From Bloomberg: Indonesia’s Islamic bonds may extend this year’s rally that drove yields to record lows on the prospects of further ratings upgrades, according to the manager of the world’s best-performing sukuk fund.
PT Bhakti Asset Management’s BIG Dana Muamalah fund, which returned 13.4 percent this year, bought rupiah-denominated government sukuk in March, the same month Standard & Poor’s raised the nation’s rating to BB, two levels below investment grade……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the country’s biggest Islamic lender, said on Wednesday it made an early payment of $250 million that was due in March 2011.
“KFH paid an early instalment worth $250 million that was due next March, as part of a murabaha financing deal with several international and regional banks worth $850 million,” KFH said in a statement……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Vccircle.com: Ambit Capital, the institutional equities and asset management vertical of Mumbai-based domestic investment bank Ambit Holdings Pvt. Ltd, has hit the fund raising mode for its $150-million Shariah-compliant fund.
Ambit Capital CEO (Equities) Andrew Holland, who is spearheading the venture, is currently doing soft marketing of the fund to institutional investors and family offices in the Middle-East. The Shariah-compliant fund will be jointly marketed by Ambit’s new investor, Qatar-based QInvest Llc. In February this year, QInvest paid Rs 250 crore to purchase a 25.01% stake in the operating company Ambit Corporate Finance……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Thepeninsulaqatar.com: As a continued sign of its clients’ appetite, QInvest, Qatar’s leading Investment Bank, in collaboration with India’s premier financial services partner, Ambit, announced the launch of the Ambit QInvest India Fund, an open ended Shariah-compliant Indian Equities Fund.
The fund is the region’s first and India’s largest Shariah-compliant equity fund with an investment strategy that will combine dynamic equity allocation to generate returns……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Allvoices.com: Companies in Bahrain and Bangladesh now have the option to use products based on Islamic or conventional banking at HSBC. This is because, through the HSBC launched the HSBC Amanah products and services to meet the needs of corporate banking in these countries began earlier this month.
Among the products introduced in Bahrain is a business account, investment solutions, working capital and trade finance……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Twocircles.net: A delegation of Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF) called on Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee at his residence in Kolkata on 4th December 2010 and urged him to expedite the process of introducing interest-free banking for the marginalised and the minorities in the country.
Headed by H Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, ICIF and Convenor, National Committee on Islamic Banking, the delegation urged the FM to consider the issue in the background of setback in microfinance institutions as well as the RBI’s rural initiative receiving a serious jolt with its pilot project in the North East region……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Tribune.com.pk: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has advised all Islamic banking institutions (IBIs) to invite their Shariah adviser for discussion on Shariah compliance report in the board of directors’ meetings during which annual audited accounts and the adviser’s report are discussed and approved.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the SBP said that the instruction is aimed at providing an opportunity to Shariah advisers to present the report, prepared in compliance with SBP instructions, to the board of directors and apprise it about the assessment on the overall Shariah compliance levels and environment in the IBIs……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Whatinvestment.co.uk: The Islamic Bank of Britain is to launch a Sharia-compliant discretionary portfolio service for investors who invest through financial advisers. The service, launched with investment management platform Præmium, will see the Islamic Bank of Britain screen discretionary investment services.
The service will include a range of strategies as well as Sharia-approved ISA and SIPP products……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: Qatari banks are presently well-capitalised, profitable and have low non-performing loan ratios, according to Qatar Central Bank Governor HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani.
This, he said, needs to be viewed in the light of the global crisis with banks in most developed countries struggling to remain profitable, he said in the latest issue of ‘The Report: Qatar 2010’ prepared by the Oxford Business Group……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Gfsnews.com: A senior Irish delegation headed by Matthew Elderfield, the country’s top regulator, and John Bruton, chairman of Ireland’s International Financial Services Centre, were in Bahrain on Wednesday for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries.
The agreement is set to pave the way for increased cooperation between the Central Bank of Bahrain and the Central Bank of Ireland, including on the supervision of financial institutions, investment and insurance businesses and collective investment schemes……………………………………….Full Article: Source

From Mg.co.za: You don’t need to be Muslim to invest in shariah-compliant investment products — as the credit-crunch and fall-out showed, Islamic banking and investment products fared well by avoiding interest-bearing assets and securities, focusing on commodities and profit-sharing, for example.
As more shariah-compliant products hit the market, Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) has launched what it believes to be a unique product, largely because it’s bespoke. The equity portfolio is tailored for an individual’s particular needs and is not a “one-size-fits-all” option……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Ethica’s Managing Director, Atif Khan said, “The connection between interest-based banking and global warming is rarely made. Yet, across the globe, every summer gets hotter and every winter gets milder. We need to make this connection and understand the true humanitarian cost of compounding interest and the demands it places on the Earth and us.”
Between 1980 and 2007, the summer Arctic ice area shrank from ten million square kilometers to four million square kilometers. At this rate, the Arctic will be almost free of ice within fifteen years and the sun, with no large ice sheet deflecting its light, will have free reign to warm our oceans at will……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source