From Gulf-times.com: Kuwait Finance House, the country’s biggest Islamic lender, is looking for real estate investments in southern China and Europe as it seeks to more than double its portfolio, a senior official said.
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) wants to increase global assets under management (AUM) to about $4bn in coming years from $1.5bn with a focus on residential property, Ali al-Ghannam, international real estate department manager, told Reuters. He didn’t give a timeframe……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Reuters: Three men defrauded 300 Muslim investors and three banks out of $44 million in a real estate Ponzi scheme that promised profits, not interest, to adhere with sharia law, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Salman Ibrahim, 37, and Mohammad Akbar Zahid, 59, claimed that Sunrise Equities Inc earned monthly profits on real estate investments, not interest, in the alleged scheme that took in a total of $69 million from 2003 to 2008, according to a federal indictment unveiled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Foxnews.com: More than 300 investors nationwide fell victim and three banks lost more than $13 million after the alleged Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2008, the indictment alleges. Such schemes use new investors’ money to pay previous investors.
A taxi driver turned prominent businessman in Chicago’s South Asian community is among three people indicted for defrauding hundreds of Muslim investors out of $30 million, in part by promising that investments complied with Islamic law, federal prosecutors said Wednesday……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thenational.ae: The Dubai Government has injected US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) into the indebted property and financial conglomerate Dubai Holding. Mohammed al Shaibani, the deputy chairman of the emirate’s Supreme Fiscal Committee, said the sum had already been put into Dubai Holding, which is in the process of renegotiating about $12bn of debts.
“I don’t want to put any more in as the Government but I will do it as and when it’s required,” Mr al Shaibani said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Gulf Finance House EC, the Bahrain- based investment bank, said its shareholders agreed on a plan to raise $500 million to stave off bankruptcy, the National reported, citing a company statement.
Shareholders also agreed to raise funds through converting an Islamic financing instrument into shares and a four-to-one consolidation of shares, according to the report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: The Islamic banking industry has continued to grow despite the turbulence in the global economy, with Islamic banks outperforming conventional ones in terms of asset growth. However, both market values and profitability of Islamic banks have come under pressure, narrowing the gap with conventional peers.
“The analysis provided in this year’s report will be even more critical as it comes at a juncture when the major industry players are seeking to adopt best practices and re-visit key strategies and business models to ensure continued growth in a challenging economic environment,” World Islamic Banking Conference managing director David McLean said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Iflr.com: Investor appetite is strong, but banks need regulatory support and coordination to encourage them to launch shariah-compliant programmes.
That was the message delivered by speakers at the Islamic Finance News Roadshow, hosted last week in London by Norton Rose……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global Economic Directions IV is a conference dedicated to the changing conditions affecting economic policy and will look at how companies can best operate successfully by following the rules of Islamic Sharia.
The theme for this year’s event will be ‘The Global Economic Crisis from the Perspective of Islamic Economics’ and follows on from the previous forums of ‘Global Economic Directions I II and III’. Delegates attending and taking part in the conference will consist of the leading academics, researchers and heads of public and private companies, coming together to share ideas on the topic……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source

From Opp.org.uk: The Islamic Bank of Thailand is planning to launch Thailand’s first Islamic property fund, worth THB 1.4 billion (US $47.2 million) in December, the bank’s President Theerasak Suwannayos said this week.
The fund will be called the IBank Shariah Property Fund and it has been set up by The Islamic Bank of Thailan under the Islamic Bank of Thailand Act 2002, regulated by the Ministry of Finance……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Finextra.com: EFront, the leading software solutions provider for the financial industry, today announced that Anfaal Capital has selected eFront’s FrontInvest Alternatives to support its alternative investments operations.
FrontInvest Alternatives is the global frontrunner in alternative asset management platforms……………………………………….Full Article: Source