Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Oxfordbusinessgroup.com: Thanks to a combination of steady management and timely state assistance, Qatar’s Islamic finance sector has seen off the worst of the global economic crisis and is now well positioned to take full advantage of the predicted surge in growth this year.
Along with the rest of the country’s financial sector, the sharia-compliant component should continue to benefit from the government’s continued economic stimulus programme throughout 2010, which will combine direct pump priming efforts with fiscal support for the banking services industry………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Globalarabnetwork.com: Thanks to a combination of steady management and timely state assistance, Qatar’s Islamic finance sector has seen off the worst of the global economic crisis and is now well positioned to take full advantage of the predicted surge in growth this year.
Along with the rest of the country’s financial sector, the sharia-compliant component should continue to benefit from the government’s continued economic stimulus programme throughout 2010, which will combine direct pump priming efforts with fiscal support for the banking services industry………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Businessweek.com: Asian Finance Bank, the Malaysian unit of Qatar’s biggest Islamic bank, plans to start funds worth at least $150 million to invest in Asia to benefit from economic expansion in the region.
The bank, 70 percent owned by Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ, will start a $100 million fund to invest in environmentally-friendly projects, another 100 million ringgit ($29 million) for a retail project in Kuala Lumpur and an aviation fund to invest in aircraft purchases, Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Azahari Kamil said in a telephone interview in Kuala Lumpur today………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Ifsl.org.uk: A new IFSL report on Islamic Finance 2010 estimated that the global market for Islamic financial services, as measured by sharia compliant assets, rose by a quarter to $751bn at end-2008. The Islamic finance sector is feeling the influence of the downturn in the global economy with asset growth likely to have paused for breath in 2009. Commercial banks account for the bulk of the assets with investment banks, sukuk issues, funds and takaful making up the balance.
London has established itself as the key western centre for Islamic finance. The cluster of expertise in London is represented by banks, fund managers, international law firms, a secondary market in Sukuk and a growing market for retail mortgage business………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Broking.co.uk: The global market for Islamic financial services is estimated to have risen by 25% to reach $951bn at the end of 2008, according to the Islamic Finance report from International Financial Services London (IFSL).
The organisation also said that the Islamic finance sector is feeling the influence of the downturn in the global economy with asset growth likely to have paused for breath in 2009………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Arabianbusiness.com: Rapid growth among Saudi Arabia’s Islamic insurers will benefit the domestic bond market but bypass dollardenominated issues due to regulations that keep insurers’ investment close to home, experts and executives said.
Strong growth in the takaful, or insurance industry has underpinned hopes it will give a boost to the market for Islamic bonds, or sukuk………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bi-me.com: Standard & Poor’s, a leading provider of financial market intelligence, has announced it will be a member of the Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA) Steering Committee.
The GBSA is a new independent membership body devoted to the development of fixed income markets across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Gulf bond issuers are likely to tap U.S. investors for a more diverse funding base, despite the fallout from Dubai’s debt troubles, as demand for high-rating emerging market debt rises, bankers in Dubai said on Monday.
There has been an increase in Gulf Arab corporate and quasi-sovereign issuers opting for 144a types of issues, which are regulated under the U.S. securities commission allowing U.S. investors to buy into the issue………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Thenational.ae: Bond issuance in the Gulf is unlikely to extend the boom of the latest quarter, as Dubai World’s request for a standstill from its creditors has sapped market confidence, bankers say.
New issues of bonds reached US$38 billion (Dh139.57bn) last year, including record issuance in the fourth quarter, compared with $14bn in 2008 and $28bn in 2007. “If you extrapolate from the last quarter, we could see $60bn in issuance [this year], but that is probably optimistic,” said Andrew Dell, the HSBC regional managing director for global financing………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities has been oversubscribed.
Subscriptions worth BD63m were received for the BD12m issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days. The expected return on the issue, which begins on 27 January 2010 and matures on 28 April 2010, is 1.05%………………….Full Press Release: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: Ahlibank-Al Hilal Islamic Banking has announced the profits of its investment deposits and savings accounts for the last quarter of 2009.
