A proposed Islamic bond issue by Saudi Arabia is important not so much because it would raise money for the country — the Kingdom does not need the cash — but because it could serve important monetary policy goals.
By making the first substantial issue of government debt for several years, authorities could pave the way for more issues if they chose. These could become a useful means to soak up funds from banks and prevent inflationary pressure from rising………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sukuk may not be able to offer any sort of quick fix for Europe’s funding crisis, but South Africa’s decision last week to push ahead with a sovereign deal offers a much more encouraging vision for how the Islamic market could develop.
South Africa’s plans for a sovereign sukuk issue could make it the first country with a miniority Islamic population to tap the asset class. And it could be the start of a healthy trend, paving the way for countries with modest debt funding requirements and open-minded regulation to benefit from diversifying into a ready and willing alternative investor base………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia is in talks with banks about issuing a riyal-denominated Islamic bond, or sukuk as the kingdom abandons its aversion to sovereign-level debt to help build a local currency yield curve, sources said.
Discussions are ongoing between the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and local and international banks with operations in the kingdom, with an issue expected in the first quarter of next year. The sukuk will not be issued directly by the government, but will be marketed by a governmental agency or a state fund………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia is expected to continue its strong 60% contribution to global sukuk issuance next year, bolstered by projects under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). HSBC Amanah said that this year had seen significant growth in sukuk, principally driven by issuance out of the country.
“This is by far the best year since 2002. Over 60% of total global sukuk issuance come from Malaysia,” HSBC Amanah chief executive Rafe Haneef said. He believes that the ETP and other projects would continue to drive the sukuk market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd is upbeat on the local banking sector next year, expecting over 60% of global sukuk issuance to continue to come from Malaysia. Its CEO Rafe Haneef said the sukuk sector saw significant growth this year, with over 60% of sukuk issued worldwide denominated in ringgit.
He said the bank expects the sukuk sector to maintain the same performance next year, especially with the Economic Transformation Programme projects that are funded by sukuk coming on line and projected a 4.5% to 5% gross domestic product growth for th country………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) plans to borrow an additional RM1.5bil in January 2012 in the form of Islamic debt (sukuk) under its RM15bil Sukuk Musyarakah Programme. This is in addition to its issuance of RM3bil of sukuk in June this year which was oversubscribed by three times.
The RM1.5bil obtained next year would be used by SEB to fund the progress payments of some of its power plants and transmission lines currently being constructed as well as other capital expenditure requirements, the company said. It had presented its plans for existing and potential investors here………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Baraka Turk Participation Bank, a subsidiary & the Bahrain - based. Al Baraka Banking Group, is hoping to raise USD 200 million in Islamic sukuk by the end of the week. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the President and Chief Executive of the Group said: ” We’re in the market for these sukuk and we hope is raise USD 200 million by the end of this week, we have seen interest of Asian and GCC investors”.
“Pricing for the sukuk is very reasonable and competitive. It’s in the 6 percent range,” Yousif added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Unit trust fund manager ASM Investment Services Bhd (ASM Investment) is introducing its new syariah-compliant, capital-protected fund that targets investors seeking to diversify their portfolios.
The ‘ASM Syariah Capital Protected Sector Linked Fund’, which was approved by the Securities Commission of Malaysia on November 22 this year, will have a fund size of 500 million units, offered to investors at RM0.50 per unit………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Interest by Gulf lenders in Turkey’s Islamic banking market is on the rise, according to Adnan Ahmed Yusuf Abdulmalek, head of Union of Arab BanksLeading Arab banks are currently eyeing opportunities to penetrate Turkey’s growing finance market, the top executive of Union of Arab Banks said yesterday, adding that possible investors consider merger and acquisitions.
“Banks from Arab countries and Gulf countries are highly interested in Turkey,” said Adnan Ahmed Yusuf Abdulmalek, head of Union of Arab Banks. Emirates International Bank and Qatar International Bank are among the banks interested in starting up new banks from scratch, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banking industry (IBI) continued to grow and it posted 17.5 percent growth in total assets during the first half of current calendar year 2011 (CY11).
Earning indicators of Islamic banks also outperformed those of the overall banking sector for the first time, as Return On Assets (ROA) for the period under review increased from 0.8 percent to 1.6 percent. Similarly, Return On Equity (ROE) surged to a healthy 16.5 percent from 5.2 percent as of Dec 10………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Estimates vary of the size and growth rates of assets held internationally under Islamic finance, but suggest that Islamic finance is a rapidly growing industry. While it represents a small proportion of the global finance market (estimated at 1%- 5% of global share), the Islamic finance industry has experienced double-digit rates of growth annually in recent years (estimated at 10%- 20% annual growth).
Industry experts estimate that assets held under Islamic finance management doubled between 2007 and 2010 to reach around $1 trillion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Resolution Limited has announced that its subsidiary Friends Life has signed a shareholders’ agreement with AMAB Holdings Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AmBank Group, in connection with AmFamily Takaful Berhad a joint venture company which will manufacture and sell Shariah compliant family takaful business in which Friends Life holds a 30 per cent shareholding.
Friends Life and AMAB were conditionally granted a licence to manufacture and sell takaful business, which is the Islamic alternative to conventional life insurance business, through a new joint venture company in Malaysia in 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Petroleum (QP) has completed a $10.4 billion financing of its Barzan gas project even though a difficult economic climate has put a freeze on global syndicated lending. The project will be funded with up to 30 percent equity and the remainder through a syndicated loan expected to total $7.2 billion, the company said.
The financing includes a commercial bank facility of $3.34 billion, a $850-million Islamic facility and $2.55 billion of export credit agency financing, the statement said. ExxonMobil , QP’s partner in the project, also provided a portion of the senior debt………………………………………..Full Article: Source