The current political transformation in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has created a historic opportunity for economic and financial change guided by Sharia-compliant instruments, a leading economist said in the capital Monday.
The Islamic instruments should be invested towards the development of an entrepreneurial middle class so that long-term economic progress and job creation can be guaranteed, Dr Volker Nienhaus, economic adviser and former president of the University of Marburg, said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Prince Turki Al-Faisal, a member of Effat University’s board of trustees, launched an executive master’s degree program for Islamic finance management at the university and highlighted the success achieved by Islamic banking in overcoming the global economic crisis.
Turki said the program, which is first of its kind in the Kingdom, would help qualify national cadre to work in the areas of banking and Islamic finance management. “Islamic banks have succeeded in achieving Shariah objectives and providing interest-free finance to meet investment requirements,” he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Egypt could see Islamic finance assets grow to $10 billion in 2013 from $6 billion in 2007, according to data provided by Bankscope and Thomson Reuters. Although Egypt is considered the birthplace of Islamic finance, its growth has lagged due to past corruption scandals, while the previous government sought to enforce a more secular financial system.
However, more Muslims are embracing Islamic banking, raising the prospect that the country could become another thriving centre of Islamic finance……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai-based Al-Rajhi Cement Holding said the company has issued JD85 million ($119 million) Islamic bonds for its unit in Jordan which are being managed and arranged by Capital Investments.
A premier investment bank based in Jordan, Capital Investments, said the seven-year sukuk was subscribed for by a number of leading Islamic and commercial banks……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Yemen, where protests against the regime entered a third month, may cancel the sale of a 25 billion-rial ($117 million) Islamic bond, threatening to deepen the country’s deficit.
The central bank delayed the sale of the one-year Shariah-compliant bills by two months to May 1 and may abandon the plans if banks do not have enough liquidity following customer withdrawals during the unrest, said Kamal Al-Rabie, general manager at the bank’s Islamic unit……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Non-interest banking, practised mainly by Islamic banks, will soon debut in Nigeria following Central Bank of Nigeria’s release of the operational framework for its operation.
If any group of people was so passionately excited about the appointment of Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, it was protagonists of non-interest banking, NIB. Non-interest banking, practised mostly by muslims and otherwise called Islamic banking, discourages interest on loans; instead, it promotes risk-sharing between the bank and its customers. It also discourages excessive speculation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Al Baraka Bank Syria, a subsidiary banking unit of Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG), started its operations on 1 June 2010 through its main branch at Seven Bahrat district of Damascus.
The bank’s total assets amounted to $108 million as at the end of December 2010, a growth of 103 per cent compared to the total assets started with at the beginning of operation. The total deposits, including unrestricted investment accounts, reached $58 million, while the finance and investment portfolio amounted to $55 million through the establishment of a high quality portfolio of Islamic financial products, and investments through Wakala agencies and Mudaraba reached $32 million……………………………………….Full Article: Source

First Gulf Bank (FGB) reported a 4.8 per cent decline in quarterly profit on Monday, missing estimates, as the lender’s 2010 results were buoyed by a one-time gain.
FGB, the United Arab Emirates’ second largest lender by market value, said it had first quarter net profit of Dh875 million ($238.2 million). Profit stood at Dh919.73 million in the prior-year period, according to Reuters data……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In a commentary for the Lebanese newspaper Assafir, Satea Noureddine criticised Time Magazine for its lack of judgement over who should be named the year’s most influential person.
In this, it resembles the famous Guinness Book of Records, which compiles wonders and sparks people’s curiosity more than it records humanity’s true achievements. Thus, both publications have become sources of entertainment rather than sources of serious information……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Listed insurance companies displayed a lacklustre performance in the first three months of this year with the sector’s cumulative net profits declining 12% compared to a robust 19% jump in the previous-year period.
Three of the five insurance companies witnessed slippages in their net profitability, while only one managed to see double-digit growth, according to Qatar Exchange data. The sector’s cumulative net profit stood at QR322.46mn during the January-March period this year compared to QR367.92mn in the year-ago period……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Brunei has made bold moves to realise its plans in making faith-based tourism an integral part of its international agenda. The Sultanate’s tourism sector has been gaining in momentum, making up for a fall in tourist arrivals in 2009 due to global concerns over the Avian Flu and H1N1.
Brunei, however, has managed to bounce back pushing arrival numbers up by 26 per cent last year, “all but wiping out the reversal of the year before”, stated the Oxford Business Group (OBG) in a recent report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The share of net investment and financing by the Islamic banks to the industrial sector has increased from 4.5 per cent to 6.2pc during the last quarter of calendar year 2010.
The investment and financing activity recorded a modest surge during October-December 2010 with 49.8 per cent growth on year-on-year basis while it posted 95.6 per cent and 18 per cent growth over the previous quarter respectively. A significant growth in financing could be attributed to seasonal uptake in credit; the cotton harvesting commences during October-December quarter that gave sharp rise to credit/financing demands by textile sector……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Guidance Residential formed the American Islamic Finance Project which is a collaborative effort between the Islamic Society of North America, Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance and Guidance to provide the first-ever Islamic finance training to over 100 American imams.
The role of AIF is to raise the level of knowledge and understanding of Islamic financial transaction law under the belief that financial markets can benefit significantly from the ethical and moral guidelines that Islam’s financial concepts provide. Muslim communities across America are increasingly considering Islamic finance as a legitimate option for their personal investment strategies and in doing so they are turning to their imams for direction, making this training more important than ever. (Press Release)

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced that, for the fourth consecutive time, it was named “Best Shari’ah Compliant Index Provider of the Year” by Global Finance magazine.
Dow Jones Indexes has now won this category in each of the four years Global Finance has honoured the “World’s Best Islamic Financial Institutions”. The award pays tribute to Dow Jones Indexes’ existing market share and index launches across the Middle East region, as well as its contribution to the growth of Islamic finance. All selections were made by Global Finance editors after extensive consultations with bankers, corporate finance executives and analysts throughout the world. (Press Release)