Islamic Bank of Asia announced two senior appointments that it said will drive the bank’s focus on investment banking and establish greater links between the Middle East and Asia.

Harish Parameswar was appointed a managing director and head of investment banking and will be based in Singapore. And Saleh Al Nashwan joined as the chief representative for the Islamic Bank of Asia’s Bahrain representative office……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic finance has increased exponentially in the last decade, with transactions worth more than one billion billion dollars in 2011, but is yet to pass the 1% mark in global financial movements, because of a series of internal issues that see the system trapped between Sharia law, upon which it is based, and economic laws governing international markets.
Islamic finance assets in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region increased by 416 billion dollars in 2010, a cumulative annual increase of 20% against growth of less than 9% for traditional banks, according to the Oxford Business Group’s recently presented Abu Dhabi 2011 report……………………………………….Full Article: Source

There is currently a tremendous opportunity for Kuwait to profile itself as a hub for Islamic finance and Islamic banking, according to Belgian academic and economist Professor Laurent Marliere.

“The winners of the upcoming Kuwaiti elections could take a challenger’s position in the region and benefit from he numerous advantages of the country to pioneer new ways of conceiving Islamic finance,” he told the Kuwait ews agency, KUNA, on the occasion of the upcoming polls in the Gulf country……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan may soon become a regional Islamic financing centre and play a significant role in boosting cooperation in Islamic banking with Persian Gulf and Central Asian countries.
Islamic financing is one of the fastest growing segments of the global financial services industry worldwide. At the same time, interest in Islamic finance as a source of investment is high in the country, reported Azerbaijan’s news agency, Trend……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s economy, the largest in the Arab world, is likely to maintain its gross domestic product growth rate of 6.8% this year due to the kingdom’s expansionary budget, which will play a vital role in supporting the economy, the nation’s finance minister said.
Separately, Al-Assaf said that the General Authority of Civil Aviation, which earlier this year announced its first ever sukuk, or Islamic bond, offering, was planning a second sukuk this year to help fund construction of the SAR27.1 billion new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. GACA offered sukuk valued at SAR15 billion to investors on Jan. 10 and the offering was three times oversubscribed……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) posted a 38.5 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, helped by lower impairment provisions and higher interest income, sparking a late rally in the lender’s stock. ADCB, the third largest lender in Abu Dhabi by market value, posted a net profit of 514 million UAE dirhams (139.94 million US dollars) in the fourth quarter, compared with 371 million dirhams a year earlier, a bank statement said.
Analysts polled by Reuters forecast an average fourth-quarter net profit of 570 million dirhams. Reuters earlier calculated a quarterly net profit of 529 million dirhams based on the lender’s previous financial statements……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Shaikh Salim Said al Fannah al Araimi, Chairman, Board of Directors — Bank Sohar, has announced that Bank Sohar has made a net profit of RO 14.497 million for the year 2011, which is 41.8 per cent higher than the previous year’s net profit of RO 10.220 million.

As a result and subject to the Central Bank of Oman’s and bank’s shareholders’ approval the Board of Directors has recommended a cash dividend of 8 per cent for the year which corresponds to eight baisas per share. The Board of Directors has also recommended a rights issue to the tune of RO 10 million to its existing shareholders to be used as capital for the Islamic window to be created……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic Bank of Britain has launched its first high street outlet in West Yorkshire with a new agency serving the Bradford district. The move follows the recent appointment of Sohaib Hamid as business development manager for the region. The IBB agency, located within Reeds Rains Estate Agents on Northgate, Dewsbury, is one of six agencies being opened by the bank this year.

It will serve customers across the West Yorkshire region including Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Commercial Bank of Qatar (Commercialbank) has posted a record net profit of QR1.88bn, up 15 percent, for the year ended December 2011 with an increase in fourth quarter net profit of 22 percent compared with the same period in 2010.
The Bank’s draft results for the year ended December 31, 2011, have been announced following approval at a meeting of Commercialbank’s Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is recommending, for approval at the Annual General Assembly, a cash dividend payout of 78 percent of net profit which equates to QR6 per share……………………………………….Full Article: Source

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the largest Kuwaiti bank and the highest-rated in the Middle East, on Thursday reported net profits of USD 1.086 billion (KD 302.4 million) in 2011 compared with USD 1.083 bmillion (KD 301.7 million) in 2010.
NBK Group’s total assets stood at USD 48.9 billion (KD 13.6 billion), up 5.6% compared to 2010, while total shareholders’ equity rose by 4.5% Y-o-Y to USD 7.8 billion (KD 2.2 billion). NBK Group’s net operating income grew by 8.4% Y-o-Y reaching USD 1,939 million (KD 540 million)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is discussing opportunities for greater cooperation in the energy sector with Azerbaijani government, source in the Baku office of the bank told Trend. The mission of the IDB leading by the acting head of energy department Mugabil Hussein was in Baku from January 23 to January 25.

“The mission was provided with information on the energy sector during the visit. Experts get acquainted with the bank’s current situation in the energy sector, were discussing the possibilities and perspectives of cooperation,” the IDB said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The historic events of 2011 slowed launch activity of mutual funds in the MENA region, from more than 60 in 2010 to 52 in 2011. This was evident in conventional fund launches - from 42 in 2010 to 34 in 2011- while Islamic fund launches decreased only slightly from 19 to 18.

More than half of the funds launched in 2011 were of the equity asset class, traditionally the most common one. Compared to two exchange-traded funds launched in 2010, only one ETF was launched in 2011, emphasizing the slow progress of this nascent product in the region……………………………………….Full Article: Source