Global sales of sukuk climbed to $17.3 billion in 2011, from $10.7 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The following borrowers are expected to sell Islamic bonds, which use asset returns to pay investors to comply with the religion’s ban on interest.
TENAGA NASIONAL BHD.: Malaysia’s biggest power producer plans to raise 5 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion) from a 20-year local-currency sukuk in October, Bernama reported, citing Chief Executive Officer Che Khalib Mohamad Noh. Marketing will begin in the third week of October, the national news service reported……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Azerbaijan may become a regional hub for Islamic finance and promote cooperation in Islamic banking within the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, the team leader for the introduction of Islamic banking at the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), Behnam Gurbanzade, said.
“Our market analysis confirmed the demand of corporate and private individuals in the products and services of Islamic banking in Azerbaijan,” Gurbanzade added……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Muslims have been urged to patronise the Islamic banking initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria. This plea was made by Luqman Abdur-Raheem, the registrar of Yaba College of Technology, at the fourth Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo’s memorial Ramadan Lecture which held recently.
Abdur-Raheem, who is also an Islamic scholar, said that the concept of Islamic banking is different from that of non-interest banking because while the former “is against all forms of haram (unlawful) financial system,” the latter “is only free from any form of interest but can be involved in haram enterprise.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) will establish a national authority for monitoring Islamic finance and banking sector, Hamood bin Sangour al Zadjali, CBO Executive President, said.
This authority (National Shariah Board) will be responsible for regulating Islamic finance and banking institutions, he told the Observer, after his speech at a workshop on “Islamic Finance and Banking,” organised by Horwath Mak Ghazali LLC……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Capinnova Investment Bank, the Shari’a compliant investment banking arm of BBK, has signed up as gold strategic partner for the upcoming ‘World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference (WIFFMC 2011) in Bahrain.
The world’s most influential and pre-eminent gathering of leaders in the global Islamic funds and investments industry, WIFFMC 2011 will be held from September 26 to 27 in Manama……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Asian Finance Bank (AFB) has appointed Salah Mohd I Al Jaidah as its new chairman, effective, Sept 15. AFB in a statement Tuesday said Salah was one of the earliest directors to be appointed to the AFB board and had been instrumental in steering the growth and development of the finance house.
“Having served as a committee member/chairman of several AFB committees, Salah has been exposed to the Malaysian financial and capital markets as well as regulatory authorities,” it added……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Noor Islamic Bank has signed an agreement with flydubai, Dubai’s leading low-cost airline, to enable travellers to make payments through the bank’s multiple easy-to-use payment channels available throughout the UAE.
The agreement was signed by Hussain AlQemzi, CEO of Noor Islamic Bank, and Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, at the flydubai headquarters……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Central Bank of Oman (CBO) appoints Ernst & Young to advise it on rules and regulations for Islamic finance following ‘in principle’ approvals for two new Islamic banks and for windows to offer Shari’ah-compliant products.
Ernst & Young is to offer advice on lending limits, rule books, reporting procedures and Shari’ah board formation. The firm will also set out how, for Islamic windows, the central bank will be able to ensure clear demarcation between conventional finance and Islamic finance assets……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Turkish Association of Participation Banks (TKBB) Chairman and the head of Albaraka Türk Participation Bank Fahrettin Yahşi has said there are investors from the Gulf region that intend to start up participation banks in Turkey.
“We have heard some news. Some participation banks from the Gulf region are in the process of talks to enter the Turkish finance sector by setting up a new participation bank in Turkey. It takes a long time to reach a final decision in the Gulf countries……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Barclays Bank plc has received approval to operate an Islamic Window in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Known as a global leader in Islamic finance, Barclays has been active in promoting the Islamic banking sector for well over a decade. Now it will base its global Islamic products team in the DIFC, and to offer Islamic financial products and services from there……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sharia-compliant insurance company Amana Takaful will issue 800,000 shares in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE).
In a first for the country, 20 percent of the shares will be made available to expatriates and 15 percent to overseas applicants. The remaining 65 percent will be offered to Maldivians……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Second Annual Islamic Finance Forum will bring tomorrow investors, borrowers and regulators together under one roof to achieve a better understanding of existing instruments of Islamic Finance and to find answers to issues encountered frequently in the course of doing business.
The First Islamic Finance Forum was held in January 2011 in Astana with the support of the Regional Financial Centre of Almaty (RFCA). Last year the event was attended by a large number of high-ranking government officials from the Ministry of Finance, Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, Financial Supervision Agency and representatives of foreign investment banks, development banks and a number of large Kazakh corporates……………………………………….Full Article: Source

China’s plans to set up a free trade zone for Arab countries in the province of Ningxia will be discussed at a five-day trade show.
The China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum will also look at issues relating to expanding China’s Halal food industry, trading in the yuan and joint financing of major construction projects in the Middle East region including in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 242.5%.
Subscriptions worth BD48.5 million were received for the BD20 million issue amount, which carries a maturity of 182 days……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The total volume of mergers & acquisition (M&A) deals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region posted a healthy 36 percent growth in the first half, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia topping the list, Ernst and Young (E&Y) said in its “H1 2011 MENA M&A Update.”
The value grew by 8 percent to $20 billion in the said period compared to deals worth $18.5 billion announced in the same period last year, the E&Y said………………………………………Full Article: Source