The Islamic capital market will sustain its growth momentum over the next decade. Its next phase of growth will be characterized primarily by greater internationalization, which will help address some of the challenges faced by the industry and will provide Malaysia the opportunity to strengthen its position as a hub for Islamic capital market activities.
This is the prediction of the Securities Commission of Malaysia, the securities regulator………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As international markets are perched precariously on the edge of a global financial abyss, a small window of opportunity has sprung up for Malaysia to spread its Islamic finance wings internationally.
“There is an opportunity now but the window is small,” International Investor country publisher Cory D’Abreo said, an observation seconded by the Global University of Islamic Finance (Inceif) president and chief executive Daud Vicary Abdullah………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mahathir Mohamad, former Malaysian prime minister, has warned the Islamic banking industry that it has to learn about the mistakes of conventional finance if Islamic finance is to avoid the same fate.
Mahathir, now the elder statesman of Malaysian politics, is as outspoken as ever and remains arguably the most popular politician of “the Muslim man and woman in the street”. In Istanbul, Turkey recently Mahathir was the star attraction giving a special address on the theme “The Future of Islamic Finance Creating Global Linkages and Connectivity to the Growth Real Economy to Promote Financial Stability Economic Growth, Employment and Prosperity”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Indonesian Islamic bond sales will recover from the slowest half in three years as the government finances transport and power projects, according to Standard & Poor’s. The government’s $140 billion five-year development program will boost offerings, said Allan Redimerio, S&P’s head of Asia infrastructure ratings in Singapore.
Indonesia is waiting for the right time to proceed with plans to sell $500 million of dollar-denominated sukuk, the country’s second international offering of the debt, said Dahlan Siamat, director of Islamic finance at the government’s debt management office………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, chief executive officer at Kuala Lumpur-based CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd., talks about the outlook for Islamic bond sales. CIMB Group is poised to overtake Malayan Banking Bhd. as the lead arranger for Islamic bonds this year after helping manage Malaysia’s second-biggest offering in 2011. Badlisyah spoke from Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 9 with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Five billion dollars in bonds will be issued in the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20, 2012) to speed up the implementation of South Pars gas field projects, the National Iranian Oil Company’s managing director Ahmad Qalebani said.
Iran will also issue $15 billion in sukuk bonds in the current year to be invested in the domestic oil industry, oil minister Rostam Qasemi said earlier this month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A’ issue rating to the proposed Sukuk Trust Certificates to be issued late November, subject to investor demand, by ADCB Islamic Finance (Cayman) Limited, a special purpose company (SPC) of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB).
The ‘A’ rating on the proposed five-year $750 million Sukuk Trust Certificates is based on the ‘A’ long-term counterparty credit rating on ADCB and reflects ADCB’s irrevocable undertaking to purchase the assets held by the issuer at the redemption date of the Sukuk………………………………………..Full Article: Source

International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) plans to sell $500mn to $750mn bonds in the second half of next year to support growth, managing director George Nasra has said.
“We believe it is very important to have long-term debt on our balance sheet. Because, like most commercial banks, we have a big mismatch between assets and liabilities,” Nasra said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Newly-merged Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd does not rule out going regional in the near future as “that’s where growth is”. “It’s inevitable,” new chief executive officer Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz said.
She said that Hong Leong Islamic Bank is working on several corporate investment transactions which include cross-border deals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It’s every Islamic home financing company’s dream to become an Islamic bank, but it is not necessarily the dream of every community cooperative.
However, that is just what is about to happen to Australia’s MCCA as the building blocks are put in place to see the launch of Australia’s first Islamic retail bank catering to the needs of the domestic population - both Muslim and non-Muslim alike………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), and Kolon Corporation, a diversified company in South Korea, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for jointly establishing Islamic leasing (ijara) companies to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 57-member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
ICD’s CEO and General Manager Khaled Al-Aboodi and Kolon’s CEO and President Kim Nam-soo signed the MoU recently………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Following the success of its Local Area Marketing campaign in Deira, Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) launched a new campaign in its 9 branches in Bur Dubai district with the objective of introducing exclusive banking deals for the month of November to customers. The launch comes in line with bank’s aim to be a leading retail bank and create greater awareness of its products and services within its target segments.
During this campaign, EIB will reward new customers with special product offers on Personal Finance, Vehicle Finance and Credit Cards and more! (Press Release)

