The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), an affiliate of the IDB Group, is making intense efforts to increase trade among members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to 20 percent of their total trade by 2015. It has given $13 billion since 2008 to finance trade.
“This is the target set by the extraordinary Islamic summit held in Makkah on Dec. 7-8, 2005. Since then a lot of improvements have taken place in intra-OIC trade,” said Waleed Al-Wohaib, CEO of ITFC, adding that his organization had given $10 billion during the past three years to finance trade……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic stock exchange for both Islamic financial services and halal FMCG companies is a logical outcome. The $1 trillion (AED3.68 trillion) global Islamic finance industry is in the process of developing a road-map to converge on $651 billion (AED2.4 trillion) halal market, says Saleh Abdullah Lootah, Managing Director of Al Islami Foods.
“Islamic stock exchange for both Islamic financial services and halal FMCG companies is a logical outcome and a natural relationship of the two fast growing industries. The time has come to sustain and channel this growth,” said Lootah……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemicals Company says it has raised $1 billion for its 400,000 barrel per day refinery project by selling an Islamic bond. Satrop said in a statement Sunday the bond, or sukuk, was 3.5 times oversubscribed and matures in about 14 years.
Satrop is owned by Saudi Aramco and France’s Total S.A. State-owned Aramco is the kingdom’s main oil producer. Aramco and Total are building a 400,000 barrel per day refining complex in Jubail in the east of the kingdom. ………………………………………Full Article: Source

Today, Kuveyt Turk Participation Bank (KTPB), which is majority owned by Kuwait Finance House, one of the largest Islamic banks in the world, launches its roadshow for its proposed 5-year $350 million Sukuk Al-Ijara issuance.
The fact that the roadshow is starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is revealing in that issuers from the Middle East, largely from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and now Turkey for the first time, are turning to investors in Malaysia and Asia to raise their funding requirements. ………………………………………Full Article: Source

Islamic finance house Kuveyt Türk Participation Bank has mandated HSBC, Kuwait’s Liquidity Management House and Standard Chartered Bank to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings.
The rest of this article is available to subscribers and active trials only……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s 2012 Budget is to offer incentives boost Islamic finance, extending tax breaks on Sukuk issuance for a further three-year period
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said a tax deduction on expenses incurred for Sukuk Wakala will be given for a three-year period from 2012 to encourage more Sukuk issuances. Najib said, “The income tax exemption given for non-ringgit Sukuk issuance and transaction is extended for another three years until the year of assessment 2014.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Sukuk issues in Gulf hydrocarbon producers nearly tripled in the first nine months of 2011 as their economies continued to recover and the private sector is gaining pace, according to an economist in Saudi Arabia.
From around $7.6 billion in 2009 and $6.1 billion in 2010, funds raised through sukuk in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) soared to nearly 17bn in the first nine months of 2011, said Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economist at National Commercial Bank (NCB), Saudi Arabia’s largest bank……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors have been dumping Middle Eastern bonds in recent weeks, thrusting the local fixed-income market into the headlines. A scan of the most-read stories on UAE Bloomberg terminals revealed just two Middle East business stories in past week’s top 10. Both were about bonds.
The articles were referring to the sell-off in sukuk issued by Dar Al-Arkan, a Saudi property company. And the selling of bonds issued by organisations in Dubai, particularly government-related entities such as Dubai Holding Commercial Operations and Dubai International Financial Centre Investments (DIFCI)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

On the occasion of the 8th Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum, Islamic Finance Awards Ceremony 2011, which took place in Kuala Lumpur recently, Gulf Investment Corporation, (GIC) was the recipient of the Panel of Judges award for: The most outstanding sukuk product — Sukuk Wakalah bi Istighmar — for the year 2011.
The awards ceremony is to honour and recognise the significant efforts and contributions by individuals and institutions in developing the Islamic Finance industry. The award was presented to GIC by Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. ………………………………………Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s Islamic banking assets rose 15 percent to 389.3 billion ringgit ($123 billion) in the first seven months of 2011, strengthening the country’s position as the global hub for Shariah-compliant financing, a government report said.
Assets that comply with Islam’s ban on interest climbed to 21 percent of Malaysia’s total banking system in July from the same period a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Finance’s 2011-2012 Economic Report………………………………………Full Article: Source

