Posted on 14 October 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Sify.com: Islamic finance has faced scrutiny in the United States, with critics suggesting the $1 trillion industry was a front to funnel funds to terrorists or a plot by Muslims to spread a system of Islamic principles known as sharia, which includes a ban on interest.
From Australia to Britain and even France, which recently banned the face-veil, Western economies are adjusting their laws to encourage growth in the Islamic finance sector they hope will attract wealthy Gulf investors. Enthusiasm in the United States has been tempered by politics, however, which could slow the growth of Islamic finance and push business from the oil exporting Gulf elsewhere……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 14 October 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Theaustralian.com.au: Australia’s push to prepare its taxation system for a hoped-for influx of Islamic investment went a stage further yesterday. Dick Warburton, chairman of the federal government-appointed Board of Taxation, publishing a paper on the tax treatment of Islamic finance, banking and insurance products.
Mr Warburton’s announcement yesterday follows last year’s report by former Macquarie Bank deputy chairman Mark Johnson, which specifically requested an overhaul of how Islamic investment in Australia is taxed……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 14 October 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Bloomberg: American Finance House Lariba and Guidance Residential LLC have become the biggest providers of Islamic financial services to the 7 million Muslims in the U.S., a market Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc aren’t developing.
Home loans that comply with the religion’s ban on interest rose to about $2.5 billion last year, from $2 billion in 2006, Yahia Abdul-Rahman, founder of Lariba in Pasadena, California, said in an interview this month. Reston, Virginia-based Guidance had $2 billion outstanding in October, according to an e-mail from the company on Oct. 6……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: UAE’s telecoms operator Etisalat is in talks with banks to raise financing for its planned 46-percent stake acquisition in Kuwait’s Zain and is considering an Islamic bond, bank loans or both, a top official was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat, which is 60 percent state-owned, will not receive financing from the Abu Dhabi government, its Chief Financial Officer Salem Ali Al Sharhan said in remarks carried by Al Bayan newspaper……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bloomberg: Persian Gulf Islamic bond issuers are avoiding collateral based on real estate after Dubai property prices plunged 50 percent.
Debt linked to returns from oil fields, aluminum and manufacturing plants are more popular with investors than property, Moinuddin Malim, chief executive officer at Dubai- based Mashreq Al Islami, said………………………………………Full Article: Source
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From Tradearabia.com: More domestic currency denominated Islamic bonds are needed in the Gulf region - where sukuks tend to be in US dollars - to boost issuance and develop domestic markets, Islamic banking executives said.
As liquidity returns to the Gulf and demand for sukuk increases with improving capital market conditions, regional players are actively looking for domestic investments to manage their liquidity……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-times.com: Credit rating agency Fitch has assigned ‘A’ rating to Qatar Islamic Bank’s $750mn sukuk issue of senior unsecured trust certificates.
The certificates were issued on October 7 and are due in 2015. QIB Sukuk Funding, a special purpose vehicle established to act as the issuer and trustee to the certificate holders……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Theborneopost.com: The importance of Islamic finance in strengthening financial linkages became evident with the emergence of sukuk instruments as an attractive new asset class for investors and a competitive form of financing for businesses.
In stating this, Bank Negara Malaysia governor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the global sukuk market currently stood at almost US$130 billion, with an average annual growth rate of about 40 per cent……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Kippreport.com: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is planning to issue an Islamic bond, or sukuk, in the coming weeks, and has mandated three banks to arrange the sale, with a roadshow planned as early as next week, two market sources said.
ADIB, the second largest Islamic lender in the United Arab Emirates, has mandated Barclay’s Capital , HSBC and Standard Chartered , for the sukuk, the sources said, declining to be identified……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Emirates247.com: The option to merge three Islamic banks - Emirates Islamic Bank, Dubai Bank and Noor Islamic Bank - is being considered, with the idea that the merged entity will then bail out Amlak Finance, a source said.
“As far as we understand, there is a proposal to merge the three Islamic banks, who will then bail out Amlak,” the source said on condition of anonymity……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Cpifinancial.net: Local press reports suggest the Government of Dubai is behind a plan to bring together three of the Emirate’s Islamic banks, Emirates Islamic Bank, Dubai Bank and Noor Islamic Bank, into one merged entity
Earlier this month Al Ittihad newspaper had reported that Dubai Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank were in merger talks. Now it appears that Noor Islamic Bank could also be part of the deal. However, it would appear that there is more to the suggested merger than just creating a larger Islamic institution with the critical mass to take on the competition………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 14 October 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Halaljournal.com: Islamic banking is one of the fastest growing segments in the financial industry, tracking a 10-15% growth over the past decade. Globally, Islamic banking assets are estimated to grow around 15% a year to $1 trillion by 2016, according to the IMF.
The high growth rate seen in Islamic banking is attributable to increasing demand from Muslims, growing oil revenues in the Middle East countries, and the attractiveness of Shariah-compliant financial services to non-Muslim investors seeking “ethical” banking practices……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Alrroya.com: Noor Islamic Bank expects to close a “healthy number” of Islamic syndicated loans and Islamic bonds in the first half of 2011, with Turkey emerging as an active market for Islamic finance, said a senior executive at the bank.
Aamer Zaidi, head of corporate banking at Noor Islamic Bank, said on Wednesday that the company is involved in a few sukuk issuances in the Gulf region and is also working on syndicated loans within the UAE……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Halaljournal.com: Maybank hopes to grow its Islamic arm outside of Malaysia. Specifically, it plans to be the number one Islamic bank in ASEAN. The lender said it is tapping into the Asian consumer’s growing demand for Shariah-compliant products.
Demand is also coming from the Middle East, China and India. Maybank hopes profits from its overseas branches in Asia will make up a higher percentage in the next five years. To that end, the lender launched its first dedicated Islamic banking branch in Singapore……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-times.com: Doha Bank has joined hands with Allianz Takaful, a major player in the takaful insurance segment, to promote Islamic risk cover products in Qatar.
Doha Bank CEO R Seetharaman and Allianz Takaful chairman Abdul Rahman Tolefat entered into a bancassurance partnership agreement through which the bank will promote and sell family takaful products comprising plans for protection, savings, investment and child education; developed and underwritten by Allianz Takaful……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Tradearabia.com: Samba Financial Group, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest lender by market value, posted a 8.8 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit after a decline in lending income.
The bank made SR1.1 billion ($294.1 million) in the three months to end-September, compared with SR1.21 billion in the same period a year ago, the bank said in a statement……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) deputy chairman Farouk Yousuf Khalil Almoayyed was yesterday unanimously elected as the new chairman of the bank. Dr Essam Fakhro was elected the chairman of the executive committee.
Speaking at the board meeting, where NBB directors observed a minute of silence as a mark of respect for their departed chairman Abdulla Ali Kanoo who had led the bank since 1997, Almoayyed, on behalf of the board, expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Banque de France have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote greater cooperation in financial services between the two central banks.
In a joint statement here Tuesday, the banks said the MOU reflected the commitment to cooperate towards the advancement of the Islamic finance industry in the both countries……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bt.com.bn: Brunei’s bilateral talks with Malaysia during the World Tourism Conference will see the neighbouring country providing assistance in developing Brunei’s tourism industry particularly in Islamic tourism, said Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Dato’ Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen.
“We share common borders, so we are now into the final stages of developing our religious tourism package, meaning especially during Ramadhan, we receive many tourists from the Middle East so we will then be able to provide an additional route for them when they visit Malaysia, they can definitely visit Brunei, visit some of the most beautiful mosques and museums,” said Ng………………………………………Full Article: Source
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