Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: Growth in Islamic financing in the U.K. has been hampered by an economic slump and what Moody’s Investors Service describes as a lack of government support.
HSBC Amanah, a unit of Europe’s biggest bank, says Malaysia and the Middle East have better growth prospects. Lloyds Banking Group Plc, the U.K.’s largest mortgage lender, stopped offering home financing that complies with Shariah law because the overseas underwriter withdrew, Emile Abu-Shakra, a spokesman at the bank in London, said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: The Islamic bond market, slowly recovering from Dubai’s debt crisis last year, will pick up following issuance by well-rated companies like Nomura, a manager at the UK’s largest Islamic bank said.
Solid companies will be the main issuers of sukuk or Islamic bonds as activity picks up after the summer lull, said Jason Kabel, manager of the BLME Shariah USD Income fund, run by the Bank of London and the Middle East……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Bahrain office of Baker & McKenzie has acted for the Saudi Binladin Group on a SAR700m ($187m) Sukuk Al-Murabaha issued by SBG Sukuk Limited. The short term Sukuk was privately placed with key Saudi investors.
The Baker & McKenzie team was led by Ian Siddell, Partner and Head of the Gulf Banking & Finance practice, who said: “Having assisted the Saudi Binladin Group on their inaugural sukuk issuance in 2008, we are pleased to have, once again, advised the Saudi Binladin Group on this innovative short term sukuk which represents a first in many respects for the Saudi market. The strong response the issuance received from the Saudi market highlights the strength of the Saudi Binladin Group.”………………………………………Full Press Release: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: Dubai World-owned Nakheel PJSC’s Islamic bonds are trading at yields twice as high as in 2007 even after a four-month rally, underscoring the difficulty for Persian Gulf real-estate companies to borrow through debt sales.
“Access to the market is still difficult for companies operating in the real-estate sector,” Mohamed Damak, Paris- based credit analyst and co-chair of the Islamic finance working group at Standard & Poor’s, said in an interview yesterday. “The market is somewhat closed for these entities.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the country’s biggest Islamic lender, reported on Wednesday a 22 percent rise in second-quarter net profit, beating expectations.
The lender made a net profit of 39.9 million dinars ($138.4 million) in the second quarter, up from 32.7 million dinars in the year earlier period, KFH said in a statement on the bourse website……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Thenational.ae: The noted Islamic scholar Khurshid Ahmad once described the philosophy behind Islamic banking: “Money never becomes the objective, the hero of the cast. It remains an intermediary and an instrument for real productive effort, for asset creation, and for the expansion of physical economic activity.”
Islamic banking essentially reminds us that money is not the end goal, but rather an intermediary that helps build non-monetary assets in society. As a result, say Sharia scholars, one should never profit from money alone, and one should never use money for unproductive purposes (including haraam activities like alcohol and gambling)……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Microcapital.org: Citigroup is considering opening Shariah-compliant banks in the Pakistan market to serve the Muslim population whose beliefs prohibit paying interest on loans. Financial institutions offering Shariah-compliant loans do not charge interest on the loans but instead make money through fees and profit-sharing arrangements with the borrowers.
Commenting on the potential market, Global Director of Citi Microfinance Robert A. Annibale said, “There are large microfinance banks in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Morocco, Egypt and India where the strength of the Muslim population is greater. But interestingly none of them are Shariah-compliant”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Globalarabnetwork.com: Capital Intelligence (CI), the international credit rating agency, today announced that it has affirmed the Foreign Currency ratings of Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) at A- long-term and A2 short-term with a Stable Outlook and a Support rating of 2 .
The ratings are strongly underpinned by the support of the federal government and the government of Sharjah’s ownership of the Bank……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, has launched a flexible deposit scheme, which allows customers to make partial withdrawals from their fixed deposit, while still keeping the rest of the deposit intact.
FlexiDeposits has been launched with the objective to offer customers the comfort of flexibility, security and high returns, all together in one fixed deposit offering, a statement said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: Doha Bank QSC, Qatar’s third-biggest bank by revenue, posted a less-than-expected drop in second-quarter profit after the country’s sovereign wealth fund declined to take dividends.
Net income fell 5.4 per cent to 299.7 million riyals ($82.4 million), from 316.7 million riyals a year earlier, the bank said in a financial statement posted on the Qatar Exchange website yesterday……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Arabtimesonline.com: Ahli United Bank realized considerable profit levels in the first half of 2010. The net profit has reached KD 12.7 million. This profit was realized through income from core banking operations, that amounting to KD 40.0 millions.
The bank succeeded to increase the net finance revenues by 10.9 percent, furthermore the bank has taken precautionary measures to create provisions and voluntary provisions of KD 14.7 million……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Ameinfo.com: The National Bank of Ras al-Khaimah (Rak Bank) has revealed its second-quarter net profit grew 31%, as interest and fee income rose, outweighing a near doubling of bad loan charges, Reuters has reported.
The lender made a net profit of Dhs240.2m ($65.4m) in the three months to June 30, up from Dhs183.4m in the same period a year earlier. Net provisions for bad loans continued to weigh on the bank, increasing 92.8% in the first half of the year to Dhs148.8m, from Dhs77.2m in the same period in 2009……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Arabnews.com: The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday urged Gulf Arab states to lend further support to financial firms, shut down unworkable companies and boost transparency as they emerge from the global economic crisis.
The organization’s latest recommendations come as the city-state of Dubai works itself out from more than $100 billion in debt amassed by its Dubai World conglomerate and a web of other state-linked companies, whose credit woes cast a shadow on economies across the region……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Pivotal talks this week on restructuring the debts of Dubai World could be a trigger for investors to return to the Gulf region, under a cloud since the state firm suspended bond payments last year.
Dubai World has invited creditors to a meeting on Thursday to offer details on its multi-billion dollar debt restructuring, the first session to include all lenders since December 2009……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Saudigazette.com.sa: The Bahrain Financial Exchange, scheduled to open in October, will start trading in Islamic debt next year, Chief Executive Officer Arshad Khan said.
Eight Sukuk valued at about $2.9 billion trade on the existing Bahrain Stock Exchange, compared with 20 at a face amount of $16 billion listed on Nasdaq Dubai, data on exchange websites show……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Nexus, the region’s largest independent insurance brokers, has been named the Best Takaful Brokerage in recognition of its professional service to clients at the recent International Takaful Summit in London.
The award was presented to Mahmoud Nodjoumi, founder and CEO of Nexus, by Lord Mohamed Sheikh, a peer in the UK parliament and a senior figure in the country’s insurance sector……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Nst.com.my: The Royal Award for Islamic Finance, spearheaded by the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC), will be bestowed on individuals for outstanding contribution towards the advancement of Islamic finance, globally.
In a statement today, MIFC said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has given his consent for the award which would be presented on Oct 25……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 22 July 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
Euromoney Training’s first Islamic Finance Academy will be held in Dubai, UAE in October 2010. This 10-day interactive program will be held from 30th October - 10th November 2010 and will feature everything you need to know about Islamic Finance, banking, risk management, insurance and accounting.
The course is presented in 6 highly interactive modules: Islamic Finance, Islamic Finance products, Islamic Banking and Fund management, Risk management and Basel II for Islamic Banking, Accounting and Legal Issue and Takaful: Islamic Insurance……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source
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