Competition looks set to continue heating up in the Islamic finance sector, with the latest entrant to the market, Saudi giant Al Rajhi Bank, opening for business in late March. As new players work expand their reach, Sharia-compliant financial services will become increasingly accessible for Jordanian customers, while meeting the Basel III capital adequacy and risk-management requirements will remain a top priority for the banks.

Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB), the country’s oldest Sharia-compliant lender, having been set up in 1978, is now competing with recent arrivals Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank (JDIB) and Al Rajhi, along with Islamic International Arab Bank, which was the second Sharia-compliant lender to join the market, back in 1998………………………………………Full Article: Source

The introduction of Sharia funds may not necessarily be a new concept in South Africa. A number of South African banks and investment houses offer financial services products which comply with Islamic law.
Old Mutual Unit Trusts, in partnership with Al Baraka Bank and Channel Islam, has launched a Sharia-compliant asset allocation fund that promises to offer investors excellent diversification through access to most local and international asset classes……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banking is growing rapidly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but it desperately needs a global set of standards that every country and institution accepts. Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News in Istanbul, an expert says the Turkish Central Bank might ‘take the lead’ in this effort.
‘Risk has no religion,’ says Khalid Ferdaus Howladar of Moody’s, adding that he likes the Turkish term ‘participation bank’…………………………………….Full Article: Source

A Muslim body backed by the Philippines government wants Middle East investors to take a stake in the country’s sole Shariah lender to help kickstart its Islamic banking industry.
Gulf investors can provide the needed capital to Al Amanah Islamic Bank, which aims to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, said Datu Tahir Lidasan Jr, a director with the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Koreans should not worry about money flowing into the hands of terrorists if a law is passed to give tax advantages to Korean companies issuing Islamic sukuk bonds.

Malaysia has the world’s largest sukuk bond market, accounting for about 70 percent of global transactions in the sector……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Salamfone Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Reach Telecom, today launched its mobile service here, modelled after the principles of Syariah.

In a statement today, the company said the Salamfone mobile service will operate using the Maxis network system and top-ups were available at the 7-11 outlets, Petronas stations, Shell stations and at the ATMs of RHB Bank, Bank Simpanan Nasional, CIMB and Kuwait Finance House……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Encouraged by the recent economic downturn, business schools and their students are considering the option of specializing in Islamic finance in order to diversify their skills, thus appealing to a rapidly growing international financial market.
“The Islamic finance industry has been growing at a rapid rate over the past two decades, with assets in that sector now in excess of $1 trillion,” explains Walid Hejazi, associate professor of International Business at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Canada……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar National Bank SAQ (QNBK), the Persian Gulf country’s biggest lender by assets, reported a greater- than-estimated increase in first-quarter profit on higher income from lending.

Net income rose 35 percent to 1.7 billion riyals ($467 million), or 3.4 riyals a share, from 1.27 billion riyals, or 2.5 riyals, a year earlier, the Doha-based bank said in a statement today. The median estimate of three analysts was for profit of 1.62 billion riyals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi investors pledged on Wednesday to invest in Bosnia with $50 million starting capital and Turkey said that one of its banks will extend credit lines for infrastructure projects.

Officials from the Middle East and Turkey said they wanted to help development of Bosnia, a Balkan country impoverished during the 1992-95 war where a large Muslim population lives alongside the Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Al Baraka banking group and other Saudi investors have formed a joint investment company for Bosnia, said Saudi Arabia’s Sheikh Saleh Kamel, the chairman of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Khalijia Invest, a Saudi investment firm which counts two major Kuwaiti investment banks as shareholders, plans to shut down most of its operations due to a cash crunch, an internal document seen by Reuters showed. The retrenchment could be the first in a slew of similar actions in the kingdom where a raft of investment firms have been facing financial stress, with consolidation expected.

Riyadh-based Khalijia, which counts Kuwait’s National Investments and Gulf Bank as shareholders, has decided to cancel the licenses of its asset management, brokerage and custody services, an email to Khalijia staff said……………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s not often you get nearly an entire tv program dedicated to the dangers of Shariah, much less Shariah Compliant Finance. Last week, Glenn Beck did an amazing job of it, joined by the Center for Security Policy’s Christopher Holton and the Middle East Forum’s Daniel Pipes.

Glenn touched on the basics of Shariah Finance, using Qaradawi’s declaration that it is “Jihad With Money.” Sheik Qaradawi, of course, is a key SCF adviser himself– as is Taqi Usmani (he of the very bad teeth; covered before here at Big Peace). The show also touched on the scandal of the US government’s ownership of the largest provider of Shariah financial products, AIG……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Reem Finance PJSC announced the final deployment of its strategic Islamic banking solution, ETHIX financial solution. The web-service-based solution offers Islamic finance institutions a range of pre-defined business models including Islamic finance, Islamic investment as well as trading and delivery channels.
Reem Finance signed a partnership agreement with International Turnkey Systems Group (ITS), the owner of the ETHIX financial solution. This agreement paved the way for the rapid deployment of the ETHIX solution at Reem Finance’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) can look forward to more affordable insurance with the launch of Takaful mySME at Sime Darby Convention Centre. Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd group managing director Datuk Mohamed Hassan Md Kamil said the insurance plan would benefit SME sectors in retail, food and beverages, office, services and light manufacturing.

“Takaful mySME offers maximum protection at affordable rates, including 15 per cent no claims rebate, making us the only Malaysian Islamic insurance company to offer this service.”…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Newly launched ING Public Takaful Ehsan Bhd aims to achieve RM31 million in premium or contribution in its first year of operation, driven by potentials in the Takaful market which still has low penetration rate in Malaysia.

“Moving forward, we target to grow our market share to 10 per cent on the back of projected contributions of over RM800 million by 2015,” said its Chief Executive Officer Saiful Yazan Ahmad after the launch of the joint venture company here Tuesday……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Conyers is delighted to announce the promotion of investment funds and Islamic finance lawyer Fawaz Elmalki to Director in the firm’s Dubai office. Fawaz specialises in investment fund formation including private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds and Shariah compliant funds. Fawaz represents funds and their sponsors in connection with their formation and also represents institutional investors in such funds.
He also has broad experience in corporate finance and corporate law matters including joint ventures and offshore structuring of Islamic finance products including sukuk……………………………………..Full Article: Source

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the respective AAA, AA2, AAA(bg) and P1 ratings of Al-’Aqar Capital Sdn Bhd’s (Al-’Aqar Capital) Class A Islamic Medium-Term Notes (IMTN), Class B IMTN, Class C IMTN and Islamic Commercial Papers (ICP) under its RM300 million Sukuk Ijarah Programme; all the long-term ratings have a stable outlook.

The reaffirmed ratings of the respective classes of IMTN and ICP are premised on the sturdy cashflow generated by the portfolio of 11 hospitals (the Hospitals), the structural features of the transaction and the loan-to-value (LTV) ratios as well as debt service coverage ratios (DSCRs) that commensurate with the respective ratings……………………………………..Full Article: Source