Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), the prudential and supervisory standard-setting organization for the global Islamic financial industry, embarked on a new phase of its development which may lead to a review of its mandate to facilitate a wider reach including those countries and organizations that are not currently members of the board.
This is reflected in the phenomenal growth of assets, albeit from a small base initially, reaching about fifteen percent per annum during the last decade and currently estimates at $1.2 trillion with the potential to grow to $4 trillion over the next few years………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, has called on greater cooperation and shared responsibility among regulators to realize the full potential of and to meet the growing challenges of the Islamic finance industry going forward.
Speaking to delegates at the 8th Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) summit in Luxembourg last Thursday, the Malaysian central bank governor warned that “as the international integration of Islamic finance intensifies, cross border financial flows and its associated challenges will also increase……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Bank Negara Malaysia is calling for action to develop a framework for cross-border financial stability as Islamic finance continues to expand beyond national boundaries, says Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
She said increasing internationalisation of Islamic finance has, to a significant extent, been facilitated by the expansion of Islamic financial institution operations beyond domestic borders……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Russian legislative system will not be an obstacle for Islamic financing institutes of Russia, the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov stated in Dubai, RIA Novosti reports.
“Our bank laws partially don’t correspond to work with Islamic financing, but we have analyzed this issue and it appears the problem can be solved,” Minnikhanov stated at the opening ceremony of Annual Investment Meeting 2011 in Dubai……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Perhaps it is not surprising that Luxembourg has put a dampener on any speculation that it may go to the international market to raise funds through a debut Sukuk issuance.
Yves Mersch, governor of the Banque Centrale de Luxembourg, confirmed that the Luxembourg government is in no hurry to issue a sukuk because there are currently no compelling reasons for doing so……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the Gulf state’s second-largest lender by market value, aims to raise as much as $1 billion through sale of an Islamic bond by the end of this year, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The sources, who did not want to be named, said the bank is planning to raise between $500 million to $1 billion from the sukuk sale, but did not say whether the Islamic lender had mandated banks for the proposed issue……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Indonesia’s finance ministry has postponed the planned May 10 sovereign Sukuk issue, as it awaits parliamentary authorisation for it to utilize a set of state-controlled underlying assets to guarantee the issue.
The Ministry has not revealed the size of the offering, but it said that if parliamentary approval is not forthcoming for permission on the ability to use IR30tr ($3.5bn) worth of state-owned land and office buildings as collateral for the Sukuk, it will use road, rail and other infrastructure projects to back the issue, that has now been pushed to May 31……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Sudan is hoping to sell Sukuk worth S£765m ($286.5m), after the last issue did not go well. The government is aiming to issue S£3.6bn ($1.3bn) in 2011, but faces uncertainty stemming from the country splitting in two as the primarily Christian and Animist black south gains independence from the Muslim Arab north.
The south voted in January for independence and will split off in July, which is creating problems for the north, given that the majority of the country’s oil output comes from the south and makes up 90% of the country’s exports……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Fitch Ratings has given the new Sharjah Islamic Bank Sukuk an expected long-term rating of ‘BBB+(exp)’. The Sukuk is issued in the name of the SPV - SIB Sukuk Company.
According to Fitch: “The rating of the issue is driven solely by Sharjah Islamic Bank’s rating due to the purchase undertaking which requires SIB to repurchase the Sukuk assets on the scheduled or any earlier dissolution dates from SIB Sukuk Company. The notes rank as senior obligations of the bank.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
RAM Ratings has received confirmation that Esso Malaysia fully redeemed and cancelled its MYR 300 million ($99.9 million) Islamic Commercial Papers Issuance Facility Programme on 9 May 2011.
As such, RAM Ratings no longer has any rating obligation on the debt facility, which had previously carried a short-term rating of P1……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Bahrain-based Al Baraka Islamic Bank, a subsidiary of Al Baraka Banking Group, said it posted solid results in the first quarter with its net operating income surging by a staggering 151.75 per cent compared to last year.
Announcing the first quarter results on Saturday, the bank said its operating income had increased by 67.3 per cent despite the recent unrest in the kingdom……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Sudanese Islamic Bank of Khartoum has announced plans to move into Kenya in what would be the first cross-border expansion of Islamic finance in East Africa.
