Posted on 05 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bangkokpost.com: Securities regulators are hopeful that the first Islamic bonds will make their debut in the Thai market in the first quarter of this year.
The Securities and Exchange Commission expects to finalise rules for sukuk instruments some time over the next several months. Authorities hope that Islamic bonds will help draw capital from the cash-rich Middle East and other markets………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Thestar.com.my: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will be forced to buy more Islamic bonds this year as the Government cuts conventional note sales to the state-run pension manager, according to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS).
Malaysia planned to lower total sovereign sales to RM40.5bil in 2010 from RM52bil while maintaining the same number of Islamic bonds sales as in 2009, it said Dec 21………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: Bahrain-based Islamic investment house Arcapita said on Monday it has sold its U.S. sports gear maker Yakima to Taiwan’s Kemflo International, its second private equity exit in the United States in five months.
“It has been bought by one of its suppliers, who is trying to expand vertically,” an Arcapita spokesman told Reuters………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Khaleejtimes.com: DP World Ltd, a subsidiary of Dubai World, announced on Monday that it had paid coupon and profit obligations on its sukuk and a bond issue on time, and said it would press ahead with its $2.5 billion London Gateway and Logistics Park project.
The world’s fourth largest marine terminal operator said it had bought the remaining 1,000 acres of land for its London Gateway and Logistics Park project for $220 million after it decided to proceed with the construction………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Menafn.com: A statement issued by DP World said that the firm had distributed the profit for the 180-day period on its $1.5 billion sukuk issue maturing in 2017, Reuters reported.
The profit rate was 6.25 percent for disbursement of $46.9 million, according to the statement………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Canadianbusiness.com: When it comes to servicing the human soul, Islam is now the market leader. According to the Vatican, almost 20% of the world’s population is now Muslim, which makes that faith the most popular in the world for the first time in history.
That may be bad news for the Catholic Church, which has a 17.4% spiritual market share. But it’s great news for Asif Khan, founder and CEO of FrontierAlt Investment Management Corp., a Toronto-based company out to dominate the tricky world of Islamic finance………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Arabnews.com: Despite the postponement by South Korea’s National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee of pushing through a vote to approve a bill aimed at facilitating tax neutrality for the issuance of sukuk at end December 2009, local supporters of the introduction of Islamic finance products are confident that the delay is a minor setback.
They stress that the postponement was more due to the timing of the vote which comes amid increasing political squabbling between the Grand National Party and Democratic Party, especially over controversial policy issues relating to the introduction of tough new income and corporation taxes which have been opposed by trade union leaders………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Arabnews.com: The imminent launch in early 2010 of the Shariah-compliant Structured Trade Finance Fund by Gatehouse Bank PLC will see a welcome return to a classical bread-and-butter asset class and financing activity, which the Islamic finance industry seems to have neglected over the last few years.
The industry, according to seasoned Islamic bankers, has become pre-occupied with the more lucrative sukuk (Islamic bond) market and the “bricks-and-mortar” real estate market over the last few years, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Thestar.com.my: Bank Negara was the top issuer of bonds for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31 with a market share of 31% and amount issued of RM24.6bil.
According to the Bond Pricing Agency Malaysia League Tables, the central bank was also the top issuer last year with 40.1% market share with RM143.9bil in amount issued. In 2008, it was also ranked top with 55.9% market share and RM218.6bil in amount issued………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Theedgemalaysia.com: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd will sign a RM327 million syndicated Islamic financing facility for Prolintas Expressways Sdn Bhd, the toll concessionaire and operator of the Guthrie Corridor Expressway.
According to an invitation to the signing ceremony to be held on Wednesday, Bank Islam is the lead arranger and syndicate financier for the facility, with three other syndicate financiers including EONCap Islamic Bank Bhd, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd and Affin Islamic Bank Bhd………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Alhaqqsociety.org: Shariah supervision may be thought of as the single most important distinction between a conventional and a truly Islamic financial venture. For, while a business may attempt to represent itself as “Islamic,” unless it has qualified Shari`ah supervision, it has no way of certifying that its services, products, and operations are actually Shariah-compliant.
In the emerging Islamic financial sector, therefore, Shariah supervision is not a matter to be taken lightly………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Alhaqqsociety.org: This paper aims to describe the venture capital lifecycle from fundraising to structuring and exiting, and ultimately review its application under a Sharia-compliant framework.
To put the venture capital (VC) industry into perspective, in 1993 there were an estimated $3.9 billion worth of VC deals closed in the US. In 1999, there were $46.6 billion worth of deals according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA)………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Alhaqqsociety.org: The well-known modes of raising and mobilizing venture capital in Islam known as mudarabah and musharakah (m&m) in Islamic economics are critically examined.
