From Btimes.com.my: Affin Holdings Bhd and its foreign partner, Hong Kong’s The Bank of East Asia Ltd, have submitted a proposal to the China Banking Regulation Authority (CBRA) to open China’s first Islamic bank.
“CBRA is currently still studying the regulation and practices of Islamic finance. We hope to be the first Islamic bank in China once the authority has come up with the regulations,” said BEA chairman and chief executive officer Dr David K.P Li in Kuala Lumpur………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Reuters: The Malaysian central bank’s sharia advisers have outlawed the payment of a fee to support a pledge made in Islamic forward foreign currency transactions, saying such charges contravene the religion.
Islamic banks tend to levy a payment when a promise or “waad” is made to enter into a forward foreign currency hedging contract to reflect the parties’ commitment to the transaction……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Seeking to diversify its financial industry after a banking crisis, oil-rich Kazakhstan is drawing on Arab and Malaysian investment in an effort to build an Islamic finance industry among its 13mn Muslims.
Its success may depend on the fate of pioneer investors and the commitment of its secular government to clear the way for a long-awaited sovereign issue of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, which could prompt other issuers to follow……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thejakartapost.com: BNI Syariah, a unit of Malaysia’s fourth-largest lender, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), says it wants to partner with foreign investors to expand its sharia banking business.
BNI Syariah president director Rizqullah said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the bank was negotiating a partnership with the Islamic Development Bank’s private financing arm, the Islamic Corporation for Development (ICD)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd posted its best three- and six-month performance when it announced its second quarter results to June 30 on the back of a strong rebound in corporate and investment banking, a surge in contribution from PT Bank CIMB Niaga and drop in loan loss provisions.
CIMB reported a 34.1% increase in net profit of RM889mil for the second quarter compared with the previous corresponding period. Revenue was up 16.59% to RM3.02bil. These results are in line with analysts’ expectations……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thestar.com.my: CIMB Bank is investing about RM4mil to set up South East Asia’s first foreign cash automated teller machines (ATMs) in Malaysia, says head of retail banking Peter England.
“The RM4mil investment is for seven target locations in Malaysia to have the new ATMs service by end of this year. We are also targeting to add 13 more locations for the machines in the next six months……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Al Baraka Banking Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the investment arm of the Islamic Development Bank.
ICD’s goal is to assist private sector companies and institutions in the Organisation of Islamic Conference countries and enhance co-operation between them……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (Adib), a top-tier Islamic financial services group, has provided financing facilities to Al-Jaber Energy Services (AJES) for the amount of $300 million to finance Shah Gas project.
The project was awarded to AJES by Abu Dhabi Gas Development, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and is part of the $12 billion Shah sour gas field development which is essential to meet Abu Dhabi’s surging gas demand……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: Most Gulf countries predicate their domestic fiscal budgets on an oil price of $40 to $50 a barrel. Anything more than that, as the kids say, is gravy.
Moody’s reckons Bahrain now needs the oil price to be around the $80 mark to balance the books, a state of affairs that it says also makes it cautious on the Kingdom’s economic outlook. It points out that last year Bahrain had a budget deficit of 7.3 percent of GDP, although it does concede this is likely to narrow to 0.8 percent in 2010……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Businessweek.com: Bonds, home mortgages, and other financial assets that comply with Islamic law, which prohibits the charging or paying of interest, have gained in popularity throughout the Muslim world.
A lot of high-paying jobs and national prestige are up for grabs for the country that can position itself as the hub of global Islamic finance. Persian Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain have sought to build out their financial-service sectors to accommodate the expanding demand……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Sovereign Islamic bonds from Asia to the Arabian Gulf are beating returns on corporate sukuk for the first time in three months as accelerating economic growth and rising oil revenue shore up state finances.
Government debt that complies with the religion’s ban on interest gained 1.7% so far this month, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai Sovereign US Dollar Sukuk Index, more than the 1.1% advance in bonds issued by companies……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Nakheel PJSC’s proposed sukuk to settle trade creditor claims is estimated to have a fair value in the low 60 cents to the dollar, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said.
The property company, controlled by state-owned Dubai World, will be able to make almost all coupon payments on the five-year Islamic bonds although “we are less confident about Nakheel’s ability to redeem the principal in 2015,” JPMorgan analyst Zafar Nazim wrote in a research note e-mailed today……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Indonesia’s finance ministry sold 336 billion rupiah ($37.45 million) of Islamic-compliant bonds, known as sukuk, to the religious affairs ministry through a private placement, the debt office said late on Wednesday.
The bonds will help fund a budget deficit seen at 1.5 percent of gross domestic product this year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Turkey’s first Islamic bond, from lender Kuveyt Turk, will pay a coupon of 5.25% and was 45% oversubscribed by investors, sources familiar with the matter said.
Kuveyt Turk, which is majority-owned by Kuwait Finance House, launched the three-year $100mn sukuk on August 17, paving the way for other Turkish companies to tap the growing Islamic finance market……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: The Qatar Exchange, the Persian Gulf country’s equity market, must draft new listing rules before trading in bonds and Islamic debt can begin, according to Andre Went, the bourse’s chief executive officer .
“We are drafting new rules for the bonds,” Went told reporters at a seminar in the Qatari capital of Doha late yesterday. The rules would relate to information disclosure and the size of the bonds by issuers, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bi-me.com: Based on the close of trading on August 24 the global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, dropped -3.45% month-to-date, closing at 1888.71.
In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a loss of -3.65%, closing at 152.75……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bi-me.com: “Double-Dip concerns everywhere,” is the title of Credit Suisse’s research daily as of August 25. News spreading during the summer has been in fact less than encouraging.
U. S. Home sales plummeted 27% in July to an annual rate of 3.83 million units, the lowest sales pace since the National Association of Realtors began tracking the figure in 1999. Volatile stock markets along with fickle oil prices are the result, and, in addition, the Dollar fell to 15-year low against the Yen……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Emirates247.com: Total premiums earned by UAE insurance companies are expected to jump 76 per cent to Dh33.48 billion over the next four years from Dh19 billion at the end of 2009. Oman Insurance Company accounts for one-fifth of the total premiums written by national companies.
According to a study by Research and Markets, Oman Insurance, the largest local player, makes up 14 per cent of total premiums followed by Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (Adnic) and Islamic Arab Insurance Company, which are about half the size of Oman Insurance Co……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Qatar-tribune.com: Riyadh One of Saudi Arabia’s largest supermarket chains has reversed a decision to employ female cashiers, in a religious dispute which saw the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud issue a reprimand on Thursday to a conservative scholar.
Facing pressure from strict religious groups, the Panda group, owned mostly by Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal, said it would not continue to employ the 11 women……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulfnews.com: Emirates Steel said Wednesday it raised $1.1 billion (Dh4 billion) in project finance, an indicator that regional banks are easing credit to select government-related entities. The firm said it signed a seven-year project financing agreement with a consortium of seven conventional banks and two Islamic finance institutions.
“The project finance debt was raised through a $367 million Islamic facility and a $733 million conventional facility, each of seven-year tenure,” Emirates Steel said in a statement……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From the Opalesque team: Brian Luck, who has acquired extensive Finance and GCC experience since 1986, has recently resigned from The Capital Partnership (TCP) “after over six happy years,” and has started his own investment consultancy business called Optimus Consultancy FZ LLC, in Dubai, UAE - together with Junior Partner Dominic James.

