From Channelnewsasia.com: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has blamed Western lending practices for the financial crisis of 2008. Dr Mahathir said that Shariah-compliant lending can succeed where the West has failed.
And ASEAN, he said, is one place where Islamic finance will boom. The Islamic finance industry globally has been growing at a rate of 15 to 20 percent……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Smh.com.au: Malaysia’s outspoken ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has blamed Western lending practices for the world’s financial problems and hailed Islamic banking as a “superior” model. Mahathir said that the 2008 global financial crisis was sparked by excessive lending by western banks.
Islamic banks, in contrast, are constrained because every deal needs to be backed by a real asset under the principles of sharia law, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Bloomberg: The Palestinian central bank is attracting local banks to its first sale of Islamic bills, part of a plan to jumpstart the Shariah-compliant finance industry.
Palestine Islamic Bank, the largest Shariah-compliant bank in the territories with $364 million of assets, will submit a bid for as much as $10 million, and Arab Islamic Bank said it probably will participate……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Islamicfinanceasia.com: When the financial crisis hit the GCC in 2008, the Islamic syndicated financing market remarkably saw borrowings increase to a total US$26.5 billion from US$19.6 billion a year earlier. The Sukuk market, on the other hand, suffered from a dearth of issuances, plunging by about 55% in 2008 from US$34.3 billion in 2007 to a mere US$15.5 billion.
This was seen as a revival of the Islamic syndication financing market. One of the reasons cited was the rise in the London interbank offered rates (LIBOR) during that time which forced Sukuk out of the market, leaving borrowers to turn to Islamic syndicated finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Arabnews.com: In the wake of the global financial crisis, it is not surprising that accounting and reporting standards, transparency and disclosure have been as much on the agenda as risk management, capital adequacy, stress testing and financial stability.
Islamic finance, now being an acknowledged part of the global financial system and gaining increased acceptability, similarly needs to strengthen the accounting, financial reporting, auditing and disclosure standards within the industry……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sharia banking has shown strong performance in Indonesia since 2000. The role of sharia banking continues to escalate in support of economic activities and huge unbanked population in the country. So far, sharia banks have not showed any weakening of their performance. Indonesia’s sharia banking is anticipated to gain a big boost in future as well on account of the government support.
According to our research report “Indonesian Islamic Banking Outlook to 2013”, sharia banking assets are expected to reach around Rp 399.6 Trillion in 2013 over Rp 107.1 Trillion in 2010. Our report has discussed the factors that are driving growth in the industry……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source

From Islamicfinanceasia.com: When the financial crisis hit the global markets, Islamic mutual funds were touted to be a much safer investment than their conventional peers due to Shariah screening which removes financial institutions and companies that are highly leveraged. However, post-crisis, global conventional funds which saw a US$7 trillion dip in assets under management (AuM) from US$26.1 trillion in 2007 began to recover, reaching US$22 trillion at the end of 2009.
The Islamic funds industry, although regarded as shielded, inched up only slightly from US$51.4 billion in 2008 to US$52.2 billion in 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, it managed to accumulate an additional US$100 million to US$52.3 billion……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Moneymanagement.com.au: Investment management platform provider Praemium has been appointed by the Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) to launch the UK’s only Sharia compliant retail discretionary portfolio service.
IBB stated Praemium’s discretionary portfolio service would give investors the chance to set up investments through its independent financial advisers……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Islamicfinanceasia.com: At the heart of the Islamic finance industry stand the Shariah scholars; those who, with a stroke of the pen, can make or break deals and ultimately push forth or stymie the industry.
Shariah scholars are finding themselves being spread too thin. The growth of the industry far exceeds the number of Shariah scholars available to analyze and study deals and structures……………………………………….Full Article: Source