From Reuters: Jordan’s first ever law covering the issuance of sovereign Islamic sukuk has been finalized and bankers and officials hope it will let the kingdom tap the fast-growing Islamic banking industry’s huge pool of liquidity.
Prominent Islamic bankers, along with members of a top-level ministerial committee mandated with drafting the sukuk law, said the legislation removes legal uncertainties and would be submitted to the cabinet in as little as two weeks……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Indonesia is under pressure from banks to match tax breaks and product offerings announced by Malaysia last week to catch up in developing Islamic finance.
“The government needs to play a more active role,” Andi Buchari, a director at PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia, the nation’s oldest Islamic bank, said in a telephone interview from Jakarta yesterday. “We need more incentives, things such as a tax holiday, or perhaps, an incentive for people to put their money in Shariah banks.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Aabnews.com: The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) sukuk showcase hit London on Tuesday with a presentation to a specially invited group of investors and interested parties. The venue for the showcase could not have been more poignant in The Founders Hall in the heart of London’s bespoke ancient traditional crafts industry and a stone’s throw away from the old Smithfield Market.
The IDB team led by Abdul Aziz Al-Hinai, vice president of finance, and including Hasan Demirhan, acting director of the treasury department, Hatem Ghouma, financial analyst, Zainol Mohamud, manager of the Capital Markets Division, and Zakky Bantam, financial analyst at Capital Markets Division, was in London………………………………………Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: slamic Development Bank’s five-year Islamic bonds may be priced to yield between 40 basis points and 50 basis points more than the benchmark midswap rate, three people familiar with the plan said.
The dollar-denominated sukuk may be priced tomorrow, said two of the people, who declined to be identified as the terms of the deal aren’t set. CIMB Holdings Bhd.,Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are managing the sale, two people familiar with the plan said Oct. 4……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: The following borrowers are expected to sell Islamic bonds, which use asset returns to pay investors to comply with the religion’s ban on interest.
Global sales of sukuk fell 23 percent to $12 billion so far this year from the same period in 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Issuance totaled $20.2 billion last year, up from $14.1 billion in 2008……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain-based lender BBK on Tuesday launched a five-year benchmark sized bond sale, two sources familar with the matter said, after postponing an issue earlier in the year due to market conditions.
HSBC, Citi and Deutsche Bank are the bookrunners for the deal which is expected to price this week……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Usatoday.com: Islamic banking is gaining popularity in emerging markets after helping some financial institutions avoid the worst of the economic meltdown. In its simplest form, Islamic banking requires that financial products — from mortgages to savings accounts — be structured to comply with sharia law under the Quran.
Sharia law restricts rates and encourages clear terms, which means that under an Islamic home financing, banks can’t charge interest, but may buy the property outright and lease it back to the consumer for a set amount each month……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Bank of Mauritius to establish a collaborative framework aimed at enhancing mutual co-operation on capacity building and human capital development in the financial services industry, including in the area of Islamic financial services sector.
The MoU, signed on Oct 7, 2010, would pave the way for both countries to strengthen co-operation in the development of talent, expertise, business linkages and infrastructure support in Islamic finance, BNM said in a statement today……………………………………….Full Article: Source

International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally focused investment bank based in the Kingdom of Bahrain and operating in line with Shari’ah principles, has signed a key agreement with Trident Financial & Accounting Consulting W.L.L., a renowned consulting firm in the Kingdom with associated offices in the UAE and Toronto, to provide online anti-money laundering training to its key staff.
Mazar Jalal, Head of Compliance at IIB, said, “Money laundering is an evolving threat to the region’s financial industry and we need to keep our staff up to date with the latest developments in this regard. Money launderers are actively working on mechanisms to penetrate the banking cycle and unless our staff receive timely training, we are exposed to reputation and compliance risk.”………………………………………Full Press Release: Source

From Brecorder.com: The biggest challenge to promote Islamic banking in the country is lack of awareness about Islamic banking concepts among general public, said Saleemullah, Director, Islamic Banking Department, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on Tuesday.
The stakeholders, including bankers and practitioners must play their due role in promotion of Islamic banking products, he said. The apprehensions and confusion about Islamic banking among masses needs to be removed, he added. The second major issue, he said, is capacity of banking sector where share of Islamic banking needs to be improved……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thefinancialexpress-bd.com: HSBC Amanah, the Islamic banking window of banking giant HSBC, is planning to launch its Islamic banking services in full scale in Bangladesh, a visiting top official of HSBC said Tuesday.
“The re-launch of HSBC Amanah in Bangladesh will come with a full range to satisfy personal and commercial needs”, Deputy CEO of HSBC Amanah Razi S. Fakih said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Zawya.com: Capinnova Investment Bank, the Sharia compliant investment banking arm of BBK offered a US $16.5 million bridge financing facility to support the financing of a religious hospitality project in Mecca. The project consists of a hotel located 1.3 km away from the Haram.
The development is in the final stages of completion and will be the first of its kind providing Muslims worldwide (including non-GCC residents) an opportunity to have an interest in Mecca project. The creative structure enables foreign investors return from a hotel asset in the holy city of Mecca through investing in a Cayman Island (Special Purpose Vehicle)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Kuwait’s Gulf Bank expects the third quarter of this year to be a turnaround quarter as it executes a two-year plan to rebuild itself, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
“What everybody expects, is that this (third quarter) will be the turnaround quarter… and going forward every quarter should be slightly better than the previous one,” Michel Accad said at the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit in Kuwait……………………………………….Full Article: Source