Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, plans to issue Islamic bonds soon to finance government projects, Central Bank Governor Mohamed Awad Bin Humam said.
“We have plans with the Finance Ministry to issue Islamic bonds to finance government projects and other sukuk,” Bin Humam said. “We will try to do so as soon as possible.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

In September 2011, Goldman Sachs announced it would issue a $2 billion Shariah Compliant Islamic Bond derivative known as a “Sukuk” to finance its current business operations.
However, by Feb. 15, 2012, despite Goldman Sachs’ many acts of obeisance in the service of capital, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s Shariah scholars decided that Goldman Sach’s Islamic bond program was “noncompliant with Shariah.” Why? Because Middle East petrodollar funding must be used to strengthen Middle East petrodollar goals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

DIFC Investments (DIFCI), the investment arm of the firm that runs Dubai’s financial free zone, has hired US investment bank Moelis & Co to advise on options for a $1.25bn Islamic bond maturing in June, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The DIFCI bond, along with a $2bn Islamic bond from Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) which matures later this year, are in the spotlight as investors weigh Dubai’s refinancing risks in 2012………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The flagship fixed-income fund’s objective is to generate regular income as well as achieve capital appreciation by investing in globally-diversified Shari’ah-compliant fixed-income securities (Sukuk) issued by sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate organisations.
The structure of the fund is open-ended and the initial offering period will last for one month beginning February 19, 2012. Investors will be able to allot a minimum subscription of $10,000 at an initial NAV of $10 per unit, representing one of the market’s lowest subscription amounts………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Co, the Gulf’s biggest dairy firm by market value, plans to start a roadshow this week to issue a riyal denominated sukuk, or Islamic bond, the firm said in a bourse statement on Saturday.
“Subject to market conditions, Almarai will hold several meetings this week with interested investors,” the firm said in the statement. Almarai has mandated HSBC to act as arranger, the statement added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The fund aims to provide investors with income-stabilising and potential growth over the medium-to-long term by investing in local and international Sukuks.
The Fund also invests in Shari’ah-compliant money market funds, term deposits and certificates. The performance of the Fund is measured against a composite benchmark which includes HSBC/NASDAQ Dubai Amanah US Dollar Sukuk Index. One of the main features of the fund is the income distribution, whereby earned income will be distributed to customers on a quarterly basis………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House’s Turkish bank Kuveyt Turk, which issued a $350 million sukuk last year, may issue a lira sukuk in Turkey this year, Murat Cetinkaya, Kuveyt Turk deputy chief executive, told Reuters.
‘This year a lira sukuk issuance is among our priorities,’ Cetinkaya, who is responsible for treasury, international and investment banking at Kuveyt Turk, said in an interview………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A special dividend could be on the cards if the working capital portion of Maxis Bhd’s RM2.45bil sukuk issuance is allocated to shareholders, said analysts.
Maxis is proposing to issue Islamic medium-term notes with a nominal value of up to RM2.45bil based on the sukuk musharakah principle………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesia’s central bank will buy Islamic government debt to help prevent volatility in the bond market and to increase Shariah-compliant financial instruments, Bank Indonesia said in a statement on its website.
“It’s important to improve the Shariah market, also for building stock for us,” Hendar, director of monetary policy at the central bank, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

KFH-Research prepared a report about Islamic wealth management industry around the world. It stated that this industry has great growth potentials during the coming years, in light of the growing number of rich Muslims, constant growth of Islamic assets, and the increasing demand for Shariah compliant services and products in Islamic and non-Islamic countries. It revealed that the volume of Islamic assets reached USD 1.3 billion by the end of last year.
In addition, the report mentioned that the global wealth management sector is expected to grow with an annual average up to 6% from 2012-2015 to reach USD 162 trillion, despite expected slowdown in global economy. Islamic assets have grown at an average rate of 15%-20% per annum over the past decade to reach approximately USD1.3tln in 2011. (Press Release)

Oman’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) has revealed to The Times of Oman that it will favour standalone Takaful companies, which is against the window operations proposed for conventional banks.
“It looks like CMA may not allow window operations (of conventional insurance firms), rather allow standalone companies because conventional insurance is completely different from Takaful insurance. Most of our advisors are in favour of a separate entity,” Abdullah bin Salem al Salmi, Acting Executive President of Capital Market Authority, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Tamkeen has signed an agreement with Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) under which it will add BD10 million ($26.5m) to its Enterprise Financing Scheme, which it offers in partnership with leading financial institutions in the kingdom.
The additional funds raise the total value of the scheme’s financing portfolio to BD169.5m………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Meezan Bank organised an awareness seminar on Islamic banking the other day here at Wazirabad. Consultant Product Department and Sharia of Meezan Bank, Umar Ahmad from Karachi said, “Trade and Riba can not be discussed because there is clear order about illegality of interest and legality of trade by the Almighty Allah”.
He added Meezan Bank has started Islamic banking keeping all principles of Sharia in view………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Simpanan Nasional Bhd (BSN) hopes to sustain a 10 per cent growth in new account holders for all its Islamic banking product this year. The target is based on the good response from BSN’s Islamic banking customers, comprising not only Muslim customers but also non-Muslims.
“We noticed that our Islamic products appeal to all, including the non-Malays,” BSN vice president and Islamic banking head Ahmad Noh Jeni said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s biggest property developer, Dar al-Arkan, plans to repay about 3.7 billion riyals ($986.6 million) of debt this year, its chief financial officer said on Sunday.
Dar al-Arkan has around 4.6 billion riyals of debt maturing this year, including the $1 billion sukuk, or Islamic bond, maturing in July, 200 million riyals which have been rolled over, and 700 million riyals which is expected to be refinanced through an asset-based facility, Anand Raheja said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

According to the Global Islamic Finance Report 2011,1 the Islamic finance industry is valued at $1.14 trillion across more than 70 countries and is growing at an annual rate of 10%. It has been performing extremely well since its creation 40 years ago, and its expansion has accelerated in the past few years, within emerging economies around the world but also in non-Muslim majority regions like Europe.

Its appeal partly lies in its resilience, due to the fact that it is based in the real economy. The size of the global Muslim population—1.3 billion people across more than 50 countries2—contributes to its attractiveness in the eyes of financial institutions, but more recently, firms have also begun to realise that Islamic Finance is not only relevant for Muslim investors, but that it is a type of ethical investment that can appeal to a much broader audience. In fact, many non-Islamic countries have been adapting their financial regulations to enable and promote the adoption of Islamic financial products within their jurisdictions……………………………………….Full Article: Source