The global debt crisis may help Islamic finance nearly double to $1.8 trillion in assets by 2016 as stagnant corporate lending pushes institutions to seek alternative financing to traditional methods, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.

The bank forecasts that there is over $2 trillion of deleveraging in the United States and Europe, creating a financing glut for both struggling countries and countries in developed markets…………………………………….Full Article: Source

If Islamic banking is to develop into a global alternative to conventional banking, the global financial industry must take responsibility for driving the sector forward and not rely on the regulators to lead the way, according to Hussain Al Qemzi, CEO of Noor Islamic Bank.
Al Qemzi said the pace of development of the Islamic finance sector was too slow and that unless industry practitioners are more willing to challenge the regulators, whether Central Banks, legal structures or Shari’ah scholars, the internationalisation of Islamic finance will continue to underperform and not reach its full potential…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) is expected to issue its first sukuk in the next six months, as it will contribute to better liquidity management, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Zeti akhtar Aziz said Tuesday.

“We are about to get rated for the issuance short-term instruments and we are in the process of all the parameters as well as to get the allocation of high-quality underlying assets…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Indonesia sold $1 billion of Islamic bonds at half the rate of its 2009 debut and more than two percentage points lower than a sale by Italy, supporting the Asian nation’s claim for an investment-grade rating.

The 2018 dollar securities were sold at 4 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The nation issued $650 million worth of five-year sukuk in April 2009 at 8.8 percent. Italy auctioned 3 billion euros ($4 billion) of five-year bonds at 6.29 percent…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The government’s successful selling of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds known as sukuk at a cheaper rate signals declining risks of investing in Indonesia. Even more convincing, the sukuk sales came amid global financial market uncertainty, bringing the country closer to an investment grade rating.

The selling of the nation’s second-ever sharia-compliant global sukuk was oversubscribed by 6.5 times, and the government collected US$1 billion, according to Finance Ministry debt management office Director General Rahmat Waluyanto on Tuesday……………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) is scouting for potential investors to take up its RM700 million Sukuk (Islamic Bond) issuance. Announcing this, PKNS Deputy General Manager (Corporate Affairs), Datin Paduka Norazlina Zakaria said PKNS was currently finalising issuance of the sukuk with the relevant Malaysian authorities.

“We hope to come up with the sukuk by next month,” she told BERNAMA on the sidelines of MIPIM Asia 2011, a prominent real estate event in the Asia-Pacific region, which begins today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition centre…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The increased focus on financial stability, especially fundamental changes in the regulatory environment, is the central aspect of the new Islamic financial landscape in an increasingly more challenging environment, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.

She said these include changes to institutional arrangements for oversight of the financial system — both at the international level and within national borders in a number of countries…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Despite the halal industry’s rapid growth, it is missing out on opportunities to tap into Islamic finance, panel members said. “There is a disconnect between the halal industry and Islamic financing, which is ironic since we’re working within the same religion, but are not talking to each other,” said Thomson Reuters head of Islamic finance (Asia) Rafiza Ghazali.
She said in a study conducted by Reuters on 250 companies involved in halal production and with a combined market capitalisation of US$132bil, it found that only 50% of them passed the Aofi test, which meant that they are not syariah-complaint……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Noor Islamic Bank PJSC, a lender controlled by Dubai’s government, may expand into Malaysia and Turkey as it seeks to attract more overseas business in the $1 trillion Shariah-compliant finance industry.

“We hope to open an office in Malaysia by the end of next year if we can get at least $500 million of business,” Chief Executive Officer Hussain Al Qemzi said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. The Islamic lender may also open an office in Turkey, where it hopes to conclude $2 billion of business by year-end, he said…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Saudi Al Rajhi Bank has begun preliminary talks with private and public sector stock owners of Kuwait Finance House on buying an “influential share”, Kuwait’s Alrai newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A share price of between 1.2 and 1.4 Kuwaiti dinars has been discussed, the paper said, citing “banking sources”. KFH, the Gulf state’s largest Islamic bank, said management had no information of the reported stake buy in a statement to the bourse……………………………………Full Article: Source

The Dubai-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) says it will distribute US$157 million in sharia loans in 2012, comprising $17 million for three banks and $140 million for military uniform maker PT Sritex.

Director for the ICD’s financial institutions development department, Basel A. Al-Hag Issa, said ICD was still in discussions with some banks, but had yet to decide which banks would receive the $17 million loan…………………………………….Full Article: Source

New takaful operator AIA AFG Takaful Bhd plans to set up three branches next year, its chief executive officer Wan Azman Wan Mamat said. He said the company is on the lookout for suitable locations, one in the Klang Valley and one each in the southern and northern regions.

“We hope to expand our market throughout the country and offer more comprehensive Takaful coverage to the public,” he said…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Bahraini regulators are for the first time endorsing a derivatives market started in Malaysia to hedge movements in Islamic borrowing costs, removing an obstacle to growth in the US$1 trillion industry.

The International Islamic Financial Market in Manama will issue a global standard on so-called profit-rate swaps in the first quarter, backing an effort by some Malaysian lenders who introduced the product as early as 2004. The contracts, the syariah-compliant equivalent of an interest-rate swap, will make the market more efficient, Ijlal Alvi, chief executive officer of the standardisation body, said……………………………………Full Article: Source