Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Investmentweek.co.uk: Over the past two decades Islamic finance has become an increasing focus of the global investment community. Indeed, a recent estimate puts the value of the Islamic finance industry at $1trn worth of assets and predicts that it will grow by 10% to 15% per annum.
Although still mainly focused on the Middle East and Asia, it is now expanding beyond these markets into Europe and the US……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Arabianbusiness.com: Banks and companies in the Arabian Gulf may issue the most Islamic debt in three years in the fourth quarter as economic growth accelerates and Dubai’s companies reach agreements to restructure debt.
The Islamic Development Bank, a Jeddah-based multilateral lender, said on Aug. 24 it would raise $1 billion selling debt that complies with Shariah law’s ban on interest, taking planned offerings for the remainder of the year to $5.5 billion……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the country’s largest Shariah-compliant lender by market value, will kick-off a global roadshow tomorrow in Asia ahead of a planned sukuk sale, a person familiar with the matter said.
“It will be a US dollar benchmark transaction,” the person, who didn’t wish to identified, said. QIB chief executive officer Salah Mohammed Jaidah said in May the bank planned to sell around $750mn in Islamic bonds……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: Bahraini Islamic lender Al Baraka will launch a $200 million Islamic bond sale this year to fund expansion in France, its chief executive said.
Proceeds from the sukuk will be used to set up branches in France, Adnan Yousif told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on Wednesday……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Balkans.com: Citigroup Inc. has plans to arrange further sales of sukuk, or Islamic bonds from Turkey after managed a $100 million issue for Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi AS .
Hulusi Horozoglu, director of global Islamic banking at Citigroup, in an e-mail to Bloomberg said that Citigroup is having talks with other potential sellers of Shariah-compliant debt in the country……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: Shariah-compliant investment banks (SCIB) in the Gulf region, which faced a near-collapse on global financial crisis, is likely to see a potential rebirth but in the form of specialised business lines of larger Islamic banking groups, according to global credit rating agency Moody’s.
“A potential rebirth of this sub-sector is likely to take a different form from the pre-crisis model,” said Anouar Hassoune, vice president-senior credit officer at Moody’s Financial Institutions Group……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
A recovery of the tarnished Shari’ah-compliant investment banks (SCIB) would require that lessons from the crisis — such as the need to improve risk management be applied, says Moody’s Investors Service in its Special Comment on this troubled banking sub-sector. The global financial crisis had brought about a near-collapse of the SCIB model, with a handful of spectacular mid-crisis defaults of a few SCIBs further severely undermining the SCIB model.
“A potential rebirth of this sub-sector is likely to take a different form from the pre-crisis model,” says Anouar Hassoune, Vice President Senior Credit Officer in Moody’s Financial Institutions Group. “Specifically, Moody’s expects SCIBs to evolve away from being the preserve of boutique investment houses created by individual investment bankers. Instead, Moody’s believes that the SCIB concept could re-emerge in the form of specialised business lines of larger Islamic banking groups seeking to diversify.”………………………………………Full Press Release: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: The Islamic finance industry is under regulated and that many Shariah-compliant banks are inadequately capitalised, according to Deloitte survey. The survey, the first of its kind by Deloitte and carried out during the first half of this year, involved industry practitioners and top executives from Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East.
About 66% of the respondents feel the Islamic finance industry is under regulated……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Alrroya.com: Development plans for the creation of a full-fledged shariah-compliant investment banking (SCIB) sector had to be put on a back burner following the onset of the global financial crisis, which undoubtedly stunted growth in the banking and finance industry worldwide.
The SCIB concept – originally conceived as boutique investment houses created by individual investment bankers – had suffered considerably during the crisis, but would likely evolve as part of larger Islamic banking groups that are seeking to diversify, says Anouar Hassoune, Moody’s Vice President-senior credit officer and lead analyst for Islamic banks……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: Pakistan’s central bank, seeking to double Islamic banking assets in three years, is urging lenders from the Persian Gulf to open branches in rural areas.
Albaraka Banking Group, the largest publicly traded Islamic lender in Bahrain, is increasing branches to 80 from 30, Kaleem Iqbal, a senior executive vice president at the local unit, said in a Sept. 21 interview in Islamabad. Meezan Bank, controlled by Kuwait’s Noor Financial Investment Co., is opening 25 outlets this year, said Amir Ali, head of investment banking in Karachi……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: People to take a more responsible view of spending and resist the growing culture of consumerism, said a senior Bahraini Sharia scholar and an Islamic banker.
