With a 99 per cent Muslim population and a series of scandals which ebbed away confidence in its conventional banking sector, one would think that Afghanistan is a prime candidate for Islamic finance. At least, that’s what its Government is banking on.
Last month, Da Afghanistan Bank - Afghanistan’s Central Bank - announced that it expects a new Islamic banking law to be enacted by September this year. We don’t have to look very far for a motive……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The investing and financing world is about country linkages that are economic and financial opportunities clustered as growth stories. The most recognised country linkage is BRIC (Brazil, Russia India and China): it conjures mental images of geographies, growth, size, demand, etc.
Halal industry, and Muslim countries, we now need to think a ‘Muslim BRIC.’ But, why? The simple answer is ‘why not,’ but the relevant answer is the present Muslim country clusters news and information is more about coverage than investing and trading opportunities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A new Islamic insurance company, Wataniya, will launch an 82.5 million dirham ($22.4 million) initial public offering on April 18 with plans to list on the Abu Dhabi bourse, the company said on Monday.
The founders of Wataniya have subscribed to 45 percent of the total share capital of 150 million dirhams, the company said in a statement……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Britain’s new national pension scheme for workers whose employers do not run their own plans has appointed HSBC and F&C to run the Islamic and ethical portfolios respectively.
The National Employment Savings Trust, expected to become Britain’s largest pension fund with up to 100 billion pounds in total assets by 2030, will offer the two portfolios, among others, when it launches next year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Driven by increasing demand for such services, the industry has evolved from one that only contained a single player with limited basic products to a viable sector that has been integrated into the mainstream financial system.
RAM Rating Services Berhad notes that Malaysia has successfully propelled the Takaful industry to the next level. While not as prominent as the overall Islamic banking industry, Takaful is marching ahead at its own pace, with a 20 per cent to 26 per cent year-on-year growth in terms of total assets and contributions between 2004 and 2009……………………………………….Full Article: Source

How can Islamic insurances, known as Takaful, flourish and expand globally? This is the topic of the sixth edition of the two-day World Takaful Conference in Dubai which was kicked off Sunday and attended by 350 industry professionals.
In the Gulf Arab region, financial products which obey the religious rules of Islamic law, known as Sharia, have seen growth rates of more than 20 percent annually. Islamic insurances even grow by 31 percent globally in 2010, according to the Ernst and Young World Takaful Report 2011……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bahrain-based Islamic investment firm Arcapita exited its Indian healthcare investment in MedPlus Health Services with returns of more than 60 per cent over its own expectations, a top company official said yesterday.
Arcapita sold its stake in the Indian company to a consortium of private equity investors after becoming the largest shareholder in MedPlus in 2007 in a transaction valuing the company at $72 million……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sesame partner with Islamic Bank of Britain for Islamic mortgage alternative. Sesame Network members will have access to the full range of IBB’s Sharia compliant mortgage alternative, the Home Purchase Plan. As part of the tie-up, intermediaries will be able to submit fully packaged applications or referrals to IBB.
The link-up allows intermediaries to offer Islamic home finance immediately, targeting customers looking for home finance, without the use of interest, and based on an ethical, alternative banking system……………………………………….Full Article: Source

It is significant that Qatar and UAE are two of the wealthiest states, most politically stable countries in MENA. This is the reason I am so partial to their flagship banks Qatar National Bank (QNB) and National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
QNB was a phenomenal performer for us since I recommended it in this column at QR125 last summer. In essence,………………………………………Full Article: Source

Net profits made by Kuwaiti banks in 2010 totalled about KD583m ($2.1bn), more than 62 percent higher than the previous year, the Gulf state’s central bank said on Monday.
Addressing a financing conference, Sheikh Salem AbdulAziz Al-Sabah, governor of the CBK, said Kuwait had taken several measures to “buttress the banking sector”, helping to develop risk-management abilities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has achieved a net profit of BD13.63 million ($36.25m) for the first quarter of 2011, compared to BD13.22m ($35.16m) in the same period last year, an increase of 3.1 per cent.
Chairman Farouk Almoayyed said the results reflect the bank’s strong financial position and its ability to continue to generate steady and strong returns to its shareholders by focusing on core commercial banking activities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Middle Eastern M&A based on target nation reached $4.9 billion in the first quarter, 42 per cent lower than the first quarter of 2010. The most targeted industry in the region was the financial sector which accounted for 34 per cent of the activity.
The Middle East saw a big decline in merger and acquisition and equity issuance in the first quarter of the year according to the Thomson Reuters investment banking league tables, as unrest swept through the region……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The $52 billion international Islamic funds industry is being urged to offer more innovative areas of investment and to expand into untapped geographical markets by leading Sharia scholar Dr Mohammed Daud Bakar.
According to Ernst & Young data, Islamic assets under management currently amount to almost $52bn across 700 worldwide funds. “But most funds are dedicated to equities and everybody is doing that,” said Dr Bakar……………………………………….Full Article: Source

DP World Ltd. (DPW), the Dubai government-controlled ports operator, had its credit ratings raised to investment grade from junk at Moody’s Investors Service, which cited a “rapid recovery” in performance.
The yield on the 6.25 percent 10-year Islamic bond dropped to the lowest on record. The long-term foreign currency and local currency debt ratings, which affect $3.25 billion of borrowings, were lifted one level to Baa3 from Ba1, Moody’s said in an e-mailed statement today. The outlook is stable……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is putting the brakes on economic growth in the region that had been expected to accelerate this year, the World Bank has said.
Justin Lin, the World Bank’s chief economist, said that research by the development lender’s economists showed that economic output in the Middle East and North Africa, was paying a heavy price for the recent wave of anti-regime upheaval……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors may hold the key to future progress in corporate governance practices within the Gulf region, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said on Monday.
“Corporate governance, long considered the Achilles heel of companies in the Gulf region, is beginning to feature strongly on policymakers’ radar,” said analyst Amra Balic in a new report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A controversial ban on face veils has come into force in France, meaning anyone wearing the Muslim niqab or burqa in public will face a fine of up to $216 and a citizenship course.
Two protesters wearing niqab veils were arrested by police on Monday, after they took part in a demonstration outside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the capital………………………………………..Full Article: Source