The halal food industry has now become an asset class within the investment community with the launch of the world’s first halal food indices, called SAMI (Socially Acceptably Market Investments) Halal Food Index and SAMI Halal Participation Index today.

Launched at the ongoing World Halal Forum 2011 (WHF2011) here, both the indices would provide a platform for investors seeking syariah-compliant ethical investment opportunities, said Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Head Islamic Finance Thomson Reuters USA……………………………………..Full Article: Source

I was looking to expand the bandwidth of Islamic investing, and saw the industry looking at Islamic hedge funds and other turbo-charged instruments which the “Muslim man in the street” can neither relate to nor access. The question to answer was: is there an asset class that can be explained in a 30-second elevator pitch, where the same “man” would understand immediately and want to invest in?

I saw a brochure on a halal industry conference and sessions on ingredients, stunning, certification and US$640 billion (RM1.94 trillion), but nothing on halal as an investing asset class. At that point the light bulb went on and I was transported back to 1998, when we came up with the idea of syariah-compliant indexes. An index for halal food from companies!…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The world’s first halal food index, the Socially Acceptable Market Investments (SAMI) Halal Food, is anticipated to grow even faster than the Dow Jones Islamic Index (DJII) in terms of size, branding and spin-off products.

This index is championed by Thomson Reuters Global head of Islamic Finance & OIC Countries Rushdi Siddiqui in cooperation with Ideal Ratings. It is backed by Thomson Reuters and supported by the World Halal Forum (WHF)……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The initiative to merge the halal sector comprising halal food, products and services with Islamic finance industry will further entrench Malaysia’s leading position in the global halal industry, said former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Monday.

He said the syariah-based trillion dollar industries were growing between 15 and 20 per cent annually, with each complementing the other perfectly……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank plan to set up a facility to raise $1 billion for joint Arab infrastructure projects, an e-mailed World Bank statement said.

The Arab Financing Facility for Infrastructure, or AFFI, will be set up by the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as well as its private-sector arm, the International Finance Corp., and the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, it said……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkey’s leading participation bank, Bank Asya, has received over $300 million in a “murabaha” syndicated loan from 26 international financial institutions, marking the largest such loan ever extended to a Turkish bank.

Murabaha is an Islamic method of extending loans that involves a particular kind of sale where the seller states the cost of the commodity to be sold and sells it to another person, adding a specified amount of money to the price……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Palestine Islamic Bank staff said dozens of employees were dismissed from branches in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday. Shadi Abu Nahel, one of the dismissed employees, told Ma’an that the bank’s administration handed 38 employees a letter terminating their employment contracts with immediate effect.
The administration based its decision to dismiss staff on Article 41 of the Palestinian labor law no. 7 of 2000, which states that employers can terminate employment contracts for technical reasons or loss, he said……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic financial sector in Indonesia is hoping a mix of state-backed infrastructure projects and regulatory reforms will help the country’s sharia-compliant lenders to continue their rapid expansion, allowing the industry to realize its full potential and to come out of the shadows of other regional banking powers.

Indonesia was a relative late-comer to the Islamic finance sector, only ratifying legislation to clear the way for sharia-compliant services a quarter of a century after Malaysia had opened the door to Islamic banking and associated activities……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Though there has been significant growth in the Islamic finance industry, several challenges now need to be addressed in order to spur new growth onto the next level.

The Middle East Islamic Finance and Investment Conference (MEIFIC 2011), to be held in Dubai on April 12 and 13, will host international and regional industry leaders to draw up a new roadmap to fully realise the potential of the Islamic finance and investments industry in the region……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Dubai office of Clifford Chance LLP, in conjunction with Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm, have advised Bank Al Jazira (the ‘Bank’) in relation to the issuance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of a SAR1,000,000,000 subordinated Sukuk due 2021 callable with step-up in 2016 (the “Sukuk”).
The Sukuk is comprised of a hybrid Mudaraba and Murabaha structure and represents the first sukuk issuance by a fully Shari’a compliant Bank in Saudi Arabia, as well as the first debt capital markets transaction of 2011 in Saudi Arabia. Due to a very high demand for the Sukuk, the Bank sought and obtained regulatory approval for an increased issuance size of SR1,000,000,000 from the SR750,000,000 originally contemplated……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banking is based on the principles of Islamic (Sharia) law that depends on Quran and Hadith rules. In view of CIMB Group Holdings, “Islamic finance is considered as the rapidly growing part of overall global financial system - sale of Islamic bonds increases about 24 percent worth of $25 billion in 2010.”

Islamic finance is not a new concept; it is a centuries-old practice that is by no means making its significance in Eastern but also in Western states. It is the process by which the financial institutes in the Muslim world inclusive of banks and other loaning bodies raise their capital in accordance with Islamic rules and regulations that are termed as the “Shari’ah”……………………………………..Full Article: Source