Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Economist.com: There was a time when proponents of Islamic finance sniffed opportunity in the crisis. The problems of speculative, casino-like Western banks contrasted nicely with the emphasis that sharia-compliant finance places on an ethical, risk-sharing approach. But risk-sharing looks much less appealing when issuers are defaulting.
Dubai’s debt problems badly shook investors in sukuk, a type of Islamic bond, issued by Nakheel, a troubled property developer. Although a restructuring deal announced last month should ensure that Nakheel’s bondholders will now be paid back on schedule, the saga is bound to have damaged confidence…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Indonesia’s major Islamic lender PT Bank Muamalat is studying the possibility of issuing a dollar-denominated sukuk next year to help expand its lending, company director Farouk Abdullah AlWyni said on Thursday.
He also said the country’s first full-fledged sharia bank, which is partly owned by Islamic Development Bank, has postponed its planned 1 trillion rupiah ($111 million) rights issue to June after foreign investors expressed interest in buying a stake in the bank. The rights issue had been planned for May…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Sananews.net: The government held out assurance to International Monetary Fund (IMF) of issuing sukuk bonds worth Rs100 billion in order to take down the circular debts of various government departments.
According to a private television channel, the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari also assured to play a role for Value-added Tax (VAT) in Sindh…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Us-sabc.org: Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has appointed Samba Capital and the U.K.’s HSBC to lead a sukuk issue of up to $1.9 billion (SR7 billion), which is expected to be launched in May. Proceeds from the sukuk will be used for SEC’s expansion plans.
SEC is executing projects to add 5,105 megawatts of new power capacity by 2012 and plans to buy electricity from an independent consortium that is developing a power and desalination plant with an output capacity of 850 megawatts…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Globalarabnetwork.com: Fitch Ratings has today affirmed Qatar Real Estate Investment Company Q.S.C.’s (Alaqaria) Long-term Issuer Default rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at ‘BBB+’, and its Short-term IDR at ‘F2′. The IDR and senior unsecured were removed from Rating Watch Positive (RWP). The Outlook is Stable.
The senior unsecured rating of Qatar Alaqaria Sukuk Company (QREIC)’s USD300m Sukuk bonds (due 2012) has also been affirmed at ‘BBB+’, and removed from RWP…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Indonesia’s central bank expects to issue a new ruling on risk management in the middle of this year to strengthen the Islamic banking sector in the world’s most populous Muslim country, a central banker said on Thursday.
Indonesia has lagged behind Malaysia and Singapore in developing its Islamic finance markets. However it has stepped up its efforts since last year by eliminating double taxation of such sharia products, as this had hampered growth of the industry…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: Qatar Islamic Bank, or QIB, said yesterday it would continue to finance government projects in the gas-rich state and grow its business regionally and internationally.
“QIB has strived to consolidate its participation in the national economy through its funding of macro-companies in a new trend intended to further consolidate its leading role in financing national projects,” chairman Shaikh Jasem Hamad Jabor Al Thani said in an e-mailed statement…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From News.az: First of all, this is creation of the legislative basis, second this is the preparation of staff, formation of the educational system in this sphere. Introduction of banking affair by Shariah principles is real in Azerbaijan,doctor of economic sciences of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia, professor Zahid Mammadov on April 14.
He said there is a need to settle two issues for Islamic banking. “First of all, this is a creation of the legislative basis, second this is the preparation of staff, formation of the educational system in this sphere…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Allafrica.com: The first Islamic micro finance bank in the country, Al-Barakah Micofinance Bank was yesterday commissioned in Lagos. The bank is an initiative of The Muslim Congress which spans 16 years.
At a well attended event, the Chairman of Al-Barakah MicroFinance Bank, Dr.Abdul Hakeem Mobolaji said the bank is set up in response to the increasing demand for alternative micro credit products by the less privileged members of the society against the conventional banking practices…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Businessdayonline.com: While we welcome ‘interest-free’ banking alternative, it is important to highlight additional potential challenges that are either being swept under the carpet or have not even been contemplated.
First is the lack of a secondary market which would enable Islamic banking and finance (IBF) to expand their product range and grow their business. Without the ability to generate capital and hold liquid assets to foster a secondary market, IBFs will not be able to seriously grow a credit market, Islamic bonds, expansion of takaful insurance (‘joint guarantee’ in Arabic), and development of capital management services…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Theedgemalaysia.com: Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd (HLISB) has appointed Hijah Arifakh Othman as its new managing director. In a statement on Thursday, April 15, HLISB said she is a highly experienced banker of over 25 years specialising in treasury, dept capital markets and balance sheet management.
Hijah forged her early career with Bank Negara Malaysia where she spent 16 years in several key departments, including the regulation department, treasury and banking department…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Sananews.net: Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic Bank has been awarded ‘Best Islamic Bank in Pakistan’ for 2009 by ASiAMONEY magazine, Hong Kong.
Meezan Bank also recently won the ‘Best Islamic Bank in Pakistan’ for 2009 by Islamic Finance News of REDmoney group, Malaysia…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Egypt’s National Bank for Development (NBD) said on Thursday its net loss for 2009 fell to 458.1 million Egyptian pounds ($83.06 million) from 738.9 million in 2008.
Loans to customers dropped to 2.22 billion pounds as of Dec. 31 from 3.24 billion pounds a year earlier, while customer deposits rose to 9.4 billion pounds from 8.29 billion pounds, it said in an advertisement published in Al-Ahram newspaper…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: The Central Bank of Jordan said on Thursday it sold 18-month Treasury bonds worth JD100 million ($141 million) with the average yield falling to 3.103 per cent from 7.336 per cent at its last 18-month issue in November 2008.
The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), which has mostly issued three-year T-bonds this year, had invited offers for this issue at the auction this week for settlement on Wednesday…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Saudigazette.com.sa: Newly launched Saudi bank Alinma made a SR75 million ($20 million) net loss due to increased operational costs and a decline in revenues.
The bank, which opened its first retail banking branches in July, made a net profit of SR109 million in the first quarter of 2009…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bernama: The general insurance and takaful sector is expected to experience premium growth of between 9.0 and 11.0 per cent this year, according to ISM Insurance Services Malaysia Bhd.
This was in line with the global economic recovery and the increase in domestic vehicle sales, its chief executive officer Carl Rajendram told reporters after presenting the general insurance and takaful market performance report for 2009…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-daily-news.com: The fourth edition of World Islamic Insurance Directory published jointly by Takaful Re and Middle East Insurance Review showed an increase in the number of operators in the takaful market.
The figures collated from the market demonstrated that the total contributions generated by takaful companies had increased from $7.5 billion in 2007 to $9.4bn in 2008 representing a significant growth of 25 per cent with same expected growth rate for last year despite global market conditions…………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 April 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: Abu Dhabi government-owned investment company Invest AD is looking to spin off, and possibly sell, its investment banking business after it decided to wind it down due to market conditions, a person close to the company said.
“Invest AD brought a high-quality team on board, and they would be pretty valuable to the right player as markets are rebounding,” the person, who declined to be named, said…………………..Full Article: Source
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