“I am most pleased to report that this marks an evolution in, rather than an end to, my relationship with the partners and staff at TCP, with whom I have enjoyed such happy and successful times,” Luck said in his announcement yesterday.

Optimus is a team of Dubai-based British experts with in-depth, practitioner-based, experience of international investment fund management, managers and products. The firm will provide manager research services, investment product appraisal, product development for GCC institutions, directorships and access to the GCC for international investment managers.

Politically, the Arabian Peninsula consists of Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , Bahrain , Qatar , the United Arab Emirates , the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Yemen . Together, these countries (excluding the Republic of Yemen ) constitute the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

“We have unique relationships with GCC investors and institutions to provide out-sourced consultancy product to them and their clients,” says Optimus’ website.

Mr. Luck began his investment career in 1986 at JP Morgan. Ten years later, he moved to Kuwait as an advisor to the government oil company (KPC) where we set up a $2.5bn investment program, and in 2000, he joined NBK as Head of Asset Management and grew a five-person group to a team of 20 offering both funds and brokerage. Six years ago, he joined The Capital Partnership (TCP), which grew from offering and managing 12 products and relationships to a wider range of 34. AUM more than trebled to $2bn, and their achievements attracted NCB who purchased the firm.

Established in 1998, The Capital Partnership (TCP), with offices in London and in Dubai , was created to provide sophisticated investment services to the families of its founding partners. It now also offers customised investment solutions to institutions and HNW families. - B. Gravrand.