Indonesia is waiting for the right timing to proceed with its second international offering of Shariah-compliant bonds, Dahlan Siamat, director of Islamic finance at the government’s debt management office, said. “We are waiting for a window,” Siamat said in a telephone interview from Jakarta. “We are still watching market movements.” He declined to elaborate.
Dwi Irianti Hadiningdyah, deputy director at the debt management office, said Oct. 17 Indonesia may sell $500 million of global Islamic bonds this year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Strong demand for a sukuk issued by Turkish bank Kuveyt Turk last month underlines how Turkey may become a major source of Islamic bonds for Gulf investors who are keen to diversify geographically.
The $350 million sukuk, issued at par and carrying a profit rate of 5.875 percent, was only the second sukuk issued from Turkey. But it attracted orders totalling over $550 million — and Gulf investors accounted for nearly 70 percent of final subscribers, according to data released by the lead arrangers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain will attempt to tap international investors during roadshows later this month for a benchmark-sized, dollar-denominated Islamic bond.
Investor meetings will start after next week’s Eid Al-Adha holiday, taking place simultaneously in Saudi Arabia and Kuala Lumpur on November 14 and London and Singapore on November 15, a lead manager said on Wednesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The government needs to issue more sukuk in order to provide short-term liquidity instruments that Islamic finance needs and the private sector should not be looked upon to provide this.
That was the message from Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain managing director and chief executive Abdulhakeem Alkhayyat, at “The Resilience of Bahrain’s Financial Sector” conference………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investors in Aldar Properties’ $1.1 billion sukuk, which is due on November 10, are betting the indebted developer will repay the issue even if it means more aid from Abu Dhabi which bailed the company out this year.
Aldar is limping back to recovery after posting record quarterly losses at the end of 2010, forcing the Abu Dhabi government to step in with a $5.2bn rescue package in January………………………………………..Full Article: Source

RB-Hicom Bhd (DRB-Hicom) will undertake an Islamic medium-term notes (sukuk) programme of up to RM1.8 billion.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the company said it had mandated Maybank Investment Bank Bhd as principal adviser, lead arranger and lead manager for the programme. DRB-Hicom said Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd had assigned a preliminary rating of ‘AA-IS’ to the programme with a stable outlook. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s corporate bond market maintained its strong momentum in the third quarter, said RAM Rating Services Bhd. “Corporate bond issuance increased 13.3% quarter-on-quarter and 12.6% in the first nine months of the year, bringing the total issuance value to RM52.6bil as at end-September,” it said in a statement.
The sukuk market too continued to chart impressive growth. Sukuk issuance almost tripled year-to-date to RM42.1bil, accounting for 73% of total bond issuance as at end-September………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkey at present has four Islamic banks — three that are partially owned by companies based in the Persian Gulf — which accounted for 5 percent of Turkey’s 1-trillion-lira ($559 billion) banking sector in late 2010, according to data from the Participation Banks’ Association of Turkey, a lobbyist group for Islamic banks.
The banks are known as “participation banks,” since, in keeping with Islamic tenets, depositors and borrowers share the risk of financial transactions with the banks themselves………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Some conventional and Islamic banks in the UAE have started filing cases against mortgagors of foreclosed properties in order to recoup their losses.
“Banks (conventional and Islamic) have started to file cases to recover their losses from mortgagors if the losses are huge and they are certain that the mortgagor has assets that can be attached. Some of our clients have filed cases against the mortgagors,” Mazen Boustany, Head of Banking and Finance at Habib Al Mulla & Company………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has reported a lower than expected 4.7 percent drop in third quarter net profit. The Gulf state’s largest Islamic bank said it made a net profit of KWD 25.3 million ($91.7 million) in the July to September quarter compared to profit of KWD 26.5 million ($96.1 million) in the same quarter last year.
In a statement on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website KFH said net profit for the first nine months of the year fell 27.2 per cent to KWD 70.8 million ($256.7 million) from KWD 97.3 million ($352.8 million) the same period a year earlier………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A lecturer at the department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Dr Muritala Kareem, has identified Islamic banking as a tool for eradication of poverty in the country. He stated this at the biennial conference of the Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates’ Association (UNIFEMGA), recently in Ibadan.
Dr. Kareem said the interest-free nature of Islamic banking would pave the way for small scale business men to get loan which would enhance stability and progress of their businesses………………………………………..Full Article: Source

ABC Islamic Bank today announced a net profit of $6.7 million for the first nine months of 2011, 320% higher than last year. Net profit for the third quarter was $1.6 million compared to $2.1 million in the second quarter.
Total income for the third quarter was $3.2 million, compared to $4.2 million generated in the second quarter. Operating expenses were kept at the same level of last quarter of $1.5 million. (Press Release)

AGMC and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) offer exclusive finance programs on Rolls-Royce 2011 Ghost models to meet the growing demand for the vehicle.
Kevin Hughes, General Manager of AGMC said, “The UAE is witnessing a healthy growth in demand for ultra luxury automobiles and Rolls-Royce is currently enjoying strong growth in performance in the Emirate, a place where customers appreciate the pinnacle of automotive luxury and know they are going for the best car in the world when they decide to purchase……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic finance institutions must improve their liquidly requirements if investors are to be reassured, the governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain has warned.
Rasheed al Maraj, said the CBB has been at the forefront of innovation in assisting Islamic financial institutions to manage their liquidity, but more still needs to be done both by regulators and the industry………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Two Bahrain-based financial institutions, Elaf Bank and Ohad Trust, have formed a joint venture to administrate funds and provide custody in Malaysia in an effort to access opportunities in Southeast Asia and the Islamic investment funds market.
Elaf Bank and fund administration, custodian and trust services provider Ohad Trust have formed Ohad Labuan in Malaysia to work on trust, foundations, fund administration, registrar and custody assignments in the country………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Insurance is considered prohibited in Islam and some of the objections to conventional insurance are: (a) The contract of insurance does not pass the criteria of validity as any valid contract in Islamic law must specify unambiguously the consideration, the object of sale and its delivery time and place.
In the case of insurance, while price (premium) and schedule of payments are known with certainty, it is not known when the object of sale will be paid if at all. This is considered as an example of contractual uncertainty or what is more commonly known as gharar in Islamic law………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamist groups’ understanding of economics and modern finance is fundamentally flawed from a religious point of view and may imperil Egypt’s future.
Now that the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has set the end of November for elections for the new People’s Assembly, it is natural for many jurists, sociologists, economists, bankers and businessmen to ponder how the system of government, social life, banking and business might look if the Islamist groups, individually or collectively, win a majority of the seats in the new parliament………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Like the rest of the global financial markets Bahrain needs to reposition itself in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 but it is well placed to achieve this.
“The 2008 global financial crisis created systemic problems that mean we all have to reposition ourselves,” said Solidarity chief executive Ashraf Bseisu. “We need to look at niche markets and continue to develop as the leading centre for Islamic banking and insurance,” he added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

On October 24, National Transitional Council leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil declared Libya to be “liberated.” Operating free of any democratic constraints, Jalil also declared that the law against polygamy will be repealed, Islamic banking will be adopted, and Shariah (Islamic) Law will form the basis for all Libyan law.
As has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, any concession to religious freedom will be rendered void by the supremacy of Shariah. Shariah law prohibits fitna (anything that could shake the faith of a Muslim), especially evangelism (Christian witness), blasphemy (criticizing Islam), and apostasy (leaving Islam)………………………………………..Full Article: Source