Small and medium-sized Islamic banks may need to merge if they want to become bigger regional players capable of filling the funding hole left by shrinking Western banks, the head of Islamic finance at Deutsche Bank, told Reuters.
“There are mismatch challenges,” Salah Jaidah said on the sidelines of the Euromoney Islamic finance summit in London. “Their size, their appetite for long term funding, their ability to finance at competitive pricing. I see this as a big challenge and not happening already now,” he added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s oldest Islamic lender Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd may assume the listing status of its parent company BIMB Holdings Bhd, the Business Times said on Thursday, citing unidentified sources.
BIMB, which owns 51 percent of Bank Islam, is discussing the move that will simplify BIMB’s group structure and potentially improve valuations, one of the sources told the widely read business daily………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Adnan Ahmed Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer of Al Baraka Banking Group and Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks, said that the Islamic banking in the Sultanate will spread and will achieve more than 20 per cent of the domestic banking during the next five years.
Adnan Yusuf revealed in an interview with Oman Economic the interest of ABG to enter the Islamic banking sector in the Sultanate but due to factors related to the policy of the group towards the form of ownership, Al Baraka Group is currently considering the possibility of managing a bank in the Sultanate or engaging in Islamic finance if the new banking laws permit so………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Barwa Bank, a closely-held Sharia- compliant lender and Qatar’s newest bank, plans to apply for a credit rating next year before a possible debt offering.
“On the back of a strong set of numbers in 2011 and what we hope will be a good set of results in 2012, we will seek a rating in 2013,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Troop said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

International Turnkey Systems (ITS), a leading solution provider for Islamic and conventional banks, has completed deploying its Ethix Core solution for Islamic banking at Capinnova Investment Bank, the Sharia-compliant investment banking arm of BBK.
“Despite tough market conditions, the Islamic banking and investment sector continues to show promise and positive growth on a global scale,” said Capinnova head of operations and support Naveed Anjum………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has pledged to provide financing of US$ 668 million for major infrastructure works across the Muslim world, including a US$ 229 million loan for a 304 km high speed railway line between Ankara and Konya in Turkey.
IDB will fund a number of other transport projects, including a US$ 15.4 million loan to Sierra Leone for the construction of its Pendembu-Kailahum Road project and US$ 15 million for Niger for its Arlita-Assamaka road project on the border with Algeria………………………………………..Full Article: Source

President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Yassar Sakhi Butt has said that banks should develop innovative, cost effective and business friendly Islamic Banking products to facilitate the smooth growth of business activities in the country.
The ICCi President was inaugurating the UBL AMEEN, Melody Market Branch, Islamabad on Thursday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Jordan-based Bank of Jordan (BOJ), Jordan Islamic Bank (JIB), The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance (HBTF), and Cairo Amman Bank’s (CABK) Support Ratings to ‘4′ from ‘3′. The Support Rating Floor for BOJ and JIB has been revised to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-’. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this release.
These rating actions reflect a weakening in the state of Jordan’s creditworthiness. Higher domestic borrowing and dependence on foreign grants to meet public expenditure needs have weakened government finances………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A delegation from the Northern University -(Universiti Utara) - of Malaysia (UUM) visited the University of Bahrain (UoB). The delegation met yesterday with the dean of business manamgent faculty Dr. Monawer Al-Shimmari, and a number of professors.
Both sides discussed scopes of cooperation, especially in the curriculum of Islamic banking………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A controversial plan by Goldman Sachs to issue an Islamic bond has ignited a wider debate on whether conventional banks in the West should be allowed to engage in Islamic finance. At a major conference of Islamic scholars and bankers in London this week, much of the public and private discussion was devoted to whether growing Western interest in Islamic finance could damage the industry by compromising its religious principles.
Some participants argued investment banks such as Goldman should be banned from issuing Islamic bonds, or sukuk, because the funds they raised could help to finance other parts of their business that did not comply with sharia or Islamic law………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In fact sukuk are a perfect Islamic alternative to treasury bond to finance budget deficit. They work better in the public sector than in the private one. The budget in Egypt has several development projects such as roads, railroads, airports, etc. The government issues sukuk for these projects and their like as follows:
A wakalah (proxy) given by sukuk holders to the specific authority to construct the road whose cost is 2 billion Dollars; the road, say, takes 2 years to be built and then the government rents it for 10 years, a rent which ends with ownership, i.e., with payment of its cost price over this period………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With Islamic finance now gaining presence around the globe, World Finance is pleased to present the winners of the Islamic Finance Awards, acknowledging the exemplary actors in this exciting sector. Recent growth in the sector has been enormous: It had an estimated $1.2trn of assets under management as of the end of 2011 - a sum which is expected to quadruple within the next three years.

Interest in Islamic products outside of indigenous markets has grown, and with it has come wider exposure of the benefits that the products have to offer. The ethical approach to lending propagated by Islamic financial products has proved very appealing to investors. (Press Release)

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) reconfirmed BBB ‘Stable’ long-term counter-party credit and insurer financial strength ratings to Takaful Re Limited (TRL), a Dubai International Financial Centre-based re-takaful operator.
Takaful Re is a subsidiary of Bahrain-based Arab Insurance Group. According to S&P, the rating is based on Takaful Re’s strong capitalisation, strong liquidity, and supportive shareholders, focused on fostering the development of the re-takaful industry………………………………………..Full Article: Source