Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Thailand is considering issuing a sovereign sukuk, or Islamic bond, to tap the emerging Islamic finance industry, a World Bank official said on Monday.
“Thailand, which has not been a borrower for a number of years, has now re-approached us to think through some of these issues,” James Adams, vice president for East Asia and Pacific told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Manama when asked about potential sovereign sukuk issuance in the region……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-daily-news.com: An important challenge for the Islamic finance industry is to establish effective liquidity management.
For Islamic financial institutions their internal liquidity management operations must be supported by an industry wide and International money market that is active, liquid, deep and, most importantly easy to access,” Housing Minister and AAOIFI board or trustees chairman Shaikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa bin Ali Al Khalifa said……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Is there any difference between the prevailing conventional banking and Islamic banking? I keep hearing from bankers, even those who were and are still working for Islamic banks, that actually there is no real difference between the two except for some cosmetic ones.
Islamic scholars around the world are still not very clear or unanimous on what ‘riba’ really is, as is evident by the claims/fatwa of the head of Al Azhar University (Egypt), who claims that conventional banking is not riba-based, whereas many others believe that normal banking is riba-based……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Lessons will not be learned from the current global financial chaos, it was claimed yesterday at a major conference on Islamic finance in Bahrain.
“The downturn was genetically engineered by the very people whom we trusted our hard earned money with,” Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) secretary general Dr Mohamad Nedal Alchaar, told delegates at the opening session of the AAOIFI-World Bank annual conference on Islamic banking and finance at the Crowne Plaza……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From KUNA: Five years ago, Kuwait had only one Islamic bank, but by 2010, the country will have five Islamic banks, the same number as traditional banks.
The announcement of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on Monday giving the green light for the Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East (BKME) to fully convert into an Islamic bank raises the number of Islamic banks in Kuwait to four, in addition to Warba Bank which is currently under establishment……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Themoscowtimes.com: Islamic finance is gaining more business interest worldwide as well as in Russia. Why has this way of doing business gained so much popularity over the recent years?
The reason is that a significant number of Islamic investors have recognized that there is an opportunity of doing business in accordance with their religious standards and have encouraged the financial institutions that handle their funds to offer Shariah-compliant solutions……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Themoscowtimes.com: The Islamic finance sector in the United Kingdom has seen enormous growth both domestically and internationally. London is one of the top five financial centers in the world for Islamic finance and is the premier center outside the Muslim world. What are the key factors that have lead to this success?
An essential ingredient is a regulatory framework that can accommodate Islamic finance principles and a regulator that is prepared to work with Islamic institutions to overcome technical hurdles……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Themoscowtimes.com: Islamic finance is the fastest growing market in ethical finance with an annual average growth rate of between 10 percent and 20 percent. Current global Islamic finance assets stand at $800 billion and are predicted by some to rise to $4 trillion by 2015.
The credit crunch has provided Islamic finance with a unique opportunity to assert its values of ethically based financing, which could help to shape the global financial industry as a whole……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Themoscowtimes.com: Created on May 18, 2009, following the article of the resolution of the international conference “Islamic Banking: Specifics and Prospects” held in March 2009, the working group on alternative (Islamic) financial institutions and products had the objective of working out suggestions for creating conditions for financial organizations to operate on the territory of the Russian Federation according to Islamic finance principles.
Among the tasks of the working group are working out suggestions for introducing amendments to the Russian legislation for reaching an equal level of economic and tax conditions between Islamic and traditional financial institutions………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Themoscowtimes.com: We would encourage the professional community of specialists in Islamic financing to consider creating a specialized professional association, which could help to solve the problems of skilled professionals, a lack of quality standards and other vital problems.
Much work in the field of practical implementation of Islamic finance principles is conducted in the regions of Russia. First of all in Kazan, which has had some success in this. Other Russian regions are also interested in the development and practical use of Islamic financial institutes and products……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Themoscowtimes.com: Liquidity deficit and financial turbulence spurred on by the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. has highlighted the end of highly leveraged transactions at cheap funding levels. Though regulators have been injecting money since the onset of the credit crunch, attracting funds for longer terms and at lower rates is still the order of the day.
Traditional sources of capital are definitely not enough to satisfy the increasing demands of emerging and developed economies. Thus, the borrowers are in search of alternative liquidity sources……………………………….Full Article: Source
More stories about: Funds
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Themoscowtimes.com: Jointly organized by the Russian Muftis Council and The Moscow Times, with the partnership of the Russian-Arab Business Council and the financial support of VTB-Capital, Pepelyaev, Goltsblat and Partners, Norton Rose and Goltsblat BLP, the International Conference “Islamic Finance: Prospects for Development in Russia” took place in Moscow on Dec. 10, 2009, at the Marriott Aurora Hotel.
