Posted on 11 November 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: From Australia to South Africa, governments are scrambling to change the law to accommodate the $1 trillion Islamic finance industry, whose avoidance of toxic debt has looked increasingly attractive since the global crisis.
But in the Gulf Arab region, birthplace of Islam and cradle of Islamic finance, governments have taken a more passive approach, which experts say is slowing the industry’s growth……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 11 November 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Thestar.com.my: Islamic financing is gaining popularity in many non-Muslim countries such as Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore in recent years, Gatehouse Bank PLC chief executive officer Richard Thomas said.
“We are seeing greater interest in Islamic financing, especially by corporations in non-Muslim countries,” he said at the World Congress of Accountants yesterday……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: The role and support of the accounting profession and standards setters will become more important as the Islamic finance industry continues to grow and expand beyond domestic boundaries.
Bank Negara Malaysia Governor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said, applying the existing accounting frameworks and conventions to Islamic financial institutions may prove to be more challenging, given the unique features of Islamic financial transactions such as the equity based and profit sharing contracts……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: The internationalisation of Islamic finance offers potential for it to become a further means by which cross-border financial flows are intermediated between economies worldwide.
Bank Negara Malaysia’s governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, in stating this, said Islamic finance as an increasingly important component of the international financial system could be leveraged to facilitate surplus funds to be intermediated to economies that presented new opportunities……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: It will be reasonable to institute capital controls for the Islamic financial industry in Malaysia going forward, says Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd, Badlisyah Abdul Ghani.
While the industry will continue to be resilient next year regardless of the uncertainties in global economic landscape and enjoys a positive outlook, it would be reasonable to institute capital controls as this would balance the situation……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bloomberg: Investors are favoring Malaysia’s Islamic bonds over shorter-term bills as overseas funds increase holdings in the world’s biggest sukuk market, showing confidence that the central bank is curbing inflation.
The yield on the nation’s five-year ringgit bond fell 37 basis points to 3.47 percent this year, according to Bank Negara Malaysia prices……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Arabianbusiness.com: Abu Dhabi lender First Gulf Bank (FGB) decided to hold off issuing a benchmark $500 million bond due to volatile market conditions, lead arrangers said on Wednesday.
“The sale stands postponed because of volatile markets,” one banker from a lead arranging bank told Reuters. Another lead arranger confirmed the decision……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bernama: Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd (Kesturi) has completed a restructuring exercise of its RM780 million Sukuk Istisna.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kesturi said the exercise involved buyback and cancellation of the sukuk with a new issuance of up to RM820 million Sukuk Musyarakah medium-term notes programme and RM500 million redeemable junior bonds……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 11 November 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Ameinfo.com: Qatar National Bank (QNB) announced the successful completion of its debut US Dollar bonds issued in international capital markets on 9 November 2010, amounting to $1.5bn with a five year maturity and a coupon rate of 3.125%.
This highly successful Reg S issue is considered the largest ever by a bank from the Middle East and North Africa Region, clearly reflecting investors’ high confidence in QNB’s financial strength and its future plans……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Thailand-business-news.com: The Islamic Bank of Thailand expects to launch Thailand’s first Islamic property fund, worth THB 1.4 billion $47.2 million in December, according to the bank’s President Theerasak Suwannayos.
The fund, called IBank Shariah Property Fund according to the Dow Jones, will invest in an office building with a projected yield of around 5% to 7% per annum.The bank will be the main tenant of the building while the businesses leasing space must comply with the Islamic religion, it said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Bloomberg: Sabana Real Estate Investment Trust said it plans to raise as much as S$554.4 million ($430 million) in an initial share sale to create the world’s biggest Shariah- compliant property trust by assets.
Sabana will sell 504 million shares at between S$1 and S$1.10 each in the city-state’s first Shariah-compliant trust to tap rising demand for Islamic financial products, according to a filing with the Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Aallafrica.com: The Government has signed a $300m (about sh685.5b) deal with the Islamic Development Bank, under the Member Country Partnership Strategy, to finance infrastructure development in the country.
Finance minister Syda Bbumba said the money would fund projects in water, roads, rail and energy sectors. “But the energy sector will be given priority to help people in agri-business process their produce according to international standards,” she added……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: Al Baraka Egypt Bank posted a 16 percent increase in net profit during the first nine months of this year to 95.9 million Egyptian pounds, the Cairo stock exchange said on Wednesday.
The Cairo-based Islamic bank, in which Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) has a controlling stake, said in August its net profit in the first half rose by 57 percent to 65.6 million pounds……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Ameinfo.com: Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced today the opening of three new branches - one in Abu Dhabi and two in Dubai - bringing the bank’s UAE network to a total of 66 branches.
The new branches in Dubai are located in Al Qusais and Al Lisaili areas while the new Abu Dhabi branch is based in Shahama. All three branches will offer customers the full range of DIB’s products and services. Due to a high demand for ladies-only banking, the Shahama branch will also include a dedicated Johara section……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 11 November 2010 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Cpifinancial.net: Banque du Liban’s first vice governor, Raed Charafeddine, calls on Islamic banks to play a more active role in Lebanon, Shari’ah-compliant assets represent less than one per cent of total conventional banking assets
“Islamic banks have not been working enough to spread knowledge about this industry and a lot of efforts are needed to grow this sector in Lebanon,” Charafeddine said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Gulf-daily-news.com: Generali International has selected Takaful International as their representative in Bahrain after the signing of an exclusive co-operation agreement between them which covers all health insurance for the clientele of Generali in the kingdom.
Under the agreement, all clients and customers of Generali International in Bahrain will benefit from the services offered by Takaful International in health insurance and in turn Takaful family plans to utilise the services of Generali in the field of insurance and reinsurance, in laying the foundation for a successful global partnership in the field of Takaful insurance. ………………………………………Full Article: Source
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From Arabianbusiness.com: The chief executive of Tamweel, Wasim Saifi, has resigned and the Islamic mortgage lender will appoint a new chairman having convened a new board, it said on Wednesday.
Varun Sood, the current chief executive of Tamweel’s home finance division will be acting chief executive, the firm said at its annual general meeting in Dubai……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Arabianbusiness.com: Islamic mortgage lender Tamweel in which Dubai Islamic Bank took a majority stake in September, said its third-quarter net profit fell 29 percent as income fell from Islamic financing and investing assets.
Tamweel had a net profit of AED7.34m ($2m) in the third quarter, it said in a statement on Tuesday, compared with AED10.3m a year earlier……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Reuters: Kuwait Finance House, the country’s biggest Islamic lender, is looking for real estate investments in southern China and Europe to expand its assets under management, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Kuwait Finance House has $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM), with investments primarily in key U.S. cities, Malaysia, Shenzhen in China, and the Middle East, Ali Al-Ghannam, international real estate department manager, told Reuters……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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From Cpifinancial.net: Path Solutions has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Islamic University of Malaysia to enable Islamic banking technology simulation for educational and training purposes.
“This strategic collaboration with Path Solutions will significantly benefit the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance with an Islamic banking system that will allow scholars to work on real simulations and practice the knowledge acquired from courses in Islamic Banking and Finance”, said Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar, the University Dean………………………………………Full Article: Source
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