Dubai’s Emirates , the rapidly expanding Gulf Arab carrier, is looking at the more resilient Islamic finance market to fund aircraft deliveries as international banks back out of plane deals because of the euro zone debt crisis.
European lenders, especially French banks, which have been major financiers for Emirates’ aircraft deals with Airbus and Boeing , have become risk-averse because of the crisis, the airline’s president Tim Clark told Reuters. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Crescent Wealth, Australia’s first Islamic wealth manager, is targeting a signifi-cant opportunity for its managed funds to attract investment from Malaysia, which is home to the world’s second-largest Islamic funds market with about US$5 billion (RM15.65 billion) under management.
Crescent Wealth, which last month launched the first Islamic Australian equity fund, is pioneering Australia’s potential to become a global hub for Islamic investing and tap into the A$1.4 trillion (RM4.52 trillion) global Islamic financial services market, the firm said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Moody’s Investors Service said it is maintaining its negative outlook on the UAE’s banking system because of ongoing trends of corporate deleveraging, asset quality challenges and subdued profitability.
The negative outlook reflects the rating agency’s expectations for the fundamental credit conditions in the banking system over the next 12-18 months, Moody’s said in a new report………………………………………..Full Article: Source

ABC Islamic Bank announced a net profit of $6.7m for the first nine months of 2011, 320% higher than last year. Net profit for the third quarter was $1.6m compared to $2.1m in the second quarter.
Total income for the third quarter was $3.2m, compared to $4.2m generated in the second quarter. Operating expenses were kept at the same level of last quarter of $1.5m………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The trade financing arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has offered $400 million to help Egypt finance imports of petroleum products, wheat and other foodstuffs, Egypt’s official news agency Mena reported.
The funds were offered by IDB’s International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, which offers trade finance that conforms to Islamic principles, Mena reported. Egypt is the world’s biggest wheat importer………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Doha Bank QSC, Qatar’s fifth-largest lender by market value, may make an acquisition before the end of 2012 as part of a broader plan to expand, Chief Executive Officer Raghavan Seetharaman said.
“It could be in Turkey, it could be emerging markets, we are looking at other options,” Seetharaman said in an interview in Dubai on Sunday. “We are going to grow, and it’s a goal in line with the overall financial stability of Qatar.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Spare a thought for the fund managers trying to make their business work in the Middle East and North Africa this year. Those investing in home markets have faced the uncertainty and drama of the Arab Spring and the wear and tear on affected markets.
The Egyptian Stock Exchange was closed for several months while in the GCC countries, all markets ended the first half in the red (even if the Abu Dhabi index and the Saudi Tadawul All Shares resisted well, down 0.57% and 0.67% respectively.) Moreover, the fund industry in the region faces some deep structural flaws. Taking the GCC alone, there are 101 fund management companies in the region managing $28.5bn of assets between them, according to Lipper data………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kazakhstan has a higher debt rating at Standard & Poor’s than Russia for the first time since the Soviet Union collapsed as the central Asian nation spends less of its commodities-fueled wealth than its northern neighbor.
Kazakhstan is considering selling its first foreign- currency bonds in more than a decade next year, which may well pave the way to its first sovereign Islamic debt, Deputy Finance Minister Ruslan Dalenov said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In some nations that have either a Muslim majority or have a significant Muslim population, Shariah law may not only serve as the basis for the personal conduct of the business owner, but may also have some role in settling legal disputes. While this is more common in traditionally Muslim states, the trend is also developing in other nations.
For example, the United Kingdom is home to the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, which serves as a means of settling disputes among the faithful, effectively preventing the need to go through the courts………………………………………..Full Article: Source