From Bloomberg: The yield premium that Persian Gulf borrowers pay on sukuk compared to the rest of the Islamic finance industry may narrow as companies with higher credit ratings plan at least $1.75 billion of sales.
Islamic Development Bank, the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia financial group with Aaa ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, is planning a $1 billion sale of bonds based on the exchange of assets rather than interest……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Travel firm Thomas Cook has failed to place a $50m aircraft finance Islamic bond with Gulf region investors, three bankers said, marking the failure of what would have been the first European corporate sukuk.
Three bankers said the five-year sukuk, called the Golden Age sukuk, was marketed to Saudi investors by lead arranger Wasatah Capital, a Saudi investment company, but was called off last month after it failed to gain interest in the kingdom partly because the yield offered of 7 percent was seen as too low……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Cagamas Bhd., the Malaysian national mortgage company, plans to sell as much as 5 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion) of Islamic bonds.
The company, based in Kuala Lumpur, will publish details about a program for so-called sukuk sales tomorrow and hasn’t yet decided when to issue the first notes, Chief Executive Officer Steven Choy said in a phone interview today……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: Bermuda is likely to see the first Islamic financial institution to be up and running by the year-end, a development which will boost the chances for Bermuda becoming an emerging hub for Islamic banking and finance for the world’s largest economy, the USA.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance Paula A. Cox, who was in Bahrain last week and held talks during her two-day visit to Bahrain with Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, said Bermuda was preparing to host the first Islamic financial institution by the year-end……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Alrroya.com: Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank plans to more than double its branches by the end of 2010 and is helping Jordan’s government issue an Islamic bond in the country’s rapidly growing market, its chief executive said.
Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank is the latest entrant in the fast-growing Islamic banking sector - opening its doors in January and listing on the Amman bourse in May — and Jordan has become an important market. Saudi-based Al Rajihi Bank plans to open a branch in Amman later this year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Btimes.com.my: Agrobank (formerly Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd), which currently offers both conventional and Islamic banking services, will go fully Islamic by 2015, said managing director Datuk Ahmad Said.
The bank has been offering Islamic banking products since it was corporatised in 2008……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: The newly established Barwa Bank expects to complete the acquisition of First Finance (FFC) and First Leasing Company by August this year, a top company official has said.
“Barwa Bank’s mission is to create a truly universal Islamic banking group based out of Qatar. This transaction is, therefore, consistent with our strategy of growing our consumer finance, retail, commercial, asset management and private client banking platforms whilst delivering superior service and products to our customers,” said its vice chairman Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad al-Thani……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Barwa Bank, a unit of Qatari developer Barwa Real Estate, said its shareholders approved the acquisition of First Finance and First Leasing under a plan to create an international Islamic lender in Qatar.
Shareholders agreed to acquire a minimum of 75 percent of both First Finance and First Leasing, the bank said in an emailed statement today. The acquisition is expected to be concluded by Aug 1……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Albawaba.com: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a top-tier Islamic financial services group and an industry leader in new technology initiatives, became the first UAE bank to launch interactive mobile financial services through Etisalat’s new Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology.
Etisalat’s USSD technology allows interactive communication between the bank and a customer using their mobile phone. Unlike SMS banking, the USSD technology will enable customers to conduct secure real time transactions through their mobile phones, and get information on a broad range of banking services offered by ADIB……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) saw its net profit for the first half of this year slip 9.1 per cent but chairman Abdulla Ali Kanoo said he was satisfied with the result given the current challenging business environment.
The bank achieved a net profit of BD23.26 million ($61.7m) for the period compared to BD25.60m for the same period last year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: According to new regulations, defaulting debtors could face legal action by banks in the UAE within 90 days instead of 180 days, Alittihad has reported.
Measures taken by banks against defaulters include informing authorities, preventing them from leaving the country and referring them to court, Saif Al Shehi, local banking operations director at the government-controlled National Bank of Abu Dhabi said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Trowers & Hamlins LLP, the international law firm, has advised Gatehouse Bank plc, the UK-based Shari’ah compliant investment bank, on its £40.1 million acquisition of BT’s regional headquarters in Leeds.
The property was purchased from LaSalle Investment Management on behalf of the Royal Mail Pension Fund with Shari’ah compliant financing provided by Helaba (Landesbank Hessen -Thüringen Girozentrale), the German bank……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source

From Bernama: Tune Money Sdn Bhd, the one-stop online financial services company of Tune Group, has launched “Tune Raya Takaful”, its first product offering available for online purchase.
The innovative design takaful (Islamic Insurance) product for family protection during the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri and “balik kampung” season is limited from July 7 to Sept 15, with coverage period up to Oct 31……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Islamic Financial Securities’ trading activities increased 53 percent in the first half of this year. During the period, the company accounted for 5.6 percent of the total trading at Qatar Exchange, up from 3.66 percent in the corresponding period in 2009.
The company posted revenue of QR7.8m in the first half of this year ended June 30 including a real net profit of QR2.9m, despite the decline in trading seen in the Qatar Exchange……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Middle-east-online.com: Dubai’s two stock markets on Sunday started to trade on a single platform in a bid to consolidate the markets. Nasdaq Dubai announced that all trading in its listed equities is now being done through the platform of the larger Dubai Financial Market (DFM), in a statement.
“The move, under preparation since December 2009, is part of a consolidation between the two exchanges,” it said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Business24-7.ae: Saudi Arabia is planning 46 more initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2010 but only a small part of them could materialise because of market uncertainty, a key investment company in the Gulf Kingdom has said. A total 55 sukuk and bond transactions worth around SR27.4 billion (Dh27.1 billion) have been traded in Saudi Arabia since it launched a bond market in June 2009.
The world’s oil powerhouse has so far this year issued eight IPOs, raising SR3.3 billion (Dh3.26 billion), far higher than the two IPOs issued by the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, said NCB Capital, an affiliate of National Commercial Bank, the largest bank in Saudi Arabia………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Transportation projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait worth an estimated $170 billion will change the way trade is done. Railway projects alone will be worth an investment of $108 billion, according to Satish Khanna, General Manager of Al Fajer Information and Services, the organisers of the GulfRail 2012, an exhibition and conference set to take place from April 17 to 19, 2012.
An $11 billion UAE railway network that will be 1,500km long is scheduled to roll out over the next 7-8 years……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Legalbusinessonline.com: Norton Rose has reaffirmed its commitment to the Islamic financial sector with the appointment of Mohammed Paracha to its banking practice in Bahrain, as partner and deputy global head of Islamic finance.
The appointment further strengthens Norton Rose Group’s Islamic finance presence in the Middle East, following the relocation of Neil Miller, global head of Islamic Finance, to the Dubai office last year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Dubai-based Ethica Institute, a leading Islamic finance training institute, recently took part in an international Islamic finance summit in Toronto.
The G20 Islamic Finance Summit recently brought together Islamic finance experts from around the world to discuss the changing role of the industry amid the continuing global financial crisis……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The ‘Brands, Islam and the New Muslim Consumers’ Report serves as the launch pad for Ogilvy Noor, a multidisciplinary global Islamic Branding practice that aims to help brands better engage with Muslim consumers worldwide. The Muslim market is viewed as a critically important playground for marketers, with the halal segment alone worth $2.1 trillion, and growing by $500 billion annually.
Research conducted in four key Muslim markets – Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, has identified the New Muslim Consumer as a critically important development for brands hoping to build successful relationships with the Islamic world……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source