Posted on 01 February 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Islamonline.net: Zambia is tapping into the thriving Islamic finance industry by formulating guidelines for Shari`ah-compliant banking services for the first time, with bankers expecting the move to accommodate Muslim clients and help the economy of the Southern African country.
“The guidelines are intended to provide a broader framework for conducting Islamic banking services in the country,” Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Caleb Fundanga told IslamOnline.net………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Ethiopianreview.com: India is planning to overhaul the regulation of its financial system to attract investments from the Gulf and to encourage its largely unbanked Muslim population to save money in a way compliant with their religion, a senior government adviser said.
K. Rahman Khan, deputy chairman of India’s upper house of parliament, told the Financial Times that the ruling Congress party had proposed the introduction of Islamic financial products………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Arabnews.com: “Islamic finance is, and will continue to be, an important part of the government’s overall commitment to ensuring a competitive financial services sector in the UK,” reiterated Sarah McCarthy-Fry MP, exchequer secretary to Treasury, in London at a seminar entitled “New Year — New Opportunities in Islamic Finance,” hosted by the international law firm, Norton Rose, in London recently.
This statement of intent coincides with two notable developments relevant to the European Islamic finance sector in the last two weeks or so………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Arabnews.com: The UK government may be stalling on the issuance of a sovereign sukuk in the wholesale sterling market, but the country took a step nearer to facilitating the issuance of the first UK corporate sukuk.
Come end of February 2010, the necessary final legislation should be adopted by the House of Commons following the introduction of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Order 2010 by Treasury to support Islamic finance and the issuance of corporate sukuk within the UK………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Business24-7.ae: Connecticut-based Shariah Capital and Dubai Multi- Commodities Centre (DMCC) plan to boost assets under management in their specialised commodity funds to “multibillion” dollar level in three years from almost $260 million (Dh954.2m) now, senior officials said.
“Our plan is to make this a multibillion project within three years. We’re now ready to raise funds,” Eric Meyer, Chairman and Chief Executive of Shariah Capital, told Zawya Dow Jones in an interview………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Two leading Islamic Finance Industry service providers, DinarStandard and Dar Al Istithmar, today announced the release of a first-of-its-kind report on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Islamic Finance Institutions as well as recognizing social responsibility leaders from within the respondents with theM aqasid Al-Shari’a Awards.
The Social Responsibility Trends at Islamic Financial Institutions Report presents the aggregate results of an extensive survey on Social Responsibility at Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) carried out during summer and fall of 2009………………………………….Full Press Release: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Islamic liquidity management and financing were discussed at a key forum held in Bahrain.The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) and Bursa Malaysia organised a forum which also discussed contemporary issues relating to commodity Murabaha transactions and Tawarruq practices.
The forum was part of a two-day event marking the inauguration of a commercial relationship between the two exchanges………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Khaleeji Commercial Bank head of treasury and capital markets Hussam Saif was a key speaker at the Leaders Summit Conference held in India.
Mr Saif submitted a working paper entitled ‘The Increasing Importance of Islamic Finance’, in which he dealt with the role of Islamic finance in developing key projects in the Far East, and how to employ them for the benefit of different sectors, particularly amid the global economic crisis………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: Malaysia needs to develop a vibrant stock market to attract asset flow and support the growth of Islamic finance, first holder of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) chair of Islamic finance, Dr Abbas Mirakhor, said Friday.
According to Abbas, a stock market that is highly liquid will attract assets from all over the world and fits into the evolution of Islamic finance………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Btimes.com.my: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Malaysia’s oldest Islamic bank, is in talks to take over rivals abroad as part of its long-term growth plans.
Managing director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said the lender was in talks with a few Southeast Asian Islamic banks from time to time, but “nothing concrete” had emerged yet………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Tradearabia.com: A major shareholder in Al Rajhi Bank boosted his stake in the Islamic lender to 14 percent from a previous 13.9 percent, bourse data showed on Sunday.
Saleh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Rajhi bought an extra 1.5 million shares in the bank on Saturday, the data from Tadawul showed………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Thefinancialexpress-bd.com: Worldwide assets of the Islamic banking and financial services industry are currently estimated approximately at US$1000 billion. More than 300 banks and financial institutions are providing their banking services under Islamic framework in more than 60 countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and America.
The Islamic banking system in Bangladesh started with the establishment of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) in 1983. Currently, seven full-fledged Islamic banks and eleven conventional banks with their 24Islamic banking branches are providing Islamic banking services………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bi-me.com: Khaleeji Commercial Bank participated in the Leaders Summit Conference held in India during the period 14-17 January under the title “Future of Capital Markets During 2010″. It was represented by Husam Saif, Head, Treasury and Capital Markets.
