Strong oil prices will spark renewed interest in Islamic finance but the $1tn industry is unlikely to garner broad acceptance in the long term, eclipsed by the products and pricing offered by conventional banks.
With oil at over $100 a barrel, investors are expected to flock to Islamic finance in hopes of another Gulf petrodollar boom, similar to 2008 when record energy prices propelled the industry into the global spotlight………………………………………Full Article: Source

It has almost become a ritual that there has to be some sort of announcement either by the government, regulator or a financial institution at international conferences on Islamic finance.

Singapore is no exception. Not surprisingly, Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, who is also the Deputy Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) (the financial regulator), announced a few days ago at one such conference in the island state that Singapore will in due course issue new income tax regulations for Islamic finance to provide greater tax clarity and certainty to the industry………………………………………Full Article: Source

Singapore has been a bit of a quiet achiever in the Islamic finance scene overall but the Monetary Authority of Singapore fairly shone in the first session of the IFSB Seminar on Strategies for Development of Islamic Capital Markets held in Singapore.
Tai Book Leong, the executive director of MAS, gave a robust opening speech that offered a précis of Singapore’s achievements in Islamic finance to date, from the MAS Sukuk through to the SABANA REIT and a run-down of Singapore’s success in linking its leadership role in management education to Islamic finance education - all of which bodes well for the future………………………………………Full Article: Source

The latest list of Shariah advisers serving the local Islamic capital market (ICM) and registered by the Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) confirms that five such individual foreign advisers are registered with the commission.

The commission is the only securities regulator in the world that requires such registration………………………………………Full Article: Source

Islamic trade finance has benefitted from shifting preferences towards Shariah-compliant banking and could serve as one of the key growth drivers to help the nearly $1 trillion Islamic finance industry double in size.

The global Islamic finance industry, which has been growing between 15 to 20 per cent a year, is widely expected to reach $2 trillion in the next three to five years. While Islamic banking and Islamic bonds, or sukuk, are expected to lead growth, bankers say Islamic trade finance could serve as the dark horse emerging to propel the industry further………………………………………Full Article: Source

Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) has been given regulatory approval to issue an Islamic bond, or sukuk, it said on Sunday. The company said it would decide the size at a later stage after it got approval from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority.

Sipchem said in December it planned to raise at least 1.5 billion riyals ($400 million) through a sukuk issue by the first quarter of 2011 to finance new projects………………………………………Full Article: Source

Any euphoria about Egypt becoming the latest haven for sukuk origination should be immediately tempered with the reality that Egypt is a country in transition with elections — both parliamentary and presidential — due later this year and that the process of adopting sukuk and tax neutrality legislation will be a drawn out process in a country that hitherto was notorious for its lethargic top down bureaucracy.

This euphoria has perceivedly come because of the initial approval last week by the board of directors of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) of a proposal to amend the Executive Regulation of Capital Market Law No. 95 of 1992 regarding the rules governing issuing and trading in sukuk………………………………………Full Article: Source

Local reports suggest Egypt to launch first Islamic debt guidelines and amend capital market law to attract GCC investors.
“The Board of Directors for the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) has issued today its initial approval of the amendment proposal to the Capital Market Law No. 95 of 1992 that involves issuance and organising Islamic Bonds [Sukuk],” a statement published on the EFSA website said……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesia’s Islamic bonds are rallying, sending yields to a five-month low, as slowing inflation and a strengthening rupiah allow the central bank to refrain from raising borrowing costs.

The rate on the 7.36 percent rupiah note maturing in August 2014 dropped 58 basis points since Jan. 5 to 6.33 percent, near the low of 6.3 percent on June 6………………………………………Full Article: Source

Bloomberg has launched a Malaysian foreign currency sukuk index to give investment managers a global benchmark for the performance of sukuk bonds and the ability to track movements of foreign currency issues, it announced on June 8.

