The BD200 million ($530.4 million) Government Islamic Leasing Sukuk issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain on behalf of the government has been listed on the Bahrain Bourse. Bourse director Fouad A Rahman said the five-year sukuk would mature on April 7 2016.
The sukuk pays an annual fixed interest rate of 5.5 per cent payable every six months on October 7 and April 7 during the issuance period……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Indonesia has tightened final guidance on its planned 10-year global dollar bond, and is now seeking to pay a yield of 5.10%, and to raise a larger-than-expected $2 billion-$2.5 billion from the sale, a person close to the proposed deal said Wednesday.
Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said Wednesday the country plans to issue $1 billion of global sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in the second half of 2011, but may cancel this year’s samurai bond issuance following Japan’s devastating earthquake……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Indonesia raised almost $3 billion from global bonds last year, including the $2 billion of dollar notes and 60 billion yen ($730 million) of samurai debt denominated in Japan’s currency. The amount sold was lower than the $4 billion in 2009.
The country may issue dollar-denominated Islamic debt in the second half, Dahlan Siamat, director of Islamic finance at the Finance Ministry, said in an interview yesterday……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia has sold 3.5 billion ringgit ($1.2 billion) in Islamic government bonds at an average yield of 4.17 percent, the central bank said on Wednesday.
The bid-to-cover ratio was 3.03 times……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Gema Padu Sdn Bhd, a privately held property developer, has raised some RM100 million from the sale of four-year Islamic bonds, which were guaranteed by bond insurer Danajamin Nasional Bhd.
This is Danajamin’s first guarantee to a non public-listed company and also Gema Padu’s first sukuk issuance. The sukuk comes under Gema Padu’s RM170 million seven-year programme……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Tn the near future Russia will witness appearing of another 2-3 new Islamic financial institutions in Russia. Then, for one or two years the market will keep its eye on the development of existing projects, making some adjustments. At the same time, the work on the development of Sharia committees will continue which is functioning for the time being within the framework of the Russian Association of Experts in Islamic Finance.
One of the important tasks is to create equal opportunities in the market. As any other new sphere, Islamic Finances requires coordination and some sort of standardization……………………………………….Full Article: Source

To move forward the Islamic finance industry would do well to go back to its roots, according to HSBC Amanah global chief executive officer Mukhtar Hussain. ‘Islamic finance has become a force in its own right, especially in the emerging markets of Asia and the Middle East,’ he said.
‘However, this has not been without its fair share of ups and downs. The industry suffered the after-effects of the global financial crisis and has been criticised for products that look too much like their conventional cousins……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has picked four banks to arrange investor meetings in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, a note from one of the arranging banks said.
HSBC, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank have been asked to arrange the meetings, which kick off on May 1, for the AAA-rated multilateral institution. The meetings begin in the UAE, the note was quoted as saying by our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News (GDN)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic banking industry has sustained growth momentum despite tenuous economic conditions prevailing in the country which were further exacerbated due to the recent floods in most parts of the country.
The relatively lower growth in financing and investments is indicative of the difficulties being faced by IBIs in exploring new financing and investment avenues to deploy the growing deposits……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has increased the Statutory Liquidity Requirement (SLR) for Islamic banks and Islamic banking branches by five per cent with effect from June 3, a central bank announcement said on Wednesday.
At present, SLR for Islamic banks and Islamic banking branches is 14 per cent (excluding cash reserve requirement) of total demand liabilities including time deposits with period of less than one year……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that UAE-based Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) had performed well through the global economic crisis, but its high exposure to real estate could still be problematic.
The agency affirmed a long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) of BBB+ with a stable outlook, short-term IDR of F2, individual rating of C/D, support rating of 2 and support rating floor of BBB+……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) on Wednesday launched “Shares Murabaha” under which the bank will purchase shares on customer’s behalf. The investors will be able to sell shares at any time through Murabaha without the need for pledges, which provides liquidity, said a press statement.
Shares Murabaha paves the way for investment in companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market, and will give investors the flexibility to sell their shares whenever they want. (Press Release)

Banks in the Gulf Arab region are unlikely to witness the high growth levels seen before the financial crisis as real-estate-driven lending and income growth subsides, the Boston Consulting Group said on Tuesday.
Middle East banks saw rapid growth rates between 2005 and 2008 but were severely hurt during the financial crisis and were forced to curb lending and set aside more money to meet loan losses due to some high-profile corporate defaults……………………………………….Full Article: Source

General Assembly of Jordan Islamic bank convened its ordinary meeting on Tuesday April 26/ 2011, in the meeting hall in the bank. Mr. Mohammad Ata Mefleh , the companies controller delegate announced the quorum’s completeness and the percentage of shareholders who participated was (71%).
The Assembly agreed to distribute dividends to shareholders at 15 % of the paid capital after it approved board of directors’ report, the annual balance sheet, profits and loss statement for the year ended on December 31-2010, the bank’s future plan, board of directors’ discharge of the previous fiscal year and listening to the minutes of the General Assembly’s previous ordinary meeting and Sharia supervisory board and auditors’ reports. (Press Release)

Yasaar, a top Sharia advisor announced that it has partnered with IdealRatings Inc., a Sharia compliant fund management service provider to take full advantage of IdealRatings’ universe screening and Sharia compliant fund management service.
Yasaar needed to ensure that it can continually provide top quality service for its clients and needed a robust, fully integrated Shari’ah compliant fund management and screening service to streamline its delivery to its clients and turned to IdealRatings for its integrated Sharia funds service capabilities. (Press Release)

Addressing the growing need for transparency in the Islamic Finance industry, Zawya ,the leading source of financial information in the Middle East and Dubai Exports - an Agency of the Dubai Department of Economic Development, unveiled the first ever UAE Islamic Financial Services Directory, as part of Dubai Export’s Islamic Financial Services Trade Mission to Europe.
The UAE Financial Services Directory was officially launched as a limited edition for Germany, in Frankfurt at an Islamic Finance day event organised by The Institute for Islamic Banking and Finance. Developed in partnership with Dubai Exports, the Directory intends to promote the knowledge, experience and capabilities of the UAE in Islamic banking, takaful insurance, investment and asset management. (Press Release)