During his participation, Husam submitted a working paper entitled “The Increasing Importance of Islamic Finance,” in which he dealt with the role of Islamic finance in developing leading projects in the Far East, and how to employ it in the service of different sectors, particularly amid the global economic crisis………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From MNI: Bahrain’s extensive stimulus program and improvement of international markets should help accelerate growth in 2010, Rasheed Mohammed Al-Maraj, governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain said on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here, Al-Maraj said Bahrain is not considering dropping its dollar peg and that he senses no investor concern about sukuks, the Islamic equivalent of bonds………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-times.com: The GCC region’s fundamental credit quality may slowly improve this year given the recovery in global economy, a BNP Paribas executive has said.
But Vivek Tawadey, BNP Paribas global head (Interest Rate Strategy) said different regions would be growing at varying speeds in 2010………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Innovative-investor.com: AmIslamic Bank managing director and chief executive Datuk ahdi Murad has been reported as saying it plans to issue six more new products, including wealth management and structured products, this year.
Speaking ahead of its year end announcement on 31 March, he said he was confident of achieving double-digit growth in its Islamic banking business for the financial year, and that the bank expected to see 30% growth in assets and profitability………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Tradearabia.com: Fourth-quarter net profit at Union National Bank (UNB) more than tripled but missed forecasts as customer deposits and bad loan provisions both grew.
Earnings at Abu Dhabi’s fifth-largest bank by market value came in at Dh222.1 million ($60.47 million), the bank said, compared with Dh65.8 million in the same period last year and analyst expectations of Dh254.5 million………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain-based Solidarity Group, a member of the Ithmaar banking group and one of the largest takaful companies in the world, was named Takaful Operator of the Year at the Gulf Insurance Awards Ceremony in Dubai.
The Gulf Insurance Awards, which are hosted by Gulf Insurance Review Magazine, an authoritative and highly-regarded business title, are set to become an annual fixture in the region’s insurance event calendar. The inaugural awards ceremony was held recently at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Cpifinancial.net: The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) and Bursa Malaysia recently organised a forum to discuss matters related to Islamic liquidity management and financing and in particular contemporary issues relating to commodity Murabaha transactions and Tawarruq practices.
The forum was part of a two-day event marking the inauguration of a commercial relationship between the two exchanges. The companies said in a press release that, “the underpinning for this relationship is to provide financial products to Islamic market participants and strengthen bilateral ties between both organisations.”…………………………………Full Article: Source
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From Cpifinancial.net: The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Capitas Group, LLC, a US financial services firm specializing in developing and managing Shari’ah compliant finance companies, to form a management company dedicated to the global development of the Shari’ah compliant finance industry.
The new company, Capitas Group International, will be based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Chron.com: Houston is often described as the energy capital of the world, and for good reason. This city demonstrates all the skills and infrastructure needed as a global hub not just for the oil and natural gas sectors but also for renewable energy.
More than 5,000 energy-related firms now call Houston their home because policymakers and industry have worked together to meet the challenges of the day and exploit new opportunities………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Cpifinancial.net: RAM Ratings said it has reaffirmed the respective AAA, AA1, A1, A2 and BBB1 ratings of Golden Crop Returns’ Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Sukuk Al-Ijarah with a stable outlook.
“The reaffirmation is premised on the plantations’ performance, which has fallen within our expectations, as well as loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and debt service coverage ratios (DSCRs) that commensurate with their respective ratings. Golden Crop is a bankruptcy-remote, special-purpose company that had been set up as the financing vehicle for the sale-and-leaseback transaction involving 17 plantations and 5 mills under the purview of entities within the Boustead Holdings Group,” a statement from RAM said………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 01 February 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Businessweek.com: Dubai’s failure to reassure investors its restructuring plan will succeed is causing the emirate’s benchmark stock index to drop the most in the world and forcing companies to scrap bond sales.
The Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 15 percent since Dec. 14, wiping out a rally sparked by Abu Dhabi’s bailout of Dubai World that day. Bonds of the state-owned company’s property developer Nakheel PJSC sank to 55.75 cents on the dollar from 67.5 cents, while credit default swaps on Dubai government debt trade at 493 basis points, the highest level since Abu Dhabi’s fund injection………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Globalarabnetwork.com: The 6th Annual Middle East Insurance Forum (MEIF 2010) will be held in Bahrain on the 7th and 8th of February 2010 under a timely theme that reflects the new economic realities that the industry is facing.
The conference, which is now in its 6th year as the region’s most influential gathering for insurance industry leaders, is held in strategic partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain and with the support of the Bahrain Insurance Association………………………………….Full Article: Source
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