Sukuk bonds differ from interest-bearing bonds in that they must comply with sharia law that prohibits the charging or payment of interest………………………………………Full Article: Source

Dubai-based real estate major Nakheel has received the approval of almost 99 per cent of its lenders for a debt restructuring programme, the company has said in an emailed statement, adding that it expects to secure confirmation from the remaining banks within days.
“The company excepts to secure confirmation from the remaining banks over the next few days, following which Nakheel will proceed to the completion phase of the restructuring, which will include a subsequent issuance of a sukuk to the company’s trade creditors,” the statement added………………………………………Full Article: Source

Dubai set up a $5 billion bond program to help bridge its budget deficit and fund investments as yields fell to the lowest in at least two years this month.

The Persian Gulf sheikhdom will use proceeds from the dollar-denominated bonds for spending on construction and the budget, according to a prospectus distributed by the Regulatory News Service. Yields on Dubai’s $1.25 billion of sukuk bonds due in 2014 fell to the lowest level since their sale in October 2009 to 4.573 percent on June 1 from as high as 6.69 percent on Jan. 31……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Leading property management and consultancy firm Hamptons International has enthusiastically welcomed the government’s decision to allow the introduction of Shariah-compliant Islamic financial services in the domestic banking system - a move it says promises to impart a much-needed fillip to the real estate sector.

The recent Royal Directive authorising the offering of Islamic banking services - for the first time in Oman - has the potential to jumpstart a recovery of the once-vibrant property market, according to the reputable realty management firm………………………………………Full Article: Source

To grow its business in Pakistan, Standard Chartered plans to focus on expanding its consumer banking line as well as its Islamic banking portfolio, according to the bank’s Pakistan head, Mohsin Nathani.

“We have a fairly bullish view to Islamic banking in Pakistan,” said Nathani. Islamic banking is one of the fastest growing sectors within financial services in Pakistan, with growth rates often exceeding those of their conventional competitors by over 15%………………………………………Full Article: Source

President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali visits Egypt tomorrow for talks with senior government officials over IDB’s plans to fund development projects in the north African country.
Ali, in a statement Sunday, said would be discuss with the Egyptian officials means of funding economic and social development projects for the next three years, as well as signing a number of financing agreements. He said IDB planned to support the Egyptian economy through funding a number of infrastructure projects, like electricity, railways, roads, education and ports………………………………………Full Article: Source

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) was launched in 2004 to provide high quality Islamic banking services across the UAE. A fully owned subsidiary of Emirates NBD, the bank offers a range of Sharia compliant products and services.

Instead of conventional credit facilities like loans and overdrafts, the bank uses Islamic financing methods such as Murabaha, Ijarah and Salam. The bank uses Islamic profit-sharing structures and Islamic investment funds………………………………………Full Article: Source

With the introduction of Islamic finance, Oman could tap a substantial part of the large Islamic wealth pool available globally. Islamic finance may bring Oman substantial amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI), Islamic sukuk, project financing and infrastructure investment, according to bankers and industry experts.

According to consulting firm Ernst & Young’s estimate, the size of the global Islamic fund industry is US$55bn whereas the potential Islamic wealth pool is around US$480bn at present. So there is a huge potential for Islamic investment in new markets like Oman………………………………………Full Article: Source

Kenya Reinsurance Corporation plans to venture into Sharia-compliant business to grow its income and tap into the expanding Islamic finance in Africa and the Middle East where it already has a presence.

The venture into what is known as Retakaful is part of the company’s five year plan of product diversification to meet the reinsurance demands of new businesses………………………………………Full Article: Source

Afkar Consulting Ltd and Istishar iQ are promoting the fifth International Takaful Summit at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London on 12-13 July 2011.
An International Takaful Masterclass is to be hosted by Norton Rose, aimed at increasing attendee knowledge of the regulatory frameworks, demographic analysis of the size and scope of the market in Europe as well as the various Shari’ah issues that must be addressed………………………………………Full Article: Source

Glenn Stewart, an American banker who was hired by al-Sanea in 1989, says diversification led to rapid growth of the Algosaibi business, and a need for new funds. At Algosaibi Investment Holdings in Bahrain, Stewart said he was given the task of raising $100 million in credit facilities from Islamic banks for the Algosaibi partnership as the family added canning factories to its bottling plant, and bought land.

This was a far cry from Stewart’s days at Oxford University, where he directed actor Rowan Atkinson, who would win fame as Blackadder and Mister Bean………………………………………Full Article: Source