From Reuters: Two of the Gulf’s top Islamic finance scholars spoke out against efforts to reduce the number of boards they and their peers are allowed to sit on, challenging industry attempts to improve corporate governance.
Bankers in the emerging $1 trillion Islamic finance industry say the concentration of hundreds of board positions in the hands of a few sharia scholars leads to conflicts of interest and hampers appropriate supervision……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Sify.com: When regulators in Dubai and Malaysia signed a deal in 2007 to facilitate cross-border sales of sharia funds on each other’s turf, they were hoping for a burst of activity to galvanise the $50 billion Islamic asset industry.
Three years on, no funds have been marketed under the initiative, reflecting the struggle to expand the global Islamic asset management industry and the long road ahead to develop the business……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bernama.com: The Islamic finance fund management industry constitutes the fastest-growing segment in the Malaysian Islamic capital market, says Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) chairman, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar.
She said the industry recorded a compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent over the past five years……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: Islamic bonds that pay returns based on cash flows from airports and utilities rather than income from property may stay in favor in the coming year after a drop in Persian Gulf real-estate prices shook investor confidence.
Saudi Electricity Co.’s 7 billion-riyal ($1.9 billion) sukuk sold in May was underwritten by income from fees such as connection charges, according to its prospectus. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest brokerage, sold Islamic debt in Malaysia in July using aircraft as the underlying asset……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: National Commercial Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest lender and Dubai developer Nakheel PJSC are among five borrowers in the Persian Gulf that may offer Islamic bonds next year after sales dropped 40 percent in 2010.
Companies in the region announced this quarter plans to sell as much as $3 billion of sukuk, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Five companies in the Gulf raised $4 billion through Islamic bonds this year, down from the $6.7 billion raised in 2009 by seven issuers, the data show……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bernama: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will continue to issue more sukuk programme, including ringgit denominated, in the Malaysian sukuk market, its president Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali said.
Although IDB has a very strong capital base, it will continue to tap resources from the market, as part of its strategies to ensure sustainability and to increase diversity of its liquidity sources, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-daily-news.com: Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has announced that it had entered into an agreement with Bahrain Islamic Bank to certify the contracts used by the bank.
“The certification by AAOIFI of the financial contracts of Bahrain Islamic Bank is part of services offered by AAOIFI under Contract Certification Programme, which aims to regulate the process of certification of contracts entered into by Islamic financial institutions with their customers to ensure that such contracts fully comply with the provisions and principles of Sharia,” said AAOIFI secretary general Mohammed Nedal Alchaar……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Mis-asia.com: Financial provider SWIFT recently had some of its ISO messaging standards certified by a global Islamic banking body. The AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions) recently awarded SWIFT’s ISO 15022 message standards as being certified compliant to process treasury Murabaha transactions, which is an Islamic financing structure.
SWIFT said the approval means Murabaha treasury transactions, which reportedly represent 60 per cent of all Islamic financing, can now be automated……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Brudirect.com: Takaful Brunei Am Sdn Bhd (TBA) has launched a centre that caters to customers making vehicle-related transactions and also facilitates the management of the electronic application and approval process for the Land Transport Department.
The general insurance company’s Land Transport System (Sistem Pengangkutan Darat, SPD) Centre was launched yesterday, at Dar Takaful IBB Utama at Jalan Pemancha in the capital……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Ameinfo.com: Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, secretary-general of the Islamic Financial Services Board, an association of regulators in Muslim countries, has said the board will revise its rules next year to enhance Shari’ah-compliant banks’ capital in line with Basel III reforms, Reuters has reported.
The aim of the changes is “not to put the Islamic financial services industry at a disadvantage and to provide them with a level playing field” relative to conventional banks but did not elaborate on possible revisions, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Elanthemag.com: A question that is often discussed is: if the global economic crisis triggered by the housing bubble burst and the sub-prime credit crisis in the US would have been averted if the Islamic finance framework were in place. It is a question that is asked often and one that has generated global interest. The answer is that in principle, Islamic finance may have prevented the sub-prime crisis leading to the global economic crunch.
In my opinion, the very founding spirit of Islamic finance is anti-speculation and “anti-bubbles,” if you will. I would qualify that improper risk management and lack of execution of principles in any financial system conventional or Islamic can potentially lead to similar negative results……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thedawn.com.pk: The organization representing the world’s biggest grouping of Muslim-majority nations is seeking to attract more overseas investment by offering the first Shariah-compliant stock index from its 57 members.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference based in Jeddah hired Standard & Poor’s to start an index of about 50 of the most-traded stocks in the first quarter of 2011, Huseyin Erkan, the Istanbul Stock Exchange’s chief executive officer and coordinator of the initiative, said on Nov. 8……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The CISI is launching a new Islamic finance professional interest forum (PIF) in conjunction with the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance (IIBI). From 2011, members of the Islamic finance forum will meet quarterly in London to network over lunch, listen to presentations and discuss issues affecting them in a confidential setting.
Events will be free for all members of the CISI (although students may only attend one Islamic finance forum each year) and IIBI members……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source

Seasoned banking professional, Ahmed Khizer Khan joins the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) as Chief Operating Officer effective December 1st, 2010. Khan will be based in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with direct responsibility for Corporate Services, Administration, Finance, Human Resources, Treasury, Marketing, Technology, Legal and Corporate Communications.

He will also be a member of the ICD Executive Management team responsible for executing the overall growth strategy for the institution.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) - is an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank (lOB) and part of the lOB Group - it is a multilateral financial institution which was established by the IDB Board of Governors in November 1999 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The authorized capital of the Corporation is USD 2 billion while the subscribed is USD 750 million. Its shareholders are the lOB, 50 Islamic member countries, and 5 public financial institutions from member countries.

The mandate of ICD is to playa complimentary role to the lOB activities and national financing institutions in member countries by supporting and promoting private sector development through the provision of financing and financial services to private sector projects in accordance with principles of the Shari’a.

ICD also provides advice and consultancy services to governments and private organizations to encourage the establishment, expansion and modernization of private enterprises. To achieve these objectives, ICD creates and develops relations of cooperation and partnership to arrange co-financing and syndicated financing services. Additionally, it aims to develop capital markets, adopt best management practices and enhance the role of market economy. (Press Release)