Dana Gas has appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on its $920 million convertible sukuk, three sources said, in a move to address investor concern over how it will repay the Islamic bond. The Gulf energy firm’s shares have been battered by fears it might struggle to honour the debt due in October.
A statement by the company earlier on Tuesday that it would meet its debt obligations and that it had hired an international adviser drew a muted response from investors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The yield on Dana Gas PJSC’s $1 billion Islamic bonds fell the most on record after the United Arab Emirates energy company promised to meet debt obligations.
The rate on the 7.5 percent sukuk due in October dropped 19 percentage points to 52.7 percent at 6:53 p.m. in Dubai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The price climbed to 72.56 cents on the dollar. Dana Gas shares closed unchanged at 34 fils after earlier gaining as much as 8.8 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sukuk issuance in 2012 will increase by 25-30% to break the USD 200 billion barrier, despite challenges that face prosperity of this industry, such as the financial struggles of some European countries and their effect on the rest of the world, a report prepared by KFH-Research about the horizons of global Sukuk in 2012 expected.
The report noted that several positive indicators forecast a brighter future for Sukuk during this year, such as the increasing role of governmental issuance that will form the backbone of the market to boost the private sector and finance major developmental projects;……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) has raised an additional RM2.5bil, which was RM1bil more than originally planned, in Islamic debt to finance its power plants and transmission system projects.
Chief executive officer Torstein Dale Sjotveit said SEB had decided to increase the issuance of its sukuk to RM2.5bil from RM1.5bil due to overwhelming response from investors. “This second issuance of RM2.5bil was heavily oversubscribed (total subscription was RM6.2bil) at very attractive rates……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A growing number of local investors are viewing Gulf sukuk as a safe investment option amid continuing volatility across regional equity markets.
Emirates Islamic Bank, a unit of Emirates NBD, announced yesterday it had completed the issuance of $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) worth of sukuk maturing in 2017. Last week, Abu Dhabi-based lender First Gulf Bank said its $500 million sukuk was oversubscribed 2.8 times, fetching $1.4 billion in the process………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Brunei Darussalam possesses a conducive environment for a strong Islamic finance sector and has the potential to be an Islamic finance hub for the global market if it looks outwards, said an Islamic finance scholar.
“The advantage you have in Brunei, it’s a Muslim majority country and it’s among the few countries in the world where there are royal decrees to facilitate the laws legally,” said Sheikh Faizal Manjoo………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The government issued a tax regulation on sharia businesses. The regulation stipulates income tax on sharia funding businesses and banking activities.
“The regulation is an effort to synchronize tax regulations with sharia business practices,” Dedi Rudaedi, the Finance Ministry’s tax directorate general’s public relations and service director, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The issue of Islamic finance has taken centre stage in Morocco after the Justice and Development Party’s (PJD) electoral triumph. Supporters of sharia-compliant banking pin hopes on the new government to create the first Islamic bank in the kingdom.
The PJD has talked of promoting Islamic finance on a number of occasions. Just a few days after his appointment as prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane received a visit from Sheikh Khalid Bin Thani Al Thani, president of the Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), who set out plans for establishing an Islamic investment bank and insurance company in Morocco………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd is targeting at least RM200mil in total assets under management for the three new Dublin-based undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) for Islamic funds by year-end, said its chief executive Datuk Noripah Kamso.
She said CIMB-Principal Islamic, as an investment manager and master distributor of the funds, would commence the management of the funds by next month. The three equity UCITS funds comprised of the Islamic Global Emerging Markets Fund, the Islamic Asia-Pacific ex-Japan Fund and the Islamic Asean Equity Fund………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Two major Saudi lenders, Al-Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank, posted higher fourth-quarter results on Tuesday, but missed analyst expectations. The Kingdom’s biggest Islamic lender, Al-Rajhi, posted a 13.9 percent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit, as it made SR1.899 billion ($506.3 million) in the three months ending Dec. 31.
Seven analysts surveyed by Reuters expected Al-Rajhi to post an average of SR1.914 billion for the fourth-quarter. “The reason for the rise in profits for the twelve months ending Dec. 31 is the increase in returns from operating income,” Al-Rajhi said in a bourse statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ahlibank, one of the fastest growing banks in the Sultanate, is planning to set up an independent Islamic banking window and launching of its Islamic banking operations in accordance with the injunctions of Sharia, subject to approval from Central Bank of Oman (CBO).
The bank’s Islamic banking operations will be segregated from its conventional counterpart in all aspects. Furthermore, in line with CBO requirements, the bank will also have four-member Shari’ah board to ensure the operations are in compliance with Sharia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has appointed Mohamed Salem al-Falasi as its senior vice president, responsible for the lender’s central operations and administration, DIB said.
Falasi was most recently the head of direct sales and alternative channels at one of the regional banks, DIB said. In his new role, Falasi will report to the deputy CEO, chief operating officer………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar National Bank, the Gulf country’s biggest lender, signed an agreement to buy a majority stake in the Morocco-based Union Marocaine des Banques, according to astatement by the Doha lender on Tuesday.
The acquisition is subject to the approval of regulators in both countries and is part of Qatar National’s strategy to expand its presence in Africa, where it already operates in Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Mauritania, the lender said in the statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) approved funding of US$ 321.8 million for Muslim communities across the world at the recent meeting of the board of executive directors.
The IDB funding includes US$ 140 million finance for the Sindh Province of Pakistan to develop wind-powered electricity. Remote areas of Sindh Province are still without electricity………………………………………..Full Article: Source