From Indiatimes.com: In a development that is certain to come in the way of the Centre’s plans to have a look at introducing Islamic banking in the country, the Kerala High Court on Thursday ruled against state’s participation in the Shariah-based banking activity.

In its order on a PIL filed by former Union minister Subramaniam Swamy challenging the validity of the Kerala government’s involvement in Islamic banking, the court said that neither the state government nor its industrial investment agency — Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) — should cooperate with the proposed Shariah-based venture capital fund. The petitioner had pointed out that an Islamic financial entity was against the tenets of secularism………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Kerala High Court has ruled that neither the state government nor its agencies should invest in an Islamic financial institution. In their interim order on a petition filed by Janata Party chairman Subrmaniam Swamy, Chief Justice J Chelemeswar and Justice C N Ramachandran Nair asked the state government not to fund any venture that went against the secular ethos of the Constitution.

He pointed out that Shariah was the Muslim Personal Law and the functioning of financial company set up with government participation in compliance with Shariah norms was an instance of the state government favouring a particular religion………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Thestar.com.my: The recent global financial crisis has spurred some parts of the world to diversify their sources of funding in order not to face any liquidity problems should future problems crop up again in the financial system.

One country that is looking towards diversifying funding sources is South Korea, whose banks faced difficulty in acquiring foreign currency through conventional means for refinancing activities to domestic companies as the crisis unravelled in late 2008………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Dow Jones: Investing may be just a financial endeavor for most people. But for Canadian Muslims who want to invest, financial advisers are dealing with how their religious beliefs affect their financial decisions.

“There’s a bit more work involved,” said Saad Rehman, a wealth adviser at Bank of Nova Scotia’s (BNS) Scotia McLeod unit. He was one of the speakers at last week’s Usury-Free Association of North America in Toronto………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Investorsoffshore.com: The Islamic finance industry’s total assets scaled new heights in 2009 according to Moody’s Investors Service, rising to just under USD1 trillion despite the gloomy economic landscape, although the ratings agency has urged the industry to continue to innovate, particularly in the area of risk hedging, if Islamic finance is to really thrive.

In a new Special Comment, Moody’s estimates that the market’s potential is worth at least USD5 trillion and the industry is continuing to expand globally. But the Moody’s report suggests that the combined use of securitization and derivatives “offers considerable scope for reducing the risk exposures of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) and thus improving their overall creditworthiness.”…………………………………………Full Article: Source

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From Zawya Dow Jones: Qatar Islamic Bank, or QIB, the country’s second-largest lender by market value, will delay selling sukuk worth at least $500 million due to a blip in market confidence in the wake of Dubai World’s restructuring, people familiar with the matter said.

“The bond is on hold because they were worried about pricing,” one person familiar with the lender’s plans told Zawya Dow Jones………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Reuters: Dubai Group’s plan to sell its stake in Malaysia’s Bank Islamis unlikely to be completed by June, Bank Islam’s managing director was quoted as saying on Thursday.
“I don’t think it can be done by June,” Zukri Samat was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s official Bernama news agency. “But on our end, we hope there is a good bidder………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: BNP Paribas Investment Partners likes Malaysian and Indonesian sovereign sukuk, which are driven by funding needs as a result of economic growth, but believes the market needs more US dollar issues.

Sukuk issuers from South Korea and Japan would also be welcome, as well as big companies such as recent issuer General Electric, said Rafael Dalmau, director of emerging markets and Islamic investments, FFTW, BNP Paribas Investment Partners. …………………………………………Full Article: Source

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From Businessdayonline.com: Islamic banking and finance (IBF) is about to become part of the banking and finance landscape of Nigeria. Last week, the executive directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) returned from a one-week under-study the Negara Bank of Malaysia, purportedly a model of successful IBF.
The CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi himself has made frequent trips to the same bank over the past ten months in search of a supervisory framework for Nigeria’s microfinance banks and IBF………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Theglobeandmail.com: Killam Properties Inc. will go on a Canada-wide apartment buying spree after striking a $450-million partnership with one of the largest Islamic banks in the Middle East.

Kuwait Financial House has been looking to invest in Canadian real estate for at least five years, ultimately deciding to invest in the relatively stable, cash-generating apartment sector through the partnership with Halifax-based Killam and Sigma Real Estate Advisors. The deal will effectively double the number of buildings owned and managed by Killam………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Theedgemalaysia.com: BIMB Holdings Bhd’s unit, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Farihan Corp Sdn Bhd (FCSB) for the provision of Ar-Rahn, or Islamic pawnbroking, services.

