Almarai Co., Saudi Arabia’s largest food producer by market value, may set up its first Islamic bond program by early 2012 as it seeks financing for expansion.
The riyal-denominated sukuk would be available only to the local market and would help finance an “ambitious capital expenditure development plan and working capital needs,” Chief Financial Officer Paul-Louis Gay said………………………………………Full Article: Source

The Indonesian Finance Ministry is targetting a $500 million 5-year global sukuk issuance this year, an official said. “We are looking for the benchmark tenor, but we hope to have longer (tenures),” Dwi Irianti Hadiningdyah, deputy director of Islamic Financing for the ministry’s debt management office, said.
“For the size, we will use the benchmark size but maybe we can do more, depending on the situation.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Dubai-based property developer Emaar Properties’ corporate family rating to Ba3 from B1, the ratings agency announced in a statement today. The ratings upgrade comes in the wake of improved financial conditions at the region’s largest real estate developer.
Shares of the property giant, listed at the Dubai Financial Market, last traded at Dh2.47 per share today, down 1.2 per cent form yesterday and near their 52-week low of Dh2.35 in a market that has been on a negative trend on weak global sentiment……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The yield on Emaar Properties PJSC’s Islamic bonds fell to the lowest level in more than three weeks as Moody’s Investors Service raised the company’s rating by one step to Ba3, the third-highest non-investment grade.
The rate on the developer’s 8.5 percent sukuk maturing August 2016 dropped 25 basis points, or 0.25 of a percentage point, to 8.27 percent at 4:56 p.m. in Dubai, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. Emaar Sukuk Ltd.’s rating was affirmed at B1, the fourth-highest junk rating, Moody’s said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Following its announcement earlier this month that the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) “is setting up a RM3.5 billion sukuk program to diversify funding sources” the issuance process is likely to take much longer given the prevailing volatile market conditions as a result of the fallout of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and the downgrading of the US credit rating by Moody’s Investors Service.
Mohammed Mubaideen, investor relations manager, TAQA, confirmed that the (issuance) process is in early stages and the above announcement was made “to meet regulatory requirements. Any issuance will be subject to market conditions. Markets are very volatile at the moment, and it is very difficult to have a clear vision.”………………………………………Full Article: Source

Following last year’s first sukuk issuance in Turkey and Europe, Kuveyt Türk starts the investor meetings with natural and legal persons operating at abroad for the second sukuk transaction, in line with the new legislation.
To be issued by KT Sukuk Varlık Kiralama A.Ş., a Turkey-based asset leasing company established pursuant to the Communiqué on Lease Certificates of the Capital Markets Board (CMB), this will be the first 5-year-term sukuk transaction in Turkey. (Press Release)

The leading promoter of Sharia banking in Canada, UM Financial Inc. has gone into receivership without much fanfare. None of the nation’s newspapers have bothered to report the development, despite the fact it could possibly affect hundreds of homeowners.
Had it not been for a tweet by an affected Muslim homeowner looking for a lawyer, the story of UM Financial going broke would have escaped even the scant attention the news received on social media……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Since the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, began moves to introduce the Islamic banking system, the product has attracted so much anger in the Christian fold to the extent that the little achievements Sanusi made in the industry almost fizzled out.
Some of his critics reasoned that Nigeria is a secular state and so the introduction of Islamic banking smacks of Islamising the state. They believe that the introduction of the sharia banking system now is not appropriate in view of the destructive activities of Boko Haram……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Royal Directive of His Majesty the Sultan in May this year on starting Islamic banking has not only opened up new opportunity for the Sultanate’s banking industry but it is set to change the face of banking itself.
In the GCC, until recently, Oman alone did have Islamic banking. After the Royal decree, almost every bank in Oman is considering launching an Islamic window. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has decided to establish a national authority for monitoring Islamic finance and banking sector……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic capital market’s product issuers and service providers still operate on a small scale, especially relative to their conventional counterparts, said Securities Commission (SC) managing director, Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood.
She said this was a critical challenge for Islamic fund managers globally as a recent industry report on Islamic funds worldwide showed that only 30 per cent of these managers had over US$100 million in assets under management while almost 40 per cent were managing less than US$25 million……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Greater internationalisation will be a key element of the Islamic capital market as it continues to chart further progress in the coming decade.
Managing director of Securities Commission Malaysia Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood said greater internationalisation will provide Malaysia the opportunity to strengthen its position as a hub for Islamic capital market activities……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia should lead the way in persuading Western economists to accept the Islamic finance system as the way to cushion the impact of economic crises, said a German economics professor.
Prof Dr Volker Nienhaus, a governing council member of International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, the Islamic education arm of Bank Negara, said Malaysia has made credible efforts at implementing Islamic finance in this country and has also succeeded at a global level……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The rise in Islamic capital markets will be fuelled by more cross-border deals but the disparity in tax and legal framework across jurisdictions needs to be addressed, Malaysia’s market regulator said on Monday.
Increased harmonisation in sharia interpretation and more guidelines from global industry bodies will provide a common platform for cross-border transactions as would collaboration among countries, said the Securities Commission, which oversees the world’s largest Islamic bond market……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s competitive advantage in Islamic finance is its comprehensive regulatory framework, according to a German economics professor.
“Malaysia has the necessary ingredients to be a hub for Islamic finance, such as its capital adequacy requirements, good governance and disclosure policies that are able to meet European financial standards,” said International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) governing council member Prof Dr Volker Nienhaus……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Greater internationalisation of the Islamic capital market (ICM) will allow Malaysia to strenghten its position as a hub for ICM activities, said Securities Commission managing director Datuk Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood.
“The outlook for the Islamic capital market remains very promising,” she said. New markets, enhance integration and liberalisation of economies and financial markets would help drive further internationlisation of the Islamic capital market, she added……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Asia’s solid economic growth and surging population will need significant developments and upgrades of its infrastructure.
In a statement today, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) said the Asian Development Bank recently predicted that Asian economies required US$8 trillion over the next decade to fully address the region’s basic infrastructure needs, including developments in areas such as water, transportation and energy……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Simmons & Simmons, an international law firm, has announced that Ahmed Butt has joined its Middle East financial markets practice to focus on the Saudi Arabian market.
Butt joins from Hogan Lovells’ Dubai office where he was a founding member of the Islamic finance team. ………………………………………Full Article: Source

