Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published a report examining why sukuk issuance is gaining acceptance in markets beyond its established strongholds in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region (see “Global Crisis Boosts Growth In A Lively But Fragmented Sukuk Market”).
In our view, European banks are reducing their overseas exposure as their capital requirements have increased and their domestic economies faltered. Governments in the Middle East and Asia have therefore turned instead to local investors to back their infrastructure projects. Banks in the Middle East and Asia that comply with Sharia law have also demonstrated a strong appetite for new assets that meet their requirements………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Egyptian government, seeking to head off a funding crisis, is preparing to raise about $2bn through its first issue of Islamic bonds, an Islamic scholar familiar with its planning said.
“The Egyptian government is convinced that a foreign currency sukuk will fund the country’s development projects and can also bridge the gap in its currency reserves,” Sheikh Hussein Hamid Hassan told Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia plans to raise as much as 30 billion ringgit ($9.9 billion) through an Islamic bond program to fund construction of a mass railway in the Southeast Asian nation’s capital, the project’s manager said.
Dana Infra Sdn., a finance ministry company created to fund infrastructure development, will sell ringgit-denominated Islamic notes, or sukuk, with maturities of as much as 65 years, Azhar Abdul Hamid, chief executive officer of Mass Rapid Transit Corp., said in an interview late yesterday. It will initially take a bridging loan of 500 million ringgit from a consortium of banks to cover early building work, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has announced that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 190 per cent.
Subscriptions worth BD38 million were received for the BD20m issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days. The expected return on the issue, which begins on February 16 and matures on August 16 is 1.4pc. The Sukuk Al Ijara are issued by the CBB on behalf of the government of Bahrain………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The emirate’s five-year credit default swaps tumbled 50 basis points this year to 395, according to data provider CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market. They remain the fourth-highest in the Middle East.
DIFC Investment’s sukuk were at 96.71 cents on the dollar at 5:53 p.m. in Dubai, near the highest level since November 2007. Jebel Ali Free Zone notes were at 94.68 cents on the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The yield on Dubai’s 5.591 percent government dollar bond due June 2021 has dropped 38 basis points, or 0.38 percentage point, this year to 5.60 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Zahra Private Hospital Dubai, subsidiary of Gulf Medical Projects Company, has signed a AED 360 million finance facility with Noor Islamic Bank and Mashreq Al Islami, the Islamic banking division of Mashreq Bank.
Noor Islamic Bank and Mashreq Al Islami are participating on an equal sharing basis. The seven-year facility agreement was signed by a representative of Al Zahra (PVT) Hospital Dubai, Kazim Ali, Acting Head of Corporate Banking, Noor Islamic Bank and Amr El Nokaly, Senior Vice President and Head-Commercial Banking, Mashreq Al Islami………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates NBD paid just Dh10 to acquire Dubai Bank, the Islamic lender that was rescued by the Government last year. As part of the deal, the nation’s largest bank received Dh2.8bn (US$762.2 million) of funds from the Ministry of Finance and a blanket guarantee from the Dubai Government for losses resulting from the acquisition for the next seven years.
Details of the deal were revealed alongside a 62 per cent fall in net profit for the fourth quarter to Dh152m, which fell short of analysts’ estimates. Earnings for the full year rose 6 per cent to Dh2.48bn………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The acquisition of a struggling Islamic lender by Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD , was bankrolled in part by Abu Dhabi, which helped bail out Dubai over two years ago when it faced a debt crisis.
ENBD, 55.6-percent state owned through the Investment Corporation of Dubai, was ordered by Dubai’s ruler in October to take over loss-making Dubai Bank, which had been rescued by the emirate’s government earlier in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Nigeria’s first licenced Islamic bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, has commenced full operation of non-interest commercial banking in Nigeria from three branches in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.
A staff of the bank in Abuja Office said most of the early customers were groups of business institutions and private individuals from different religious persuasions making enquiries as well as opening different accounts………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Present Goodluck Jonathan asked the Senate to give go ahead to borrow another $7.9billion (N1.3trillion) from the World Bank to fund what he called ‘pipeline projects already at various stages of completion.
But Senate in swift reaction however said the planned borrow does not mean that Nigeria is broke. President Jonathan in a two page letter to the Senate president senator David Mark read on the floor of the senate yesterday said he intend to spread the loan to three years at $2.4billion each year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Morocco might soon create its first Islamic banks. The issue is indeed one of Benkirane government’s priorities: the Parliamentary group of PJD, the moderate Islamic party having won November’s elections, has already finished writing the draft bill to be presented at the Chamber of Deputies, drafted by a team of Party’s experts led by the General Affair and Governance Minister Mohamed Najiib Boulif.
On the financial instruments’ market, the so-called “Islamic” instruments were already partially available, but the institutes managing them had never expressed their interest in the creation of specialized banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

HSBC and Banque Saudi Fransi have helped arrange a $1.2 billion loan for Saudi utility company Marafiq, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency. The Islamic finance Murabaha loan will be used for projects and operations, the report said.
In August 2010, Marafiq got an SAR 2.5 billion, 15-year Murabaha which had banks like Arab National Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, National Commercial Bank, Samba Financial Group, Saudi British Bank (SABB) and Saudi Hollandi Bank on board………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the country’s largest Islamic bank, said on Wednesday its profit fell by 24 per cent in 2011, as the lender put aside money to meet investment losses.
Profit for the year fell to KD80.3 million ($289 million) from KD106 million in 2010, the bank said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Savings accounts that are compliant with Islamic Sharia Law are now common within UK banking. And with competitive rates on offer, people of all religions stand to benefit…
Islamic banking is on the up. Formerly, Britain’s 2.8 million Muslims were forced to compromise either their interest payments or beliefs in the search for a decent savings account. This is because traditional UK banking methods do not adhere to Islamic Sharia law………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Salam Bank - Sudan, has recorded a net profit of about AED 51 million (about USD 14 million) during the year 2011. The announcement came during a recent board meeting held in Al Khartoum, where the board recommended the distribution of 10% as cash dividend to shareholders. The recommendation will be presented during the upcoming General Assembly meeting which is scheduled to take place on March 25th, 2012.
Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Hussein Mohammed Salem Al Meeza, Deputy Vice Chairman and Head of the Executive Committee said: “The financial results that we achieved in 2011 are a solid proof of the efforts exerted by the bank’s executive management, which was able, since the bank’s first year of operation in 2005, to generate profits for its shareholders.” (Press Release)

As the Eurozone debt crisis rages on and the situation in Greece becomes more unstable, British businesses are looking eastward for investment opportunities.
Investors in the UK, fearing contagion from peripheral European countries saddled with insurmountable debt, are increasingly hedging their bets on the Middle East and the Arab Gulf region. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic Finance News (IFN), provider of global research and news on Islamic finance, has named RAM Rating Services Bhd as the Best Islamic Ratings Agency. This followed a poll conducted in November last year by IFN. The awards ceremony was held in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
“While giving RAM Ratings due recognition for its contribution to Islamic finance, it is also a testimony to the success of the government’s initiatives under the Malaysian International Islamic Financial Centre, to position Malaysia as an international Islamic financial hub,” said RAM Holdings’ chairman, Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source