Dr Adel Marzooqie, the Ithmaar Bank Sharia adviser, said there appears to be a growing obsession over materialistic possessions with people in Bahrain and the rest of the region saving very little, if anything at all, of their monthly income……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Albawaba.com: Hussain AlQemzi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Noor Investment Group and Noor Islamic Bank has been named CEO of the Year– Best Islamic Bank at this year’s CEO Middle East Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The award has been given in recognition of AlQemzi’s role in the development and growth of the country’s Islamic Banking and Finance industry, and his ability to sustain the corporate agenda of Noor Islamic Bank, despite the tough financial challenges posed by the global financial crisis……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Cpifinancial.net: BNP Paribas has appointed Tariq Al-Samahiji as CEO of BNP Paribas Najmah and Global Head of BNP Paribas Islamic Finance and Investments, with effect from 1 September 2010. Tariq’s responsibilities cover the development of BNP Paribas’ Shari’ah-compliant business in all geographies worldwide
Tariq has been with BNP Paribas since 2002. Prior to taking on this new role, and since 2007, he was the CEO of BNP Paribas Investment Partners covering the MENA region. He was also the coordinator of all Investment Solutions activities, which included: Investment Partners, Personal Investors, Insurance, Wealth Management, Securities Services and Real Estate Services……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Cpifinancial.net: Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME), London’s wholesale Shari’ah-compliant bank, has created an Islamic capital markets desk in response to market demand for high quality Islamic assets and Sukuk by established issuers.
The Islamic capital markets desk, which will be headed up by Massoud Janekeh, will provide UK and international corporates with robust and commercially attractive products that offer a genuine alternative to conventional financing instruments……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From StockMarketWire.com: Islamic Bank of Britain posts a pre-tax loss of £4.3m for the six months to the end of June compared with $4.6m a year ago. Operating income fell to £694,979 - down from £1,0m last time - and it had cash and cash equivalents of £4.7m against £3.6m at the corresponding stage in 2009.
Chairman Mohsen Moustafa said: “The board expects the challenging market conditions to persist through the remainder of the financial year.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has cleared a request by Sayed Asa’ad Bin Tarek Bin Taimour Al Saeed, Representative of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, to set up a new commercial bank in the country.
The decision, to give the green signal to new bank — Al Izz International Bank — was taken at a meeting of the CBO Board of Governors on Tuesday evening……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Eyeofdubai.com: In line with its 2010 strategy to achieve 45 per cent Emiratisation across its operations, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced the launch of its successful second Qiyadi leadership programme.
Initially developed by Dubai Islamic Bank in 2006, Qiyadi, or Leadership, is a long-term leadership development programme that aims to equip the participants with the skills required to assume managerial positions within the Bank. The programme is open to both DIB employees, as well as talented UAE nationals wishing to pursue a career at the bank……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: The UAE’s banking sector is adequately liquid and the capitalisation levels are far in excess of Central Bank requirements, thus the banking sector will not require Central Bank support, said Ahmad Humaid Al Tayer, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre and Chairman of the Emirates Banks Association.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on the media’s impact on the Arab banking and financial sectors Al Tayer said the timely intervention of the federal government and the UAE Central Bank helped the banks to meet the capital and liquidity requirements during the financial crisis……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Nebusiness.co.uk: North East law firm Hay & Kilner helped Gateshead technology company IIT make history by raising £6.4m with the UK’s first Islamic bond. International Innovative Technologies, which is based in the Team Valley, made contact with Dubai’s Millennium Private Equity through WPIL, who provided the North East fund with seed funding in 2006.
While Millennium was interested in investing in IIT’s energy-efficient milling and power-generation technologies, any fundraising deal had to comply with Shariah law, which prohibits traditional features of Western deals such as charging interest, as well as association with activities such as gambling or drinking alcohol……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: Nakheel PJSC, the Dubai World-owned property developer, is close to reaching a final agreement with its creditors, Al Ittihad reported, citing a government official it didn’t identify.
Nakheel received the percentage of approval it requires from creditors to reach the settlement, the newspaper said. Construction Delivery Group is the only creditor that rejected Nakheel’s offer, Al Ittihad reported, citing the United Arab Emirates’ Contractors Association chairman Ahmed Saif Belhasa……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bikyamasr.com: There’s good news for the Islamic banking system with the recent initiated change in the Islamic tax laws in South Africa. The tax exemption laws, which were discriminatory, will be reversed and this will perhaps pave the way for immediate growth in the Islamic banking sector.
With the positive changes in the banking sector, banks will be more participant on providing debt help options to financially stressed consumers. The National Treasury is hoping to achieve this growth in the Islamic banking sector with the proposed amendments in the tax bill……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Etftrends.com: Investors who want greater diversification in their portfolios need to think globally. Keeping that in mind, investors may want to consider investing in the “Islamic Triangle” or exchange traded funds (ETFs) that cover the Middle East North Africa (MENA) area.
First off, countries in the Middle East, around half of the 20 in the Islamic Triangle area, have tied their currencies to the U.S. dollar, and the low interest rate environment in the U.S. reflates these countries faster as a result of little or no structural problems, ………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 23 September 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bernama: The UCSI Professional Academy (UPA), which signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday with the Chartered Institute of Management of Accountants (CIMA), will start offering an Islamic finance course on Oct 16, 2010.
The collaboration is considered unique as UPA will offer the CIMA Certificate in Islamic Finance as well as CIMA accounting courses, its manager Sudesh G. Balasubramaniam told reporters after the signing ceremony here……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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