“The objective of the MoU is to facilitate the subscription of new FCSB shares that will result in Bank Islam having a controlling stake in FCSB, subject to pricing and satisfactory due diligence. This is in response to the government’s plan to encourage all syariah-compliant financial and banking institutions to offer Ar-Rahn facilities,” BIMB said in a statement on April 8………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Kuwaittimes.net: The Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) held its general assembly meeting yesterday at its headquarters with the attendance of 85 percent of the shareholders.
A ten-member new board of directors was elected during the assembly which also reviewed the performance of the bank during the last year and projected a challenging but positive growth outlook for the bank in the coming years………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Globalarabnetwork.com: Fitch Ratings has today downgraded Bahrain-based TAIB Bank’s (TAIB) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B+’ from ‘BB’. The Outlook is Negative.
Fitch has simultaneously downgraded the Individual Rating to ‘D’ from ‘C/D’. The Short-term IDR was affirmed at ‘B’ and the Support Rating at ‘5′………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Kuwaittimes.net: Banks led Doha’s index to a 17-month high yesterday after Qatar National Bank (QNB) reported a 25 percent jump in quarterly profit.
Kuwait and Bahrain also claimed milestone highs as dual-listed Ahli United Bank (AUB) surged ahead of a slated stake sale and Saudi Arabia ended a three-day losing streak. Dubai slumped to a two-week low. QNB climbed 0.4 percent to 138 riyals, with the stock up 21 percent this year………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Digitalproductionme.com: Satellite operator Yahsat has announced that it has secured the first Shariah-compliant insurance policy for space operations.

The agreement will cover the launch and operation of the Y1a and Y1b satellites scheduled for launch in 2011………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Arabfinance.com: Outstanding loans and credit facilities of retail banks stood at BD5.885 billion ($15.608bn) at the end of last year, a 0.05 per cent decline compared to the BD5.887bn at the end of 2008, a report reveals.

The business sector accounted for 64.9pc of total loans and credit facilities, while individuals and the government sector represented 28.5pc and 6.7pc respectively, the Central Bank of Bahrain Annual Report for 2009 says………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Creditors have “well received” Dubai’s plan to restructure the debt of its troubled firm, Dubai World, a top official was quoted as saying.

“The offer has been well received by the financial institutions, contractors and investors,” Ahmed bin Humaid Al Tayer, governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), told a conference………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Alwatan.com.kw: Standard and Poor’’s agency has lowered the longـterm rating of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) on deterioration of asset quality and funding profile, but maintained a stable outlook. The ratings agency downgraded the longـterm counterparty credit rating of CBK.
The ratings agency downgraded the longـterm counterparty credit rating of CBK, the third largest conventional lender in Kuwait, from Aـ to BBB but affirmed its shortـterm rating of Aـ2………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Ameinfo.com: A new board for the Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK) has been elected by shareholders who also voted to delay releasing the old board from its responsibilities for its pay to be examined, Reuters has reported. The CBK board resigned in January, but the bank did not give a reason for their departure.
Outgoing board chairman Abdulmajeed al-Shatti said board members had not received any bonuses, but the shareholder asked for the matter to be probed………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Arabnews.com: Oman’s First Mazoon Fund is “selective” on banks in the Gulf Arab region as a recovery in credit growth is expected only in the second half of the year, its manager said.

“When it comes to the banking sector, we are selective in the region. We do not expect credit growth in the first half of the year,” said Sankar Kailasam, the fund’s manager and senior vice president for asset management at Gulf Baader Capital Markets in Muscat………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Khaleejtimes.com: Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has downgraded the rating of government-owned flagship entities DP World, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority and Emaar properties by one notch.

“We do not incorporate into the ratings on these entities any expectation of extraordinary support from the government of Dubai,” the rating agency said in its rating action. The ratings on DIFC Investments LLC and JAFZ Sukuk Ltd remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, the Standand and Poor’s Credit Rating agency said………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Dailymirror.lk: The Islamic Committee established by a group of companies wanting to create a key presence for Islamic banking services and products is in a lull. It is up against opposition from other members within the Islamic Focus Group as having no credibility in the eyes of the regulator came in for disapproval by key companies that pulled out at a late stage, sources said.

The Focus Group was established to create the space for infrastructure required for Islamic products to be made available in the market with proper regulatory clearance………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Gulf-daily-news.com: The central bank of Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia, will host a major Islamic finance forum. Themed Islamic Finance: Opportunities for Tomorrow, the second Global Islamic Finance Forum (GIFF) 2010 will be held in Kuala Lumpur from October 25 to 28.

GIFF 2010 is a key international event in the calendar of Islamic finance following the success of the inaugural GIFF in March 2007………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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From Khaleejtimes.com: President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, has issued an emiri decree number 3 of year 2010, on reshuffling the board of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.

As per the decree, the board will be chaired by Sheikh Khalifa and membership of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Representative of UAE President, HH General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Affairs Minister, HH Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, HE Mohammed Habroosh Al Suwaidi, Adviser to UAE President, HE Khalifa Mohammed Al Kindi, Managing Director and HH Younis Hajji Khoori…………………………………………..Full Article: Source

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From Gulf-daily-news.com: The Bahrain-based International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), in collaboration with the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), has published the Tahawwut Master Agreement.

The agreement is a framework or governing document and has been welcomed as an essential step in the development of the market for Sharia-compliant hedging transactions………………………………………….Full Article: Source

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