The central bank of the Palestinian Authority, whose leaders plan to seek statehood at the United Nations this month, may sell its first Islamic bonds in December to bolster an economy sustained by foreign aid.
“It’s essential for our monetary policy that the government issues bonds or securities and develops a yield curve,” Jihad Al Wazir, governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, said in an interview in Ramallah on Monday. “Sukuk is a security but there is an underlying asset. This makes the banks a little more comfortable.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Russian republic Tatarstan’s ambition to develop a Sharia-compliant market received a boost this week when the Kazan-based AK Bars Bank became the first Tatar credit to secure a murabaha loan.
It was also the first international loan facility compliant with Sharia canons for a Russian bank. Earlier this year Tatarstan announced an Islamic finance initiative to promote the sector, and the Ba1/NR/BBB- rated Muslim-majority republic backed this up with plans to tap the Sharia-compliant market with sukuk paper……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic banks listed on UAE bourses recorded an increase of nearly 29.3 per cent in their net income in the first half of 2011 while their total assets and deposits also recorded growth, according to their balance sheets.
From around Dh1.26 billion in the first half of 2010, the net profits of the five listed Shariah-compliant banks surged to nearly Dh1.63bn in the first half of 2011, showed the report, published in the semi official daily ‘Al Ittihad’……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Oman, home to roughly 3 million Muslims, is seen as an untapped opportunity for Islamic finance, which prohibits the lending of money for interest and other activities that violate religious principles.
The Islamic finance market has grown to nearly $1 trillion (634 billion pounds) globally, analysts estimate. But unlike neighbouring states such as the United Arab Emirates and Iran, which have embraced the industry, Oman until this year remained stubbornly secular in its approach to finance. Its central bank head said in 2007 that “banks should be universal.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Islamic banks in the UAE are seeing the market ‘greener’ on the Qatar side in the wake of the recent directive from the banking regulator in Qatar banning conventional banks from running Shariah windows.
Sources told Banking & Business Review (BBR) that a few Islamic banks from the UAE are seriously weighing the option of applying for banking licence in Qatar where not many Islamic banks are operating currently, but at the same time the economy is said to be heading for big growth……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Representative of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) said Iran is the third largest IDB shareholder and one of the bank’s five main decision-makers. “Iran holds a 28-percent share and is one of the largest capital holders in Islamic Development Bank,” IDB representative Ali Fallahi told Fars News Agency on Tuesday.
“Iran joined the IDB on March 12, 1989 and is currently one of the eight members with assets of $1.5billion,” he added……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Qatar National Bank SAQ, the Gulf country’s biggest bank by assets, may raise about a $1 billion from a bond sale as it seeks longer-term money to fund growth.
The state-controlled lender said Aug. 29 it set up a $7.5 billion euro medium-term note program and hired Barclays Plc (BARC), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) and QNB Capital to manage the sale. The money raised would be used for “normal operations,” it said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Qatar National Bank, the Gulf country’s biggest bank by assets, may raise about a $1bn from a bond sale as it seeks longer-term money to fund growth.
The state-controlled lender said Aug 29 it set up a $7.5bn euro medium-term note program and hired Barclays, HSBC Holdings and QNB Capital to manage the sale. The money raised would be used for “normal operations,” it said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bahrain-based investment firm Arcapita swung to a profit in its fiscal year ended June 30, it said on Wednesday, helped mainly by multiple exits or disposals of assets in its investment portfolio.
The Islamic investment firm recorded net income of $50.2 million compared with a loss of $560 million for the year before……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic University College, Ghana (IUCG) has commenced a Bachelor of Arts programme in Communication Studies with specialties in Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations.
The programme, to which admission is still on-going, is part of the university’s academic growth and curriculum development. Another programme introduced by the university is Bachelor of Human Resource Management as another area of specialization in the Faculty of Business Administration……………………………………….Full Article: Source

“CEOs and Directors have a fiduciary duty to their investors, customers, employees and the general public, which demands loyalty, care and candor of the highest order.
” These were the focal points raised by ex-Harvard Professor Nabil El-Hage in a corporate governance (CG) workshop organized by the Waqf Fund for Research, Education and Training in Islamic Finance for CEOs and board members of Islamic banks. Over 20 senior professionals attended the highly interactive workshop……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The 7th annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference (WIFFMC 2011) will feature critical discussions on strengthening the Islamic funds and investments industry and building international growth by tapping into new jurisdictions.
Convened under the official support of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), WIFFMC 2011, to be held under the theme ‘achieving international scale and creating a vibrant Islamic financial market and re-invigorating the Islamic investments industry’, will gather more than 400 key players, regulators and thought leaders in the industry on September 26-27 in Bahrain. (Press Release)