Al Hilal Islamic Banking said it has paid “attractive returns” on its deposits. The bank has announced a profit rate of 5.9% on investment deposits of more than one year………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bernama: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has urged banks in Malaysia and Bahrain to work together and use Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ to enable the flow of funds that would enhance the liquidity management framework between both countries.
BNM deputy governor, Datuk Mohd Razif Abd Kadir, said Bursa Suq Al-Sila’ could provide a viable alternative to the well-functioning of liquidity management in Islamic financial system. Bursa Suq Al Sila’ is a purposefully-designed exchange-traded platform to facilitate commodity murabahah transactions………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-daily-news.com: The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has granted a licence to Zurich Insurance Company (ZIC) to open a branch in Bahrain.
This allows the company to expand its activities as a general insurer from Bahrain, to provide services to their large corporate customers………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: Doha Insurance Company (DIC) has reported a 10% jump in 2009 net profit to QR52.08mn on faster growth in net underwriting earnings.
Although net premium grew only 7% to QR89.53mn; its total underwriting revenues surged 13% to QR107.40mn on substantial growth in earned insurance premiums and commissions received, according to its financial statement filed with the Qatar Exchange………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Btimes.com.my: Takaful Malaysia Bhd (Takaful Malaysia) has bagged two awards at the second Global Awards 2009. It was awarded the Global Diamond Award (Diamond winner category), while its group managing director Datuk Mohamed Hassan Kamil was chosen as the recipient of the “Smart Entrepreneur” award.
The “Smart Entrepreneur” award is based on the winner’s capability to position the company and its business to help further the 1Malaysia philosophy………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Nst.com.my: Whether rich or poor, the need for urgent cash is always there. The poor are not able to qualify for credit cards or personal loans from banks in Malaysia.
If they go to illegal moneylenders, the interest rate would be absurdly high, with a possibility of being trapped for a long time. This might lead to repayment of more than three times the borrowed amount………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Alibaba.com: The Singapore operations of Islamic bank Kuwait Finance House has cut its workforce as part of a plan to streamline its regional fund management business, a director said on Monday.
The decision to reduce Kuwait Finance’s Singapore headcount to two from about eight comes shortly after the departure of Islamic Bank of Asia’s top Singapore executive raised industry concerns that the city-state’s Islamic finance market is growing too slowly and so is prompting some companies to restructure………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Jordan will host a major Islamic finance conference in March. It will attract influential players in the field of Islamic financing and others interested in the industry.
The First Islamic Finance & Investment Forum for the Middle East (IFIF) 2010 will be held on March 2 and 3 at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center (KHBTCC) in the Dead Sea………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Maktoob.com: The Qatari economy is expected to grow 18% in 2010 and 13% in 2011 with the completion of new liquefied natural gas production lines, Doha-based Al Arab daily reports Monday.
The strong impetus that government spending will give to the economy will also contribute to this growth, the paper reports citing a study by Saudi Arabia’s Samba Financial Group………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
With the global financial crisis raising doubts over the world’s conventional financial system, the banking industry in Indonesia stands to benefit from the global downturn and expects to continue rapid growth in the coming years. The financial crisis is having no negative impact on the development of Islamic banking in the country.
So far, Islamic banks have not showed any weakening of their performance and we expect both assets and lending would grow at a CAGR of over 50% between 2009 and 2013. This optimistic view is based on its very nature (avoid involvement of interest rates), extremely low penetration and a healthy growth in lending over the past two years………………….Full Press Release: Source
Posted on 26 January 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: The government will seek to remove one of the final technical obstacles to the issuance of Islamic bonds, the Treasury said on Friday.
Islamic finance professionals in the UK, which hosts five stand-alone Islamic banks, were optimistic that if Parliament votes in favour next month to regulate sukuk as bonds rather than investment vehicles, it would encourage the growth of a market that has struggled for traction………………….Full Article: Source
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