From Reuters: Governments in Muslim nations in the Middle East and Asia are increasingly turning to Islamic finance to raise funds, giving a necessary but perhaps not sufficient shot in the arm for the $1 trillion industry.

Deeper liquidity is essential to winning investors back to the market after the credit crisis sapped demand and issuance and triggered the first ever major defaults of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, this year…………………….Full Article: Source

From Dow Jones: The Dubai government told investors Thursday it will decide whether to launch a global bond sale in the next two weeks once it has gauged the interest of a broad range of investors, according to two investors who met with top officials from Dubai’s Department of Finance.

The bond offering would be part of Dubai’s effort to tackle its $80 billion debt pile, most of which was incurred during the emirate’s property, tourism and logistics boom. It has used half of a planned $20 billion bond program and is considering tapping the remainder…………………….Full Article: Source

From Spiegel.de: Germany’s Muslims are finally getting a bank offering financial products that comply with Sharia law. It is a market worth billions, and one that many major banks around the world have long discovered.

There are four million Muslims living in Germany. They eat, drink and pray in accordance with the precepts of the Prophet Muhammad. But when it comes to monetary transactions, the principles of the Koran have played hardly any role in Germany. That is about to change…………………….Full Article: Source

From Thestandard.com.hk: Hong Kong will sign a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia at the end of the month to pave the way for Islamic financial business, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung.

Chan told lawmakers yesterday the administration will step up competition to tap the potential lucrative Islamic market…………………….Full Article: Source

From Independent: Malta is preparing legislation to allow Sharia compliant banking and other financial services to attract investment, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said.

He revealed that the government is keen to expand the financial services industry offering to the Arab world by allowing banking in consistency with the principles of Islamic law…………………….Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: The one-trillion-dollar GCC fund market offers rare opportunities to global investors and fund managers. The Gulf economies are on the rebound with a GDP growth forecast of over 4 percent in 2009, especially at a time when other economies are still facing difficulties due to the aftershocks of the economic meltdown, a senior government official said Wednesday.

“We have 2,700 registered funds in Bahrain, with over $10 billion assets under management [it] will continue to be one of the best places to invest in,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa, chief executive of the Economic Development Board (EDB), the official economic development agency of Bahrain…………………….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd is offering special Islamic financing packages during its carnival on Oct 24 and 25.

The event will be held from 10am to 6pm at selected branches which includes Bayan Lepas in Penang, Taman Molek in Johor Baharu, Jalan Satok in Kuching, Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur, Batu Unjur in Klang and Shah Alam…………………….Full Article: Source

From Nzherald.co.nz: An Islamic bank has been burned by tens of millions of dollars from its investment in one of New Zealand’s most iconic brands.

It has been revealed the Bahrain-based Kuwait Finance House was owed more than $54 million when it decided to pull the plug on Canterbury Clothing’s European operations earlier this year…………………….Full Article: Source

From Aawsat.com: Bahrain Islamic Bank, the country’s biggest Islamic retail bank by market value, on Wednesday swung to a quarterly loss as it booked higher provisions on bad loans.

The bank said net loss for the three months ended Sept.30 was 1.36 million Bahraini dinars, compared with a net profit 6.26 million in the year-earlier quarter…………………….Full Article: Source

From Individual.com: American Financial Group (AFG) Inc. is considering to invest in Islamic bank in Indonesia, a Bank Indonesia official said.
AFG and a number of investors from Saudi Arabia have indicated interest in sharia banking business in the country after the new law on income tax was passed, deputy director for sharia banking Mulya E. Siregar said…………………….Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: Pak-Qatar General Takaful Limited (PQGTL) and Alfalah Islamic Banking have signed an agreement according to which Pak-Qatar General Takaful would provide comprehensive Takaful coverage to Bank Alfalah’s Auto Ijara portfolio.
The agreement was signed by DCEO Pak-Qatar General Takaful Rohail Alikhan and Mr. Ijaz Farooq, Incharge Bank Alfalah Islamic Banking…………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: The Saudi insurance sector is heading towards a wave of consolidation as new players squeeze into an already crowded market, the head of Tawuniya, the country’s largest insurance company said.

The Saudi central bank has authorised some 30 new insurance firms to be set up over the last three years to unlock the sector’s growth potential and increased the competitive pressure on Tawuniya, the kingdom’s most lucrative insurance firm and one of its oldest…………………….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: There are more investment opportunities in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) countries following the global recession, says deputy international trade and industry minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.

Oil and gas-rich Muslim nations, for instance, have shifted some of their interest from the developed world to investments in fellow developing Muslim nations…………………….Full Article: Source