Al Baraka Banking Group’s CEO Adnan Yousif has revealed plans to open five more branches across Sudan in the next five years in a recent interview with Arabic language press.
The country’s Islamic finance dominated sector has driven Al Baraka to consider setting up a headquarters for which it has purchased land opposite The Central Bank of Sudan. No timeline has been specified yet……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Bahrain based leading Islamic banking group, Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C (ABG) announced that it has achieved a net income of US$ 166 million in the first nine months of 2011, an increase of 13% on the net income achieved in the first nine months of 2010.
Similarly, statement of financial positions witnessed moderate increases. Total assets increased by 3%, and deposits by 4% as at the end of September 2011 as compared with the end of December 2010. (Press Release)

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said Saturday that it has assigned its ‘BBB’ long-term counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Riyadh-based Weqaya Takaful Insurance & Reinsurance Co. (Weqaya Takaful). The outlook is stable.
The ratings reflect Weqaya Takaful’s strong capitalization and investments, and prospectively satisfactory competitive position and operating performance. Partially offsetting factors include the company’s limited operational track record since its start-up in mid-2010, and the increasingly competitive nature of the Saudi Arabian insurance sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has announced the listing of Watania Takaful Company, within its listed companies in the insurance sector starting 14 November under the ticker symbol “Watania”
“Watania” will be the 10th Takaful Company to be listed on local stock markets in the UAE.
The official listing of the “Watania” shares is another milestone for the company since its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of AED82.5 million was oversubscribed seven-fold to AED 620 million when it was launched in May this year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Executives at Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company (ADNTC) should be all smiles this week as the firm has just posted its financial results.
For the first nine months of 2011 ADNTC made a net profit of AED21m ($5.72m). Compare this to the same period last year, AED16m ($4.4m), and that’s a sizeable leap in the right direction. Profit for the first three quarters was also up by some 18% to AED35.2m ($9.6m)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The national body in charge of accountants in Kenya, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), wants Islamic finance institutions to take responsibility for upgrading the skills level among their staff to ensure that accounting standards in Shari’ah compliant companies are up to international financial reporting standards.
“It’s a question of expanding the knowledge and skills gap for accountants to appreciate Islamic finance processes because the accounting standards remain the same,” said Caroline Kigen, CEO of ICPAK………………………………………..Full Article: Source

One alternative solution that inevitably will be discussed is the potential role of Islamic finance in contributing to economic growth and financial stability. Much has been written and claimed about the Islamic financial system being in a better position to cope with the vagaries and excesses of the global financial crisis, because of the proscription of Islam on interest-based speculation and derivatives.
But whether the Muslim countries and the Islamic banking industry are rising or even capable of rising to the challenge remain a moot point……………………………………….Full Article: Source

With users from 43 countries and over 100 banks and universities, in 2011 Ethica became the default choice for accredited training and certification in Islamic finance. In a tight job market, more bankers and students now choose Ethica to boost their credentials than any other Islamic finance program in the world. That’s the latest finding as 2011 enrollment figures roll in and catapult the Dubai-based institute ahead of older institutions like INCEIF, CIMA, BIBF, and IIBI.
Experts say that what probably sets Ethica apart is that their 4-month Certified Islamic Finance Executive(CIFE) certification is the only 100% AAOIFI-compliant, 100% online Islamic finance program in the market today. AAOIFI stands for the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, the leading Islamic finance standard in the world and the de facto standard for over 90% of the world’s jurisdictions. Ethica’s certifications are approved by some of the industry’s top Islamic finance scholars, including Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, one of AAOIFI’s Shariah Board members, and Mufti Zubair Usmani, Shariah advisor on the boards of several institutions. (Press Release)

“Islamic finance benefits from strong support in France,” said Invest in France Agency chairman and chief executive David Appia. “In building an appropriate and friendly environment, French authorities have contributed to make France an open country to Islamic finance.
“France has made a series of legal and tax adjustments into its financial system to integrate transactions and concepts that comply with Sharia principles, ensuring their tax neutrality with respect to conventional finance,” he said. “The regulatory body, the French Financial Market Authority, has defined a working framework for managing Sharia-compliant funds, some of which are already being distributed in France………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Morocco’s moderate Islamists believe they can win an election this month, buoyed by the resurgence of Islamists in the region since the “Arab Spring” uprisings, but predict opponents will use fraud to try to keep them out of power.
The November 25 parliamentary election is a test of the commitment by Morocco’s ruler, King Mohammed, to respond to the uprisings by moving the kingdom closer to democracy and ceding some of his powers to elected officials………………………………………..Full Article: Source