Abraaj Capital plans to sell up to four of its investments in the next 18 months, a senior executive said yesterday. Abraaj has been trying to offload its stake in Turkish hospital group Acibadem in a deal that could be worth at least $500 million (Dh1.83 billion).
Matteo Stefanel, senior partner, said other exits were likely. “We are also looking at one to three exits in the next 18 months,” Stefanel told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference, without elaborating on details………………………………………Full Article: Source

The UAE Central Bank announced Monday that the International Bank Account (IBAN) numbers will be mandatory for all account holders in the UAE from November 19 to conduct any local or international transactions.
“From November 19, customers will be required to use their IBAN to complete any local or international payment transactions. Additionally, the customer will need to ensure that their IBAN is used by the sender when they receive electronic payments, both locally and internationally,” the Central Bank said………………………………………Full Article: Source

Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali Almadani, President of Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) who was visiting Kabul and met with President Hamed Karzai, Mohammad Karim Khalili Second Vice President, and Mr. Hazrat Ali Zakhelwal Minister of Finance, had a meeting with Dr. Zalmai Rassoul Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Rassoul expressing appreciation for the assistances of the Islamic Development Bank stated that “the support of IDB to the people and government of Afghanistan is not only valuable for the economic growth of the country but it is of a great political importance.“………………………………………Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has launched the Al Islami Emerging Cappuccino Certificate, a four-year Islamic certificate backed by sharia-compliant assets.
Providing exposure to four of the world’s most dynamic emerging markets, this certificate is linked to indices in Brazil, China, Singapore and Taiwan – offering medium to long-term investors a unique opportunity to profit from the future growth of these rapidly developing economies……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Fola Daniel, has urged insurance brokers to explore opportunities in micro and takaful insurances to expand the insurance market.
Daniel, who said this in Lagos, noted that this has become important, especially in the face of renewed efforts by world governments towards financial inclusive-ness. He called on brokers to take urgent and decisive steps towards tapping into the vast insurance opportunities that currently abound in the country……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Takaful International Company and Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIsB) have signed a memorandum of understanding under which the bank will be promoting services and insurance products to individuals that are provided by Takaful International Company.
It was signed by Takaful International chief executive officer Younis Al Sayed and BIsB chief executive officer Mohammed Ebrahim at the bank’s main office in the Diplomatic Area……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Etqaan Shariah Capital Partners, a private equity joint venture between The National Investor ‘TNI’ and KIPCO Asset Management Company K.S.C. ‘KAMCO’, is announcing the first close of its Etqaan Shariah Fund (the ‘Fund’).
TNI, a Abu Dhabi based investment company, and KAMCO, a member of the Kuwait Projects (Holding) Company (KIPCO), one of the region’s largest diversified businesses, are seeding the Fund with $20m, and will continue to fundraise in regional and international markets, subject to country specific regulatory approvals……………………………………….Full Article: Source