State authorities, academicians, religious, public organizations and commercial companies from Russia and abroad participated in the conference……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Abu Dhabi has bailed out neighbouring Dubai with $10 billion in surprise aid for debt-laden Dubai World, which said it would use $4.1 billion of it to repay its Nakheel unit’s Islamic bond maturing on Monday.
Dubai’s government held a conference call on Monday to discuss the deal with a government source taking questions……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Indiatimes.com: Property developer Nakheel said on Monday it will meet its 2009 Islamic bond obligations in the next 14 days, averting default after the Abu Dhabi government stepped in with a bailout.
In a brief statement on the Nasdaq Dubai bourse, the developer of man-made islands said it would use the funds provided by the Dubai Financial Support Fund to pay the $4.1 billion Islamic bond which matured Dec 14……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: Terms of the $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) support fund provided by the Abu Dhabi Government for Dubai “are similar to the structure of the first tranche of the bond programme,” a source close to the Dubai Government told Gulf News.
The source, who declined to be identified because of sensitivity of the issue, said the funds will be provided for entirely by the Abu Dhabi Government……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: Nakheel PJSC bond prices doubled after Abu Dhabi provided $10 billion to help parent company Dubai World meet obligations and enable its property unit to avoid default on $3.52 billion due today.
“Remarkable is the only way to describe the announcements,” Timothy Ash, head of Europe, Middle East and Africa research at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London, said in a research note. “It will no doubt leave a bitter aftertaste for many.”………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Xinhua: The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Monday that it would stand behind banks in the country including those with exposure to the state-owned conglomerate Dubai World and its subsidiary Nakheel, the official news agency WAM reported.
The UAE Central Bank, which has been in consultation with the Dubai government over the last two weeks, is pleased to see the Dubai government’s announcement regarding Nakheel Sukuk (Islamic bond) earlier in the day, the bank was quoted as saying in a statement……………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Channelnewsasia.com: ARA Asset Management has entered a partnership agreement with Qatar-based Regency Group to jointly manage a Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust (REIT).
The partners plan to list the REIT on the Singapore Exchange in the second half of 2010……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From KUNA: The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) gave the green light for the Bank of Kuwait and the Middle East to fully convert into an Islamic bank and for procedures to be taken according to the state’s Corporate Law, the CBK said on Monday.
CBK Governor Sheikh Salem Abdelaziz Al-Sabah said, in a press statement, that the decision was taken by the board in a session last night and was based upon an initial approval of the conversion back in June 2008……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Radioaustralia.net.au: Malaysia’s Islamic banking sector is looking to expand and has its eyes on Australia. The country has one of the most developed Islamic finance sectors and is the largest issuer of Islamic bonds in the world.
Its banking reforms have also opened opportunities for foreign investors and new licences are in the offing……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has been awarded ‘The Best Bank in Kuwait for 2009′ by the leading and internationally renowned Financial Times magazine ‘The Banker’.
In selecting NBK for the award, The Banker said that NBK, which is the country’s largest in asset terms, continued to expand domestically and regionally and despite the global financial crisis managed to produce significant net profits of $925 million providing a healthy 17.4 per cent return on average equity……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Mondovisione.com: Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX has been granted an in-principal approval from its regulator the Central Bank of Bahrain, to launch its own clearing settlement and depository company, the ‘BFX Clearing and Depository Corporation’ (BCDC).
Following the approval from the CBB, the BFX has set up BCDC as a BSC closed company. The BCDC will act as Central Counterparty for all transactions on the BFX markets……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From KUNA: Kuwaiti law researcher Mohammad Al-Kandiri became on Monday a member of the French Institute of Islamic Finance.
Al-Kandiri, who is Vice President of the National Union of Kuwait Students (NUKS) in France and neighboring countries, expressed happiness of getting the membership, saying it was a Kuwaiti achievement before being a personal accomplishment……………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 15 December 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Arabianmoney.net: The United Arab Emirates will be looking for an estimated $53 to $76 billion in project finance over the next five years, GE Energy Financial Services spokesman Suresh Vasan told an economics workshop held at the Dubai International Financial Centre this morning.
This tops the regional league table for financing opportunities, and includes $30 billion for aviation and $15-20 billion for power and water. Next in the table is Saudi Arabia at $39-55 billion, mainly for power and water generation projects, followed by $20-25 billion for Qatar, and just $10-20 billion for the rest of the GCC……………………………….Full Article: Source
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