Growth of the global Islamic asset management industry will likely halt or reverse this year as the industry struggles with poor sentiment in financial markets and lacklustre interest among Islamic institutional investors.
Islamic funds’ assets grew 7.6 percent in 2010 to $58 billion, according to a report by consultancy Ernst & Young, much slower than growth of 35 percent experienced by conventional funds. ………………………………………Full Article: Source

Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist NCB Capital, Saudi Arabia’s largest investment bank and leading GCC wealth manager, said that global Islamic banks’ assets have increased considerably from $145 billion in 2002 to $1,033 billion in 2010.
Kotilaine reported that the sukuk market proved resilient in the face of the crisis, stating that globally, funds raised through sukuk issues grew from $2.8 billion in 2001 to $53.2 billion in 2010 and even during the tumultuous period of 2008-2009 funds raised from sukuk increased significantly……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A construction boom and refinancing needs fueled growth in the GCC sukuk market, while issuers from all over the world are expected to make a strong comeback or a first appearance.
At least USD 5.7 billion worth of sukuk were issued in September 2011, a 9% increase from the same period last year. Except for the small regular issues by the central banks of Bahrain and Gambia, Malaysia was the sole issuer of all of the sukuk in September. The Malaysian government, through its central bank, alone sold USD 5.45 billion. Malaysia would have achieved a further milestone if its Khazanah issued the dim sum sukuk that it was planning to issue in September……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed a provisional (P) A3 rating to the 3.5 billion ringgit ($1.1 billion) Islamic bond programme of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) with a stable outlook.
Moody’s in a statement said the rating on the the Malaysian sukuk programme was provisional, subject to receipt of the final transaction documents……………………………………….Full Article: Source

KLCC Property Holdings Bhd, co-owner of the 88-story Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, is refinancing its Islamic bonds after market yields dropped to the lowest level in more than two years. The company will sell RM880 million (US$274 million) of 10-year securities to repay RM799 million of Syariah-compliant debt held by parent Petroliam Nasional Bhd, according to a Sept. 26 stock exchange filing.
KLCC will pay a RM35.3 million penalty to redeem the securities, which were due to mature in November this year and next, the statement said. The developer didn’t disclose who will buy the bonds……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Real Estate Development Company’s Islamic bond yields surged to a record last week on investor concern. Saudi Arabia’s biggest property company by assets may struggle to pay its debt amid a slump in profits.
The yield on the 10.75 per cent sukuk due February 2015 gained 96 basis points, or 0.96 of a percentage point, last week to 14.45 per cent on Friday, Bloomberg prices show. “The market is speculating about Dar Al Arkan’s capacity to repay its debts,” Jitendra Garg, a Riyadh-based financial analyst………………………………………Full Article: Source

Gyula Pleschinger, the head of Hungary’s debt management agency, made some waves at a Friday conference in Pécs when he first said that Hungary’s sovereign debt could be downgrade to junk status, and then quickly reversed himself. While it was a pretty bad gaffe, at least it drew attention away from some other things he said.
“We are working hard to have a presence among buyers of Islamic bonds and I hope that in the first half of next year we’ll succeed,” Pleschinger said. “We are also thinking of a ruble bond sale on the Russian market, which we would then swap for euros or dollars.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said today several strategies must be adopted to strengthen Malaysia’s position as an international Islamic financial centre.
He said the first vital strategy would be to create dynamic syariah intellectuals who can assume an important role in responding to the government’s call to make Malaysia the reference centre for global syariah Islamic finance practice……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Banking and finance experts agreed that non-interest banking was not designed for political campaigns and hotel financing. The banking model, they said, can finance manufacturing, leasing, beneficence loans, deferred payment, prepaid purchases, amongst others.
Those that made presentations at the ongoing seminar of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on non-interest banking in Nigeria included Abubakar Sadiq Abdulkarim, head, non-interest banking, Keystone Bank, who said the banking model would not finance political campaigns due to their speculative nature, just as it was not designed to finance Casinos, hotels or businesses that have to do with pornography……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In a report issued today 29 September 2011, Standard & Poor’s affirmed for the 10th consecutive year its ‘AAA’ long-term and ‘A-1+’ short-term credit ratings of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with a Stable Outlook.
Standard & Poor’s stated that the IDB’s ratings are underpinned by strong shareholders’ support, very high level of capital and liquidity and a good asset portfolio with preferred-creditor treatment and historically very low losses……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Although the functions of a modern bank are expanded manifold with the dynamic progress of state-of-the-art technology, the core functions still remain as collecting and providing of fund. Conventionally these are conducted by a bank as borrower and lender of money.
The vehicles of these two major functions are liability or deposit products, and asset or investment (loan) products. Let us now look at the liability product or the deposit product, and then gradually concentrate on a specific type of deposit. This is the deposit collected on Mudaraba (profit sharing) principle, obviously under Islamic banking operations……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Shuaa Capital and National Bonds sign a cooperation agreement for financial advisory and investment management services.
SHUAA Capital, the leading financial services institution in the GCC, and National Bonds Corporation PJSC, the UAE’s leading Shariah-compliant savings scheme with over AED 5 billion under management, announced today that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic alliance……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Ethica’s Islamic finance e-learning platform helps Dubai extend its global reach in training and certification. The Government of Dubai today announced that it is partnering with e-learning and certification specialist Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance. Ethica is the leading Islamic finance training institute in the world, with over 20,000 paid users in more than 40 countries and 100 institutions in 2011, more than any other Islamic finance institute in the industry.
The announcement further strengthens Dubai’s position as the world’s premier Islamic finance hub, and with Ethica’s leadership in online training, Dubai goes truly global……………………………………….Full Article: Source