Malaysia will continue its efforts to strengthen its position as an international Islamic financial centre and contribute towards the internationalisation of Islamic finance.The Ministry of Finance, in the Economic Report 2011/2012, said this can be done by developing syariah-compliant products and services as well as tools to facilitate and support cross-border transactions.
The ministry said the implementation of the Syariah Governance Framework on July 1 2011 would further strengthen the oversight role, authority, accountability, independence and competency of the Board of Directors, the Syariah Committee and the Management of Islamic financial institutions on syariah matters……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The 2012 Budget will further promote the comprehensive development of conventional and Islamic banking, insurance and takaful, investment banking and other financial services in terms of the range and offerings of products and services, Maybank president/chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said.
“We are extremely pleased that the Government continues to give a high priority for the growth and development of the financial services sector……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Alkhair International Islamic Bank Malaysia is requesting approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to start talks to acquire a Malaysian bank.
Alkhair International, the Malaysian arm of Bahrain-based Bank Alkhair (formerly Unicorn Investment Bank), already has a licence to carry out Islamic banking business in non-ringgit currencies. The bank says it has identified potential acquisition targets……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is to finance 20 projects in various sectors of Gambian economy, to the tune of about $470 million.
IDB’s West Africa Division Country Operations Department Manager, Musa Sillah said after a meeting with Gambia’s Vice-President, Isatou Njie-Saidy. Sillah is on a working visit to the West African country in a bid to further the cooperation agreement between IDB and the Gambia……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Controversies trailing the apex bank’s plan to introduce Non-Interest Banking (NIB) otherwise known as Islamic banking in Nigeria have continued by the day. This is despite the apex bank’s issuance of guidelines on this model of banking essentially to regulate the activities of Institutions Offering Islamic Financial Services (IIFS).
And from all indications, there may be no going back on the matter. Already, such regulatory agencies as the Securities Exchanges Commission (SEC), Debt Management Office (DMO), NAICOM, NDIC and FIRS have started setting up regulatory frameworks preparatory to the smooth take off of Islamic banking……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House (Baitak) is looking forward to participation in upcoming national-level finance forum to shed further light on Islamic banking services, said the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank.
Islamic services in the banking sector have proven to be an example to be followed, particularly in the shadow of the global financial crisis, said Mohammad Suliman Al-Omar, in a statement marking Baitak’s planned participation in the forthcoming Kuwait Third Financial Forum, due between October 31 and November 1………………………………………Full Article: Source

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) has asked the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, for a $2 billion bridge loan on its $20 billion joint-venture petrochemical project with Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Al Arabiya television reports Sunday, citing the kingdom’s finance minister.
Aramco Chief Executive Officer Khalid Al Falih told that the joint-venture partners were looking into various options for the project’s debt portion, including accessing export credit agencies, the PIF, as well as the commercial market, and bond and sukuk, or Islamic bond issues……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Avaya announced that Kuwait Finance House, one of the leading Islamic banks in the world, has implemented a contact center using Avaya technology. KFH offers Islamic banking services that include Retail, Commercial, Real Estate and Cars financing, Direct investment, and Investment portfolio services. Forbes magazine described KFH as the Harvard of Islamic banks.
After being selected to provide the next-generation Avaya Aura Contact Center solutions, Avaya expert consultants worked closely with KFH employees to identify best-practice processes in order to design and implement an efficient contact center setup to leverage KFH’s strengths and help the business improve customer satisfaction……………………………………….Full Article: Source

One of the important issues to emerge from the second annual meeting of the Aman Union, the association of investment and export credit agencies in the Arab and Islamic world, which was held in Istanbul last week under the aegis of the Turk Eximbank, is the increased demand for political risk insurance especially insuring risks in post-conflict countries and those undergoing economic and political transformation.
This is especially from those countries whose exporters are active in the OIC countries……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Takaful Emarat, the UAE’s first dedicated life and health Takaful provider, is Bronze sponsor of the 8th Middle East Insurex 2011, one of the leading forums for principal players and regulators in the insurance industry, which takes place under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Industry, U.A.E.
Middle East Insurex 2011 is a two-day summit and awards ceremony and will take place October 25 and 26 2011 at The Address, Dubai Marina. Ghassan Marrouche, General Manager of Takaful Emarat will be speaking at a panel session dedicated to the Takaful industry. (Press Release)

Oli Charlesworth has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP in Abu Dhabi as a partner in the finance practice. Mr. Charlesworth specialises in project finance, general banking and Islamic finance. He has advised project sponsors, project companies, lenders, export credit agencies and development finance institutions in relation to a wide range of transactions in various jurisdictions.
He joins the firm from Norton Rose in Abu Dhabi having been based in the Middle East for almost six years. He has advised sponsors and lenders in relation to Islamic, conventional and multi-sourced project financings in the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia across a range of sectors including power, water, infrastructure, metals, petrochemicals and gas. (Press Release)