From AP: London winning race to capture burgeoning global Islamic finance market. In a post credit-crisis world, Islamic banking is tipped to be a major growth area for international financing. It currently represents around just 2 percent to 3 percent of global financial assets, or almost $1 trillion, but it is growing at an average of 25 percent each year.
Much of the business originates and is carried out in the oil-rich Gulf and in Malaysia, whose capital Kuala Lumpur is widely regarded as the industry’s hub. But investors in the Muslim world, sitting on piles of oil-generated cash that needs a home, are increasingly eyeing Western countries mirred in debt for potential investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Joongang Daily: The National Assembly will delay consideration of a bill on an issuance of Islamic sukuk bonds by Korean companies until after by-elections scheduled for April 27 out of fears of offending Christian groups.
The ruling Grand National Party had originally scheduled the legislation to be considered this month during the parliament’s special session………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Gulf-times.com: An Islamic finance research body backed by Malaysia’s central bank is drafting rules to regulate the use of derivatives to strengthen the industry’s risk management framework and repair the perception of poor Shariah compliance among banks.
The guidelines could help plug a yawning gap in an industry which has struggled to develop hedging tools that do not resemble betting instruments—a major handicap that can expose Islamic banks to excessive swings in currency and interest rate movements………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Arabianbusiness.com: A number of commercial banks in Qatar have agreed to transfer governance of assets and accounts to Islamic banks after the central bank ordered them to shut their Islamic branches by year end, Al Sharq reported, citing an unidentified bank official.
The central bank’s circular to banks on February 1 said that non-Shariah compliant banks must close Islamic branches by year end and stop taking deposits in those units immediately………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Tribune.com.pk: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has increased statutory liquidity requirements (SLR) for Islamic banks to 14 per cent, effective from April 1.
According to a notification issued by the SBP Domestic Markets and Monetary Management Department on Wednesday, SLR for Islamic banks has been raised to 14 per cent of total demand liabilities, including time deposits with tenors of less than a year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Gazeta.kz: Kazakhstan is set to become a launch pad for the development of Islamic banking in the entire CIS region. Experts believe over the last few years a lot has been done in the country to ensure proper introduction of banking activity that is consistent with the principles of the Islamic law (Sharia).
In a sense, Kazakhstan’s know-how in introducing the Sharia-based financial activities is unique, for the appropriate legislative frameworks were provided long before the first Islamic institution started functioning in the country………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bahrain based leading Islamic banking group, Al Baraka Banking Group Jumped (ABG)announced that it has achieved a net income of US$ 193 million in 2010, an increase of 15% on the income achieved in 2009. Similarly, balance sheet items witnessed notable increases.
Total assets increased by 21%, total finance and investments by 21%, deposits including unrestricted investment accounts by 23% while total equity increased by 5% as at the end of December 2010 in comparison with the end of December 2009………………………………………..Full Press Release: Source

From Cpifinancial.net: Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) has placed its ‘BBB-’ long-term and ‘A-3′ short-term counterparty credit ratings on Al Baraka Banking Group on CreditWatch with negative implications.
The CreditWatch placement follows rating actions taken on Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain, in which the group operates, most recently on Bahrain where the bank is incorporated………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain-based First Energy Bank (FEB), a major Islamic investment bank, has appointed Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi as the bank’s new chairman, following the recent departure of the bank’s former chairman, Esam Janahi.
Al Qubaisi has served as a key figure on many management teams throughout the financial industry, including serving currently as the managing director of International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) in Abu Dhabi, as well as serving as chairman for Aabar Investments, Abu Dhabi Chemicals (Chemaweyaat), National Central Cooling (Tabreed), Abu Dhabi National Takaful (Takaful), and I-Media Newspaper (Alrroya Aleqtisadiya)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Reuters: State-linked and private companies in the Middle East and North Africa face over $16.2 billion in maturing international bonds this year, data from Thomson Reuters shows.
Borrowers domiciled in the United Arab Emirates have the lion’s share with over $5 billion in bond repayments. Egypt alone has over $2.5 billion in bonds maturing between June and July while Lebanon must repay $1.3 billion this year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Nytimes.com: Bahrain’s plans to diversify its economy and move away from oil dependence could be derailed by the unrest in the island kingdom, say analysts, raising concerns over the future of its financial industry.
“The events of the last week are a blow to Bahrain’s diversification strategy because it creates a reputational problem in the long run,” said Moritz Kraemer, managing director of sovereign ratings for the Middle East, Europe and Africa for Standard and Poor’s, based in Frankfurt………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From Knowledge@Wharton: Invited by Bahrain in 2003 to advise the small Gulf country on how to reform its labor markets, Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli remembers addressing a gathering of local business leaders in the capital, Manama, on his findings. One was clear: Bahrain had to stop relying on cheap, imported labor from South Asia and provide job opportunities instead to its underemployed Shiite community.
“It was very clear the business community did not have the least bit of empathy toward them,” Cappelli recalls. “I said, ‘Look, you’ve got this high rate of unemployment among the Shiites, and their population is growing, and the opportunities aren’t there.’……………………………………….Full Article: Source