In the form as m&m presently exist, they are pointed out to be pre-Islamic financing instruments that came into usage in the Islamic economic literature………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Alhaqqsociety.org: Islam places the highest emphasis on ethical values in all aspects of human life.In Islam, ethics governs all aspects of life. Ethical norms and moral codes discernable from the verses of the Holy Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet (sws) are numerous, far reaching and comprehensive.
Islamic teachings strongly stress the observance of ethical and moral code in human behaviour. Moral principles and codes of ethics are repeatedly stressed throughout the Holy Qur’an………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulfnews.com: Al Hilal Bank is officially supporting the Abu Dhabi Innovation Forum. Scheduled to take place on January 11 and 12 at the Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri Hotel here, the Abu Dhabi Innovation Forum is presented by the Abu Dhabi University and Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development.
Al Hilal Bank, a leading Islamic bank in the UAE, is the forum’s platinum sponsor………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Tradearabia.com: Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), the international Arab bank based in Bahrain, has appointed Dr Khaled S Kawan as deputy chief executive of the group.
Dr Kawan, a Libyan national, is a lawyer by profession with a Ph.D in Banking Laws from the University of Paris (Sorbonne), France. He has been with the ABC Group for 19 years………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Cpifinancial.net: Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it has affirmed its ‘AAA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term credit ratings on the Islamic Development Bank. The outlook is stable.
“The ratings on the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) are supported by its very strong capitalisation, strong liquidity, a good asset portfolio, and expected continued preferred-creditor treatment and other support from shareholders,” said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Farouk Soussa………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Business24-7.ae: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) yesterday launched Al Islami Takaful Riayati, an accidental death and disability insurance plan underwritten by Islamic Arab Insurance Company (Salama).
Al Islami Takaful Riayati offers peace of mind to individuals and families by providing significant benefits in the unfortunate event of accidental death or disability………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Business24-7.ae: Four Gulf nations will launch their monetary authority to set up a joint central bank at the end of February as part of an historic pact to create the Middle East’s first currency union, a senior Gulf official was quoted as saying yesterday.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, members of the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), will officially launch their monetary union on January 23 following its final summit approval last month, said Nassir Al Qaoud, GCC’s Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Menareport.com: In a step toward a common Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) currency, the central banks of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have stopped lending to the public sector.
According to the draft GCC common monetary union agreement, the four GCC central banks can no longer lend to public sector entities. The banks must also sell off their public sector loan portfolios………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Finance and investment firms throughout the Gulf region are making strategic appointments to take advantage of the regional financial market’s anticipated resilience against the global economic downturn.
Improving liquidity in the region and the expansionary budget recently announced in Saudi Arabia is resulting in increased attention to the prospects for listed and unlisted equity and real estate investment opportunities………………………………….Full Press Release: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Dubai opened the world’s tallest structure in a ceremony meant to put a brave face on crushing debt woes. The $1.5 billion tower reaches 828 metres, 200 storeys into the sky, exceeding the next highest inhabited building, Taiwan’s Taipei 101, by more than 300m.
Dubai’s ruler Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum renamed the tower Burj Khalifa after the president of the UAE and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Globalarabnetwork.com: Following the success of previous events over the last 10 years, UCI brings another event, Host Islamic Finance Mobilisation & Strategic Project Origination, that will take place in London on 22nd February 2010 at The London Stock Exchange.
The event will once again provide an opportunity for every participant to introduce company, projects and services to major Shariah Compliant Investors………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Swisster.ch: If the recent minaret vote wasn’t enough, deep-rooted apathy towards Islamic finance weakens Switzerland as a financial centre, according to an expat businessman.
Wealth managers are missing an opportunity to build a bigger Islamic client base through tailoring products to Muslim investors. Switzerland’s reputation in the field is also damaged by problems facing the Geneva-based Faisal Private Bank………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Muslims.net: Islamic finance is the fastest growing market in ethical finance with an annual average growth of between 10 and 20 percent.
Current global Islamic finance assets stand at $800 billion and are expected to rise to $4 trillion by 2015. The credit crunch has provided Islamic finance with a unique opportunity to assert its values of ethic-based financing, which could help shape the global financial industry as a whole………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Alhaqqsociety.org: What is Islamic finance (IF)? Islamic finance has recorded dramaticgrowth over the last decade or so, with a presence in more than 75 Muslim and non-Muslim countries and total financial assets now estimated to exceed $1 trillion.
With the integration of IF and Islamic banking into the global economy, IF’s appeal as a market for and source of global capital is increasing. The industry’s rapid growth is marked by increases in Islamic financial products and services, the development of the industry’s regulatory frameworks, and enhanced international linkages………………………………….Full Article: Source
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