Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Cntralasianewswire.com: With oil revenues on the rise and its banking sector making a strong recovery, now may seem a surprising time for Kazakhstan to get into the Islamic bond market. But coming off the last few years of shaky economic times, Kazakhstan is wise to diversify its revenue sources.
Aibek Bekzhanov, of the Regional Financial Center of Almaty, announced on July 27 that Kazakhstan has decided to make its initial Islamic bond sale before the end of 2010……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: illennium Private Equity Ltd., a Dubai government-linked investment company with about $5 billion in capital, plans to use Islamic financing for venture capital in Europe after buying the first corporate sukuk in the U.K.
Millennium, part-owned by Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, the United Arab Emirates’ largest Shariah-compliant bank, bought $10 million of four-year convertible notes in July that were sold by International Innovative Technologies Ltd., a clean energy company in Gateshead……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Indonesia plans to sell 2 trillion rupiah ($222 million) of sukuk to the state-managed Islamic Haj Fund through a private placement in September, the government’s debt office said on Thursday.
“We have targeted to sell 4.855 trillion rupiah in private placement this year, and have already sold 2.855 trillion rupiah,” said Dahlan Siamat, director in charge of sukuk……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Allafrica.com: Stanbic Bank Tanzania has recorded an impressive response to the Shariah banking scheme. Already 5,000 new customers have opened accounts since it was introduced three months ago.
Managing director Bashir Awale said during an Iftar organised by the bank to its customers in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that the Shariah-compliant banking would be improved to enable more clients to join it……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
Qatar Islamic Bank’s (QIB) subsidiary, European Finance House (EFH) has recently rebranded as QIB UK in order to reinforce its positioning within QIB’s expanding global network. The change was instituted at the beginning of August and acts to unify the brand in order to keep consistency across local and international markets.
The primary motivation behind the rebranding is to further bring EFH under the umbrella of QIB’s well established identity as one of the regions foremost Islamic banking institutions, and the world’s 4th largest Islamic bank in terms of assets……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Qatar National Bank Group (QNB) and Bank Kesawan recently signed a “Letter of Intent” which, when complete, would make QNB the “Standby Buyer” for a planned rights issue and may result in QNB Group becoming the controlling shareholder of the Indonesia-based bank.
The conclusion of the transaction remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals in Indonesia and upon the completion of an already initiated due diligence process, by an independent third party. The rights issue is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: Gulf banks are showing signs of recovery after spending more than $20bn on provisioning for loans and investments but asset quality is unlikely to improve until 2011, Standard & Poor’s said in a report.
“We believe the asset quality of Gulf banks should improve from 2011 and that their good margins and efficiency will provide a solid foundation for their return to high profitability,” said credit analyst Mohamed Damak……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: An over-capitalised and crowded banking industry in Qatar makes the sector that was helped out by the government last year ripe for mergers, say analysts.
“I think consolidation makes sense,” said Rami Sidani, head of Middle East and North Africa investment at Schroders in Dubai. “There is not enough room for all these banks to be in the Qatari market.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Zawya Dow Jones: Al Baraka Egypt Bank , a unit of Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group, plans to gradually hike its capital to 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($175.2 million) over the next five years, Saudi-based Al Riyadh daily reports Thursday, citing an executive.
This is an imperative in the light of the steady growth of the bank’s activities, Ashraf Al Ghamrawy, the bank’s vice chairman and chief executive, said according to the paper……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Cpifinancial.net: Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) has launched the KFH Personal Financing-i Hajj and Umrah, been designed for Muslim customers to facilitate their pilgrimages to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Explaining the initiative, Puan Jamelah Jamaluddin, Chief Executive Officer of KFHMB said, “The KFH Personal Financing-i Hajj and Umrah reinforces the bank’s commitment as a provider and innovator of financial products that uphold Shari’ah principles. We would like to make it more convenient for Muslims to realise their dream of visiting the House of Allah, and fulfilling the fifth pillar of Islam……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Thestar.com.my: Existing takaful operators will have to “up their game” and gear up for stiffer competition as the granting of four new licences by Bank Negara on Wednesday will see more players fighting for a share of the profit slice.
Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Datuk Syed Moheeb Syed Kamarulzaman said the company would need to find a niche to stay ahead of the competition……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Mondaq.com: Investment manager Argyll Investment Services Limited has launched the World Shariah Funds PCC Limited, a Guernsey-based suite of Islamic-compliant investments which will be listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX) and distributed globally.
The World Shariah Funds have brought together three major Islamic investment teams within a single fund structure: From Malaysia, Reliance Asset Management (Malaysia) with US$4.3 billion assets under management; the south-east Asian CIMB Principal Asset Management Berhad with US$6.85 billion assets under management; and Markaz of Kuwait with US$2.2billion assets under management……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Telegraph: In an effort to counter the proselytising of Islamic fundamentalists often funded by foreign governments, Russia is underwriting the education of moderate religious leaders and teachers at seven Islamic universities, in Moscow, Tatarstan, Bashkyrkostan and in four North Caucasus republics, including Dagestan.
Rufik Mukhamedshin, the rector of Russian Islamic University in Kazan, said he hopes the state will also standardise diplomas issued by Islamic educational institutes and ensure they are accepted across Russia as proper academic qualifications……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 03 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Ny1.com: State Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo said today he has no plans to investigate the Islamic community center and mosque. According to a recent poll, seven out of 10 New York State voters say they want him to look into the project’s financing.
Cuomo said he could not investigate the fundraising for the project because so little money has been raised so far. He said his office would also need cause to probe the group……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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