Sudan, which is due to split up in July, started on Sunday selling Islamic bonds or sukuk worth 765 million Sudanese pounds, a debt official said.
The issue will have an expected return of between 14 and 15 percent, said an official at the state-owned Sudan Financial Services Co which sells sukuk on behalf of the central bank. The offering would run for 10 days, he added……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The issuance by Al-Rajhi Cement Jordan of its debut Sukuk Al-Ijarah in late April 2011 opens up yet another new market for sukuk origination in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.
The domestic JD85 million (about $119 million) corporate sukuk offering, while symbolically important and widely welcomed by the market, however betrays a dogged refusal by successive Jordanian governments of issuing a debut sovereign sukuk……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Takaful Insurance companies around the world especially in the Middle-East, North Africa and South Asia have set a target of N180billion ($12billion USD) premium generation from takaful insurance for 2011 as the demand by Muslim populations across the globe for the products are on the rise.
Takaful insurance operators at the sixth Annual World Takaful Conference held in Dubai predicted a $12 billion USD premium income from Takaful insurance this year. The $12billion projected premium from takaful insurance represents 31 per cent increase from the $9.15 billion income generated from the Islamic products in 2010………………………………………Full Article: Source

A number of Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Indexes posted gains in April. After diving 10.17% in the first quarter of 2011, the DJIM Kuwait Index rebounded, registering a gain of 7.04% to 963.52 (as of the close of trading on April 26).
In a nation with nearly 95% of its federal budget tied to oil revenues, rising oil prices drove the Gulf state’s stock market higher. The resignation of Kuwait’s old and unpopular cabinet also helped. Kuwait was followed (on a percentage basis) by the DJIM Hong Kong Index, up 6.50% to 1,655.53; and the DJIM Philippines Index, up 5.90% to 1,855.26……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry has more room to advance in corporate governance practices and to be in the global platform as its prudent regulatory framework is seen as a global benchmark. Malaysia has a comprehensive regulatory and governance framework that catered to the unique characteristics of Islamic finance with stronger standards, said Deloitte’s global Islamic finance leader Daud Vicary Abdullah.
“We need to play by the global rules to be on the global platform. We have a good level of regulatory and governance framework that could be benchmarked as world standard,” he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Demand in Oman for Islamic finance courses is on the rise as experts predict the industry has a global market potentially worth in excess of US$1tn.
With the market predicted to be worth thousands of billions of dollars worldwide by the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), interest in the industry has grown in the sultanate, according to ACCA as well as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), which puts the current value of the industry at US$20bn……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai Exports, a unit of Dubai Department of Economic Development has joined Invest France in launching a trade mission to France to showcase Dubai’s marketability in Islamic financial services, according to a statement. The trade mission included leading UAE companies in all areas of the Islamic financial sector from advisory firms and specialists in structuring of products to Shariah scholars and investment banks.
Engineer Saed Al Awadi, CEO of Dubai Exports, commented, “The principle aim of this trade mission is to ensure that our firms are able to capitalise on global opportunities in the sector……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and KPMG are hosting the second in a series of high-level roundtable discussions in Dubai on May 5.
These discussions aim to answer critical questions on the growing issue of how the financial reporting of Islamic finance can be harmonised and made more consistent internationally……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai International Financial Centre Investments, the commercial arm of the financial free zone, posted losses of US$247.7 million last year compared with a loss of $561.4m in 2009, as it wrote down the value of property.
The company has been trying to lower debts and sell off assets this year, it said, adding it had renegotiated $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) worth of loans with the Government of Dubai as it looked to sell assets and lower its debts……………………………………….Full Article: Source

When it comes to money, Pakistan has a troubled image. Its business establishment is known for chronic tax evasion and loan defaults, and many of its politicians have been implicated in corruption scandals that exposed their cozy relations with bankers and bureaucrats.
But Islam, the national religion, offers an alternative form of financing that claims to be both more ethical and more equitable. Islamic banking represents only 8 percent of banking activity nationwide, but it is a fast-growing trend that appeals to many Pakistanis who want to be financially successful but also religiously correct……………………………………….Full Article: Source

As part of their continued, tireless efforts to convince concerned Indian authorities and institutions for allowing Islamic banking and finance system in the country, a high-level delegation of Indian Centre for Islamic Finance (ICIF), New Delhi called on Mr Shashi Kant Sharma, Secretary (Financial Services) under whom the banking sector of the country is operated to discuss the need and relevance of Islamic Finance in India.
The delegation consisted of Mr Muddassir Siddiqi, a Shariah scholar and US-trained attorney, Mr Khurshid Najmi, former joint legal advisor, RBI and Partner, India Law Services, New Delhi, and Mr H Abdur Raqeeb, General Secretary, ICIF and Convener, National Committee on Islamic Banking……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The interest-free Islamic banking system will provide the ideal thrust to India’s economic development, an expert said here Sunday. Islamic banking, which propagates zero-interest lending, can solve not only farmers’ crisis but will also fill the gap between the financially-excluded and financially-included classes in India, Irfan Shahid, an economist and expert on Islamic banking, told a seminar here Sunday.
The programme was organised by the Muslim Educational Social and Cultural Organisation and the Arabic Language and English Education Foundation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB Group and Gazprombank are aspiringto become the first Russian borrowers to sell Islamic debt so as to attract Middle Eastern investment.
“We strongly believe it is just a matter of time for Russia to catch up with the global market for Islamic finance,” said Zaid Maleh, director of Investment Banking for Middle East and Africa at VTB Capital, the investment business of Russia’s VTB Group……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The events of recent years have demonstrated the resentment of the Muslim world against the Western powers. Such power is most evident in the financial arena, where Western banks and financial markets dominate in clear contrast to traditional Islamic beliefs.
However, in the last 25 years, there has been development of a non-violent challenge to that power. The change has come from a group of Islamic financial institutions and subsidiaries of international banks that have expanded their operations. The Islamic holy book, the Koran puts a ban on charging Riba, a form of common interest in pre-Islamic Arab society……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the leading Islamic lender in the UAE, reported that its net profit for the first quarter of 2011 rose to Dh222 million ($60.43 million), marking an 11 per cent gain compared to same period of 2010.
EFG Hermes had estimated an average quarterly net profit of Dh310 million for Dubai’s third-largest bank by market value……………………………………….Full Article: Source

May 1st, 2011 : Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the region’s most innovative Islamic banking solutions provider, has announced the debut of a new investment plan: ‘Themar’. Themar will allow clients to invest regularly or with several lump sum into the Sukuk market and Islamic financial institutions stocks around the globe.
QIB-UK, the bank’s subsidiary based in the United Kingdom and QIB Group centre of excellence for Asset Management, will use its extensive experience in fund management to oversee the Themar investment portfolio……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) has been named the Best Islamic Bank in Bahrain by Global Finance in its 2011 awards.
The bank’s selection for this prestigious award has been the result of a special survey by the international banking and finance magazine, whose members include a number of prominent experts and specialists in Islamic banking and finance from around the world……………………………………….Full Article: Source