Sukuk issuance in Saudi Arabia will pick up in 2012 after being buffeted by global economic worries, with a benchmark deal from a sovereign or large corporate name helping to drive momentum, the chief investment officer of NCB Capital said.
Faysal Badran told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit that the pipeline of Islamic bonds in the Kingdom was decent but the European debt crisis and geopolitical uncertainty was keeping potential issuers on the sidelines………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia, seeking to expand petrochemicals production and diversify the economy, will tap debt markets to benefit from falling Middle East debt yields, officials from the kingdom’s main oil and chemicals makers said.
State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, plans to borrow to support its expansion in chemicals, Chief Executive Khalid Al-Falih said Oct. 8. The company is planning about $26 billion in refineries and petrochemical facilities that may sell debt next year. Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the world’s second-biggest petrochemicals producer, may also sell bonds next year to refinance existing borrowings, its CEO said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Yields on Dubai developer Emaar Properties PJSC longer-maturity bonds dropped below its shorter- dated securities in September as investors preferred Islamic bonds, which are in shorter supply.
Emaar’s Islamic bond, or sukuk, due 2016 yielded at 7.99 percent yesterday, while its convertible bond due 2015 was available at 8.58 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields on bonds of utility Dubai Electricity & Water Authority have also inverted since August, with its 2016 security trading at a yield of 5.23 percent yesterday and its 2015 bond at 5.74 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Leaders of The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) recently held a meeting. At the end of the meeting, they released a communique in which they expressed opposition to introduction of Islamic banking in Nigeria.
In the communique, published in the October 20, 2011, issue of The Punch, the CAN leaders said they were not opposed to the doctrine and practice of Islam in Nigeria. They said Christianity and Islam have co-existed in Nigeria for a long time………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahraini lender Al Baraka Bank expects the change in Libya’s government to expedite its previously filed Islamic banking license in the country, the bank’s chief executive said on Wednesday.
“Under the new government, we hope that we can process our expansion (in Libya) a little bit faster,” said Adnan Ahmed Yousif in a telephone interview with Reuters. “We are going for a full retail bank there. We hope that it can be done next year.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors in a long-touted Islamic bank with as much as $3 billion in capital hope to launch the bank next year, bankers said Tuesday, in a bid to improve the competitiveness of the scattered industry.
Saudi Arabia’s Sheikh Saleh Kamel, founder and chairman of Bahrain-based Islamic bank Al Baraka, has spearheaded an initiative to establish a global Islamic mega bank but the plan has been touted for years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) reports better than expected quarterly results despite the impact of lending restrictions imposed by the central bank. ADIB saw its highest ever quarterly net profit for the third quarter at AED 319.1 million ($86.8 million), only slightly higher than the AED 314.5 million ($85.6 million) it reported for the same period a year earlier.
The Islamic lender beat average forecasts for profit of AED 286.5 million ($78 million)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates Islamic Bank, the Sharia-compliant lender based in Dubai, has reported a third-quarter loss of Dh121.8m (US$33.1m), down from a profit of Dh12.5m a year earlier. A 29.1 per cent rise in provisions for bad debts to Dh189.7m weighed down the bank’s earnings, alongside losses from investments that more than tripled to Dh42.4m.
Emirates Islamic Bank also received lower income from its parent, Emirates NBD, which fell 66.7 per cent to Dh35.1m………………………………………..Full Article: Source

At an Extraordinary General Meeting held on Monday evening, shareholders in Barwa Bank voted in favour of a Rights Issue that will increase the Bank’s Issued Capital from QAR 1.9bn to QAR 3bn. In addition, Authorised Capital will be increased from the current QAR 2.5bn to QAR 6bn.
The vote followed an address to shareholders by the Chairman of Barwa Bank, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim al Thani, in which he highlighted progress made over the last year. His speech covered a number of different areas including (Press Release)

Kolej Universiti Insaniah (Kuin) will confer an Honorary Doctorate in Islamic Finance on Islamic Development Bank (IDB) President, Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani in a special convocation this Friday.
The award is expected to be presented by Sultan Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah who is also Kuin Chancellor during the special convocation held in conjunction with Langkawi Islamic Finance and Economics International Conference 2011 (LIFE 3) in Langkawi from Saturday to Monday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A successful rolling out of Islamic financial products requires support from all parties concerned and formulation of just rules and regulations alone will not help, Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, said.
“Islamic finance cannot proceed just by the rules set by the regulators. It will be the culmination of efforts of all concerned. There should be support, contributions from many and diligence and discipline from all,” he added, while addressing a seminar on Islamic banking organised by KPMG………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has assigned $75 million line of finance to Turkey’s Islamic Bank, Turkye Finans Participation Bank.
At the 27th meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, (COMCEC), in Istanbul, IDB Group President Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali signed an agreement with the one of Turkey’s largest Islamic Banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s Bakheet Investment Group expects the Kingdom to fully open its stock market to foreigners in the first half of next year, with banks and petrochemical firms most likely to attract investment, an executive said on Wednesday.
The Saudi bourse, the region’s largest and most liquid stock market, has been moving toward giving foreigners access to the market, but does not yet allow direct ownership or trade in Saudi shares………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As the global Islamic finance industry enters the next phase of growth, more than 1,200 industry leaders, senior decision-makers and key regulators from over 50 countries are set to gather at the 18th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2011).
Hosted with the strategic partnership of the Central Bank of Bahrain WIBC 2011 will be held at the Gulf International Convention Centre on Nov.23. The theme for this year’s WIBC, ‘Competing for Global Growth’, reflects the expanding geographical footprint of Islamic finance and the increasing presence of Islamic financial institutions in new jurisdictions. (Press Release)

More than 1,200 industry leaders, senior decision-makers and key regulators from over 50 countries are set to gather in Bahrain for the 18th annual World Islamic Banking Conference (WIBC 2011) next month.
The event, being hosted in strategic partnership with the Central Bank of Bahrain, will run from November 21 to 23 at the Gulf International Convention Centre, Gulf Hotel………………………………………..Full Article: Source