Full Article: Source

From Alarabiya.net: In a plain electronics store in Manama’s old business district, one of Islamic finance’s most powerful figures explains how religion defines the $1 trillion industry while still allowing for innovation.

“Everything is permissible unless you prove that it is not permissible,” Shariah adviser Sheikh Nizam Yaquby told Reuters in his tiny office crammed with religious manuscripts and old texts…………..Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has set up a $1.5 billion Islamic bond medium term note (MTN) programme, ratings agency Moody’s said late on Wednesday.Moody’s rated IDB’s bond programme at Aaa.

“The net proceeds of the issue of such certificates will be used to purchase a portfolio of sukuk assets which may comprise ijara assets, murabaha contracts, istisna’a contracts and Islamic Development Bank’s investments in equity and sukuk certificates,” Moody’s said in a statement…………..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group BARKA.BH will open the initial public offering of its Syrian affiliate in October and expects full-year profit to be similar to 2008, bank executives said.

Speaking to Reuters late on Wednesday at its annual general meeting in Jeddah, chief executive Adnan Ahmed Yousif said Bahrain’s largest Islamic bank by market value said net profit would be close to “what we have already disclosed in 2008″…………..Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd plans to roll out more Islamic banking offerings based on the good response to its recently launched Islamic credit cards and mortgage product.

Executive director and deputy chief executive officer Jonathan Addis said the number of Islamic credit cards had grown to about 50,000…………..Full Article: Source

From Khaleejtimes.com: Dubai will choose to repay a government-guaranteed $3.52 billion bond sold by state-owned real-estate developer Nakheel PJSC rather than change its terms, according to Ashmore Investment Management Ltd.

Blackrock Global Funds and Ashmore are the two largest holders of the Nakheel issue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Ashmore Investment Management owns 1.09 per cent of the bond, the data show. Ashmore, which started its first fund in 1992, invests in currencies, debt and special situations…………..Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Saleh Kamel, chairman of the Al Baraka Banking Group, has urged in his speech all Islamic banks to strengthen their Islamic banking services.
“The Islamic banking is a real message and method in the economy,” he said, addig “I hope we don’t change the terms without applying the Islamic principles.” He also said that Islamic banking should be purified from all the impurities it suffered from during the past years…………..Full Article: Source

From Northwestern.edu: American International Group Inc., the U.S.-based insurer that nearly imploded in 2008 because of its exposure to risky financial instruments, is taking a different tack these days.

Earlier this year, the insurance giant became the first company to offer Islamic homeowners insurance, known as Takaful, in the U.S. with plans to expand into auto and other insurance products in the next six months…………..Full Article: Source

From Maktoob.com: Kuwait’s International Finance Co, which provides consumer credit facilities, said Thursday it got central bank approval to merge with investment firm Kuwait Invest Co. and real estate company Jeezan Holding Co.

International Finance Co will set up a joint committee with the two companies to study the merger, the company said in a statement on the Kuwait bourse website…………..Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: Dubai Financial Market announced that the value of shares bought by foreign investors, or non UAE nationals, during last week (August 23 - August 27) reached Dhs973.96m comprising 46.36% of the total value of stocks traded during the period.
The value of stocks sold by foreign investors during the same period reached Dhs824.61m comprising 39.25% of the total value of stocks traded during the period. Net foreign investment on the market reached Dhs149.35m during the same period, as aggregate buy…………..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Pitching for rapid conclusion to a free trade agreement between the GCC and the European Union, Malta yesterday said it was in talks with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund on seeking investments.

The Southern European nation, which has signed seven bilateral agreements (including double taxation avoidance and air services) with Qatar, also saw its Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises inking pact with the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI)…………..Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Malta is keen to collaborate with Qatar in Islamic Banking and Finance as the country is aiming to become a Centre of Islamic Finance in the Mediterranean.
Qatari Islamic financial institutions wanting to spearhead the growth of Shariah-compliant finance in the Mediterranean can benefit from the cost-efficient opportunities that Malta presents by using Malta as the gateway to European and North African markets…………..Full Article: Source