When you hear the words Islamic art, you may think it’s strictly religious art devoted to the Muslim faith. While some of the work was indeed created in service to Islam, to think so narrowly about this vast, valuable and diverse category of art could hurt you as an investor.
“Islamic art is anything that was produced under Islamic rule from the dawn of Islam in 622,” says Sara Plumbly, director of sales for Christie’s in London. Annually, Christie’s, Bonhams and Sotheby’s hold four auctions of the works………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Brunei is on the right track with its recent take in sukuk structuring and issuance over the recent years to aid the Sultanate’s infrastructural development, said an Islamic Finance scholar. “Though the market is relatively small in Brunei for now, I believe there’s a lot that sukuk can contribute in terms of infrastructure project financing for Brunei’s megaprojects,” said Sheikh Faizal Manjoo.
“The sky’s the limit when it comes to infrastructure financing through this Islamic concept. In the African continent, for example, infrastructure financing amounted to US$700 billion, with €400 billion for a project to bring African solar energy to Europe,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The idea that “markets hate uncertainty” is a cliche, but it has proved all too correct this month for Dana Gas. An information vacuum after a board meeting on Jan. 4 to discuss the company’s financial position, coupled with uncertainty over how the company intends to repay $920 million of a $1 billion convertible sukuk (Islamic bond) when it matures in October, caused the market to turn on the UAE energy firm.
Its share price dropped 17 percent in three days and the sukuk price slid on Monday to 64 cents on the bid side in the secondary market, according to Thomson Reuters data………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egypt may issue an Islamic bond or alternatively certificates of deposit in foreign currency for Egyptians abroad, the finance minister said.
“We are studying issuing sukuk,” or Islamic bonds, Mumtaz el-Saeed said today by telephone in Cairo. “We are comparing the benefits of issuing certificates of deposit with those of sukuk for Egyptians abroad,” adding that his preference is for the certificates. The government hopes to issue one or the other during the current fiscal year ending June 30, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkey’s Islamic banks gave most loans to construction companies and will continue lending to Turkish firms this year, Sabah reported.
The industry awarded 14.8 billion liras ($8 billion) of loans to constructors as of November, 6.5 billion liras to trade and retail companies and 3.8 billion liras to textile firms, the Istanbul-based newspaper said citing Fahrettin Yahsi, chief executive of Albaraka Turk Katilim Bankasi AS (ALBRK) and head of an association representing the banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banks are anticipated to come out strong in 2019 the target year regulators have set for the full implementation of the Basel III framework since these Syariah-compliant institutions already have the basics in meeting the requirements of the new regulations.
“I don’t believe Islamic banks will have an issue meeting the Basel III requirements,” said the CEO of CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd Malaysia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIBK) led declines in the nation’s banking stocks after profit missed analysts’ estimates and the Shariah-compliant lender reduced its dividend.
The shares of the Persian Gulf country’s biggest Islamic bank dropped 3.1 percent, the most since March 14, to 80.3 riyals, at the 1 p.m. close in Doha. Doha Bank QSC (DHBK) lost 2.9 percent after reporting earnings that matched estimates……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investors in Qatar Islamic Bank were left wanting this week after disappointing earnings from the Sharia-compliant lender. The bank, based in Doha, had been expected to take large chunks of market share from conventional banks forced to shed their Islamic units last year.
Qatar Islamic Bank’s stocks fell 3.1 per cent to 80.3 Qatari rials each after reporting profits of 1.3 billion rials last year, an increase of 2.2 per cent compared with the year earlier………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Driven by faith which prohibits usury, Pakistanis are increasingly turning to Islamic banking, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the South Asian Muslim country.
“The first and foremost reason behind growth of Islamic banking is religion,” Muzzamil Aslam, a Karachi-based economist, told OnIslam.net………………………………………..Full Article: Source

First National Bank’s sharpie banking division is in a state of flux after it was hit by a corporate governance scandal in which its chief executive, Obi Patel, was put on “special leave” for almost a month while an internal probe was conducted. Patel has been reinstated, but is facing disciplinary action.
There has also been a mass exodus of members of the sharpie board, which is meant to approve products. There were claims of misappropriation of funds, conflicts of interest, unfair labour practices, and mistreatment of staff, board illegitimacy and fraud………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ahli Bank SAOG plans to set up an Islamic banking division, Muscat Daily said, citing a statement from the lender.
The creation of a Sharia-compliant arm is subject to approval from the Central Bank of Oman, the newspaper said. The Islamic banking unit will include branches throughout the country………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Doha Bank, Qatar’s fifth largest bank, posted a 49.4 percent jump in fourth-quarter net profit, on increased lending and deposits, but the result missed two analysts’ average forecast.
Net profit climbed to 230 million riyals ($63.2 million), according to Reuters calculations, up from 154 million riyals a year earlier but still missing an average forecast from two analysts of 267.6 million riyals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Moody’s upgrade of Indonesia’s credit status to investment grade is set to spur capital inflows into the country, with fund managers tipping that to mainly benefit government bonds and stocks with exposure to domestic consumption, such as PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk .
“The interesting area for Indonesia here is the sukuk bonds. For some Middle East buyers who could not invest earlier because it was not investment grade, this is a new thing for them, which is good,” said Guan Ong, Principal at Blue Rice Investment Management, a hedge fund that specialises in fixed income………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It remains unclear what exactly an Islamist-controlled government could mean for the Egyptian economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism. In recent months, talk from Islamist politicians about limiting alcohol sales and dictating conservative beach attire have spurred fears that an Islamic government may toe a conservative line and crack down on industries they consider in contravention of Islamic Sharia law.
Representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which will control about 40 percent of the incoming parliament, and the Nour Party have both expressed a desire for a list of stocks for Sharia-compliant companies on the Egyptian market and the introduction of policies that would eventually foster a stock market that would be entirely religiously acceptable………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) is currently in the process of revising its Capital Adequacy Standard (IFSB-2) for institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS), which was issued in 2005. The IFSB Secretary-General Mr. Jaseem Ahmed stated that, “Parallel to the developments taking place in the Basel Committee, we started our revision process in January 2011″.
He added that the adoption of components of capital proposed by the Basel III for IIFS need further deliberations by the stakeholders of the Islamic financial services industry. He highlighted specific issues related to the appropriate treatment of subordinated debt, hybrid debt capital, convertible contingent capital and other types of Shari`ah-compliant instruments/Sukuk as a part of capital. These issues are among those identified by the IFSB working group entrusted with the task of revising IFSB-2. The final draft of the revised document is planned for issuance by the IFSB Council in 2013. (Press Release)