Kenya is in the process of changing its finance laws to allow Islamic finance. With two Shari’ah compliant banks in operation, a Takaful company and an array of Shari’ah compliant banking products in conventional banks Kenya leads the way in terms of regional Islamic finance. Kenya has also reformed its capital markets laws to allow the issuance of Sukuk……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
“In order to create a comprehensive and robust financial system, Islamic financial institutions need to be innovative and focus on developing Venture Capital (VC), private equity and alternative investments.
This will create an industry with a niche that is capable of competing with conventional banks, with the added value of shared wealth for the society. It is hoped that Islamic VCs will play a major role in developing Muslim countries”……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Local news sources have claimed that Azerbaijan International Bank (AIB) has tendered for consultancy companies to help it set up an Islamic banking unit.
The successful bidder will help AIB to set up an Islamic banking window, recruit and train its staff, plus develop and implement Shari’ah compliant financial processes across the unit……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
DRB-Hicom Bhd is exploring a potential merger of Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd but there are no plans to sell its shareholding in Bank Muamalat.
The company said on Friday, May 13 it had submitted a letter of expression of interest to BIMB Holdings Bhd (BIMB) to explore a potential merger of the two banks and “has yet to commence any exploratory discussions with BIMB”……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) CEO, HE Mohammed Abdullah, has issued instructions to speed up the completion of special sections for women in the Bank’s branches in Khor Fakkan and Kalba to meet the growing demands of women for banking services.
He has also ordered that a section for corporate banking be set up in the Khor Fakkan branch to offer support to the newly-opened business services section in SIB’s Fujairah branch, and to cover the growing demands of the corporate banking sector in Sharjah’s Eastern Region……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
A two-day Islamic finance conference organised by the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is proceeding in Luxembourg, with conferees underscoring “remarkable growth of the Islamic banking industry.
” The 8th IFSB Summit, which got underway on Thursday, is titled “Enhancing Global Financial Stability: Challenges and Opportunities for Islamic Finance” and is hosted by the Central Bank of Luxembourg……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
For more than a quarter century, Islamic banking and finance has been developing from an idea and an expression of Muslims’ distinct identity to a mature and fast-growing industry. With the latest global financial crisis, Islamic banking and finance became one of the most debated issues around the world.
Because all that is different in their shape and reaction is attractive, Islamic banks have been analyzed since the onset of the crisis in order to identify their characteristics, sources of resilience, weaknesses, potentials and opportunities for growth……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Kuwait Finance House “KFH” received the best Islamic real estate finance provider in the world from Global Finance, the world prestigious magazine. This comes as part of the awards the magazine granted to world best financing institutions in 2011.
The awards are granted based on an assessment conducted by experts from around the world who participated and studied the role of “KFH” in real estate activities since its inception, as well as its various contributions to the field of finance and real estate development……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK), the country’s biggest Shariah-compliant lender, plans to increase its workforce by as much as 7 percent this year, Acting Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Meshari said.
The lender, which has about 750 employees, recently hired more than 50 people, having made a somewhat lesser number redundant, to bring in “new blood,” Meshari said in a telephone interview in Doha. There will be no more layoffs and further hiring is planned, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Islamic Finance Information Service’s GCC Aggressive Funds sector is the second of the balanced funds sectors we will be covering in The Islamic Globe following our coverage of the GCC Conservative Funds sector last week.
The Aggressive Fund Sector is defined by IFIS as follows: ‘Funds will invest more than 60% but less than 80%of total assets in equities, and the rest in cash and bonds/fixed income securities. This type of fund is classified as higher risk, but less so than equity funds.’………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Peter Egger, deputy GM of Takaful Emarat has told The Islamic Globe that the Emirati Takaful firm is looking to expand to overseas markets.
He said: “Once we reach break-even in our home market, we plan to expand in the Middle East and in a later stage to European countries with significant Muslim communities such as the UK, Germany, France and Austria.”………………………………………Full Article: Source
Posted on 16 May 2011 by Laxman | Email|Print
Australia unveiled its new annual budget this week with the backdrop of a soaring currency and rising prices. Of longer term importance for the Islamic finance market is the submission of the final report that goes to the Board of Taxation this week, one of the aims of which is to help create ‘a level playing field’ for Islamic finance from a tax perspective.
The Board will then submit the report to the Treasurer and the race can begin. The Australian government has long paid lip service to accommodating Islamic finance and many feel that the first real steps can only take place once the new tax initiatives are in place……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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