From Gulf-times.com: Lack of liquidity, questionable Shariah-compliance by some sukuks and replenishment of capital remain risks to Islamic financing, according to Qatar First Investment Bank (QFIB).
“A tipping point has been reached in the finance across the GCC markets which could lead to accelerated growth. All the main economies in the GCC have a positive outlook and it is important that Islamic Finance links into this growth,” QFIB CEO Mike de Graffenried said………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Saudigazette.com.sa: Saudi Arabia can be a strategy partner of Malaysia to promote international Islamic finance industry, said a high-ranking official of Malaysia bank currently visiting the Kingdom.
Mohamed Razif Abd Kadir, deputy governor, Bank Negara Malaysia said at a press conference Saturday that the dynamic nature of economic ties and historical relations between the two countries, Saudi Arabia could be a strategic partner for Malaysia in shaping the global Islamic finance industry………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: A Malaysia International Finance Center (MIFC) delegation, headed by Raja Nazrin Shah, crown prince of Perak, held discussions with S.Arabia’s officials to promote business and investment opportunities in Islamic finance in Malaysia, acknowledged globally for its highly-developed and diversified Islamic banking and financial market.
Raja Nazrin, who is also the financial ambassador of MIFC - an initiative to position Malaysia as a hub for Islamic finance - and his delegation discussed bilateral issues and investment opportunities in both countries. Osama Fadaak of Attam Est. Commercial Services hosted a reception to the crown prince and his entourage at his residence, which was attended by prominent Saudi businessmen and investors………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: Whichever party wins the British general election next Thursday, the UK government’s policy on Islamic finance will be “business as usual” and all of the three main parties - Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats - have confirmed cross-party support to continue the Labour government’s Islamic finance initiative.
A few days ago, the City-based international law firm, Norton Rose, published a fascinating report - “The Election Briefing: Implications for Business” - which is effectively a roadmap of the positions of the above three parties on a cornucopia of issues including Islamic finance………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: To promote equity instruments such as mudaraba and musharaka as ‘ideal’ modes of financing in Islamic finance seems to ignore the lessons of Transactions Cost Economics that equity requires costly monitoring.
Moreover, in current applications and fiqh interpretations of mudaraba, the investor (rabb ul mall) does not have the monitoring or governance rights that would be appropriate for an equity investor. ……………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Aawsat.com: At a time when concepts and terms are being mixed up, it is the duty of scholars to fix this and to restore these terms and concepts to their original condition so that they carry out the aim for which they were intended and so that they are clear and persuasive.
This is especially required in this age in which people are inclined towards upholding Islamic Sharia, making it a source [of reference] for whoever wants to merchandize a product, particularly financial institutions that base their slogans and identity on Islamic Sharia to the extent that their slogans become intrinsic to them. ……………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Nakheel PJSC may pay about 3.6 billion dirhams ($980 million) of Islamic bonds due May 13 even if its parent Dubai World doesn’t reach a formal debt-restructuring agreement, a government spokeswoman said.
A formal agreement with creditors isn’t needed to repay the bonds, said the spokeswoman for Dubai’s Department of Finance yesterday. Dubai World in March said Nakheel’s local-currency and dollar-denominated sukuk will be paid on time “assuming sufficient support” for the restructuring plan from banks………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Gulf Holding Co sought to quash concerns of a possible liquidity crunch for the Villamar sukuk, or Islamic bond, saying it could both pay its next coupon and complete construction projects.
The Gulf Holding statement came after its Residential South Real Estate unit, which issued the Villamar sukuk, said on Thursday cash reserves fell to 5.45 million Bahraini dinars ($14.5 million) at the end of 2009 from 42.3 million a year earlier………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Tehrantimes.com: Iran will start offering bonds worth 250 million euro today at state-run Mellat Bank branches abroad.
The plan is considered the second stage of offering a total of one billion euro in bonds designed to help finance development of phases 15-18 of Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network reported………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: National Bonds Corporation (NBC) has announced the appointment of Omar Subhi to the newly created post of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Subhi brings to the role extensive experience gained in organisations as diverse as KPMG, Al Rostamani Group of Companies, TECOM and New Horizon.
Prior to his appointment as CFO, Subhi was Executive Director, Finance and Treasury with National Bonds Corporation. The newly created position of CFO combines Finance and Treasury with an investment function………………………………………Full Article: Source

From AFP: Kuwait Finance House, the emirate’s leading Islamic bank, said on Sunday its net profits in the first quarter of 2010 dived 21.3 percent after the firm made new provisions against loans.
KFH posted 107.3 million dollars in net profits between January and March compared to 136.5 million dollars in the same period of 2009, the bank said………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Pakobserver.net: The European Union’s largest and strongest economy, Germany, is finally edging toward facilitating Islamic finance in its jurisdiction. Germany has a Muslim population of 4.3 million, the second largest Muslim population in the EU after France with 5.5 million.
Reports from Germany stress that the country’s banking regulator, the Federal Financial Services Authority (BaFin), has issued a limited banking license to Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank, one of Turkey’s four so-called participation (Islamic) banks. ……………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: UAE lender National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah (RakBank) on Sunday said first-quarter net profit rose 42 per cent, boosted by an improvement in lending activity and higher customer deposits.
Abu-Dhabi-listed RakBank said net profit rose to 228.1 million dirhams ($62.09 million) in the first quarter, compared with 160.3 million dirhams for the year-ago period………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Globalarabnetwork.com: Libya’s process of transformation has been underpinned by a program of institutional reform that has had as its core the development and restructuring of the banking sector.
Since 2005, with the passage of the banking law, the CBL has been implementing a gradual liberalization process of the entire banking system with the aim to restructure and modernize the commercial banks. ……………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: DIFC Investments LLC, the owner of the Dubai International Financial Centre tax-free business park, posted a $561.4 million-loss last year as it wrote down the value of properties amid falling real-estate prices in Dubai.
DIFC had a profit of $842.5 million in 2008, the state- owned company said today in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai, where its $1.25 billion Islamic bond is listed. Revenue rose 29 percent to $891.7 million, helped by income from its U.K.-based Smartstream Technologies unit, which DIFC bought in 2007………………………………………Full Article: Source

From : Mawarid Finance announced the launch of its new scheme “Arbah Investment Club”, which targets certain category of customers.
Including three categories of membership, “Arabh Investment Club” is designed to offer more investment opportunities for each category members, the three categories include the Black Pearl which is offered against deposit of five Dhs5m dirhams, the Gold Pearl which is offered against deposit of three Dhs3m and the White Pearl against deposit of one Dhs1m………………………………………Full Article: Source

From : Amanie Islamic Finance Consultancy and Education (AIFCE) has announced the opening of its office at the DIFC Centre of Excellence.
The new office will be the company’s base for providing Shariah endorsement and training services to clients in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Atimes.com: In 1936 in the depths of a world-wide economic depression, John Maynard Keynes described the decline of the world’s financial markets as a result of playing at a casino: “Short-term speculation with little regard to fundamentals.”
A cursory examination of the current global financial crisis suggests little has changed since Keynes’ day - the conventional financial system, despite various patches and fixes over the years, is still prone to periods of extreme instability and abuse………………………………………Full Article: Source