Malaysia plans to sell as much as 30 billion ringgit ($9.9 billion) of local-currency Islamic bonds under a program to help finance a mass-transit railway in Kuala Lumpur, a government official said.
A special financing vehicle will be formed by the government to raise the funds which will be used for the country’s biggest infrastructure project to date, said the official, who couldn’t be named as details of the sale have yet to be finalized……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Senegal will likely launch a debut sovereign Islamic bond in 2011 of around $200 million, said the chief operating officer at the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).
ICD, a member of the Islamic Development Bank has been mandated to work on the Islamic bond, or sukuk, and while the exact size has not been fixed yet, it will be around $200 million, Ahmed Khizer Khan told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Noor Islamic Bank has two sukuk, or Islamic bond mandates, one each in the Gulf region and Turkey, the Dubai-based lender’s chief executive said on Tuesday.
The deal size on both issues would be between $250 million to $300 million, Hussain Al Qemzi told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Liquidity Management House, a unit of Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is in the process of issuing $1 billion in Islamic bonds, or sukuk. “The company is issuing Sukuk with a value up to $1 billion for three projects outside the local market … with a share of 10 percent, which is equivalent to $100 million,” Chairman Emad Al-Monayea said.
The issuance will be done through a consortium, he said. In March, KFH’s Turkish unit said it will launch a $500 million Islamic bond by the end of the year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Indonesia’s finance ministry on Tuesday sold 140 billion rupiah ($16.18 million) of 25-year sukuk at an average yield of 9.25 percent, lower than 10 percent in a sukuk auction last month, the debt office said in a statement.
The ministry also sold 360 bilion rupiah of 6-year sukuk with a 7.39199 percent yield. There were no winning bids for its 14-year and 19-year sukuk……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Ireland could become a centre for financial investment worth billions of euro if a number of regulatory measures are brought in, a conference was told. The country could be a hub for Islamic Finance (IF), a financial system that provides products and services that comply with Sharia principles.
IF differs from western finance in several ways. Banks are not allowed to charge interest on loans, while investors cannot put money into business related to gambling, pork or pornography……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic finance sector is gradually building momentum across the globe and will likely lead the re-emergence of global financial industry over the next five years, said experts at a Dubai summit.
Speaking at the first annual Middle East Islamic Finance and Investment Conference (MEIFIC 2011) which opened at Dusit Thani Dubai on Tuesday, the experts said despite the global economic slowdown, the Islamic financial industry had crossed its $1 trillion mark……………………………………….Full Article: Source

With an increasing appetite for Shari’ah-compliant alternatives in the areas of banking and finance among the investment community, corporate end users, consumers and intermediaries, Islamic finance in the Middle East have witnessed dramatic and exponential growth in the past few years.
Despite the global economic slowdown, the Islamic financial industry has crossed its USD 1 trillion mark and the industry leaders gathered at the 1st Annual Middle East Islamic Finance and Investment Conference (MEIFIC 2011) which is being held on the 12th and 13th of April 2011, at Dusit Thani Dubai, agreed that the Islamic finance industry is rapidly resuming its growth path and is increasingly gaining attention in various jurisdictions across the globe in the post-crisis global financial landscape……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are likely to shift attention to Malaysia’s Islamic finance market, says an expert.
RAM Rating Services Bhd’s head of Islamic Ratings Zakariya Othman said given Malaysia’s well-developed Islamic finance market, coupled with the sound legal, regulatory and investor-friendly environment, it is well poised to capture a substantial portion of capital from or originally destined for the Middle East……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed comments on the outlook for investment inflows from the Middle East amid the political turmoil in parts of the region. He spoke at a conference today in Kuala Lumpur.
The “Middle East is an important market for trade, Islamic finance and also tourism. I believe despite the crisis happening in the Middle East, the source of money will continue to flow into Malaysia……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia on Tuesday unveiled a plan to more than double its capital market size to 4.5 trillion ringgit ($1.5 trillion) by 2020. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister, said the government will allocate more funds to develop venture capital and private equity firms.
“We must do everything we can to ensure that Malaysia’s capital market doesn’t just grow, it grows with minimal risks in a well-regulated environment,” he told fund managers and investors at an investment forum……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia has successfully propelled the takaful industry to the next level, says RAM Rating Services Bhd. Driven by increasing demand, the takaful 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, the rating agency said.
“While not as prominent as the overall Islamic banking industry, takaful is marching ahead at its own pace with a 20% to 26% year-on-year growth in terms of total assets and contributions between 2004 and 2009,” it said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Takaful is the fastest growing segment of the insurance industry in Saudi Arabia, RNCOS research and analytical consultancy said in its latest industry report.
“We have found that Saudi Arabia has emerged as the largest market for Takaful insurance followed by Malaysia. Takaful insurance is growing at an annual growth rate of 15-20 percent globally, but it will grow at faster rate in Saudi Arabia because premium paid by the insured people is considered as donation and not premium,” it said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global takaful or Shari’a compliant cooperative insurance contributions are well on course to touch US$12 billion this year, after hitting US$9.15 billion in 2010. According to Ernst & Young’s latest World Takaful Report, contributions grew globally by 31 percent in 2009 to reach $6.9 billion US dollars.
The takaful industry is concentrated mainly in the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia regions……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Allianz Takaful, a fully owned subsidiary of Allianz Group, recently demonstrated its continued commitment to educational reform in Bahrain by holding an internship for four Bahraini students.
The three-week internship is a key component of Allianz Takaful’s Structured Workplace Learning Programme (SWLP), also known as Takween, which complements the broader national educational reform process currently under way in Bahrain……………………………………….Full Press Release: Source

Malaysia’s Bank Islam has dropped a plan to acquire a stake in Indonesian lender PT Bank Muamalat, Business Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Bank Islam “is not participating in Bank Muamalat but is still keen on Indonesia”, the paper quoted Bank Islam managing director Zukri Samat as saying……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai Group LLC’s $6 billion (Dh22.02 billion) debt restructuring is in the final stages of negotiations and an accord is expected to be signed before the end of June, said the chief executive officer of Noor Islamic Bank PJSC.
An agreement is expected to include loan extensions and full payment of the principal amount, Hussain Al Qemzi told reporters in Dubai yesterday. Noor Islamic is on a committee of banks that is negotiating the deal with Dubai Group……………………………………….Full Article: Source

National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank by assets, posted a 6.4 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit, the lender said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.
State-owned NCB made a net profit of 1.5 billion Saudi riyals ($400 million) in the three months ended March 31, compared with 1.4 billion riyals in the same period a year earlier……………………………………….Full Article: Source