Establishing a corporation in 2010 to create and issue short-term Shariah-compliant financial instruments to improve cross-border Islamic liquidity management was a great idea. And it still is – despite the group not conducting a single issue or releasing any press statements.
Many in the Islamic finance community found an opportunity in the global financial crisis to boast or at least be a little smug………………………………………..Full Article: Source

If Islamic finance is ever to be anything more than a poor relation of the conventional credit markets, those responsible for guiding the sector need to learn to adapt. The indecision and disputes that can delay deals at the moment will only get worse as issuers look to push into more innovative areas.
Scholars that stand in the way of progress may well find themselves sidelined. It is often argued that Muslim countries have a natural inclination to move towards a model in which Shariah-compliant finance dominates………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A body promoting development of debt sales to tackle climate change, with sponsors including National Australia Bank Ltd. and HSBC Holdings Plc, plans to spur green Islamic bond markets as the Middle East diversifies from oil.
The Climate Bonds Initiative, which has advisers from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch, will set up a panel to help create financial products complying with Islamic shariah law, Chairman Sean Kidney said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Zain Saudi Arabia, the country’s third-largest mobile operator, is in talks with lenders to refinance its $2.5bn Islamic syndicated loan that matures in July, banking sources close to the deal said.
The firm has come under pressure to restructure its capital after losses pushed it close to a limit on capital losses imposed by the bourse. The original Murabaha loan was secured in 2009 to back the company’s network expansion, with two tranches consisting of $775m and SR6.46bn ($1.72bn)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

“The Tunisian Government will seek to establish a legal framework to regulate the Islamic economy in Tunisia,” said, Monday, Interim Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, adding that the country plans to become “a regional centre of Islamic finance.”
Hamadi Jebali also said “Tunisia needs 35 to 45 billion dollars in financing in the next five years to carry out its development projects. Islamic banks, at the forefront of which the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), can provide part of these funds, he indicated………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) launched Greenex, or Green Index, which will calibrate the performances of companies in terms of carbon emissions. The choice of firms is made on the basis of their greenhouse emissions in the last four financial years.
In late 2010, it launched the BSE Shariah Index. Shariah, the religious law of Muslims, has strictures relating to finance and commerce — to be abided by the faithful. Arab investors invest in ‘clean’ stocks only. The National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, has its Shariah index — S&P CNX Nifty Shariah………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new UAE law regulating the growing Islamic insurance industry will provide more transparency and oversight but the extra costs of compliance may drive consolidation in a fragmented market, lawyers said.
The Islamic insurance, or takaful, law was issued Sunday, placing companies under the jurisdiction of the Insurance Authority of the United Arab Emirates and giving them a year to reorganize their processes. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Yaseen Anwar, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has expressed the hope that Pakistan’s Islamic banking industry is all set to double its market share in the next five years. He said that Islamic banking industry in Pakistan is growing at a fast pace and maintaining an average growth rate of 30 percent over the past six years.
He said the Islamic banking industry’s asset base has reached Rs. 641 billion which constitutes almost 8 percent of the overall banking industry while deposits represent 8.5 percent of the banking system’s deposits………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd has turned in another strong set of results for its financial year ended December 31, 2011, registering a 36.5 per cent jump in its profit before zakat and tax to RM470.1 million, a feat that the bank largely attributed to its organic growth strategy.
Bank Islam managing director Datuk Zukri Samat said the organic strategy had helped the bank to pull off another year of respectable financial performance, particularly through a solid financing growth, a well diversified product, relentless improvement in asset quality, and growing contribution from non-fund based income………………………………………..Full Article: Source

ITS (International Turnkey Systems) Group, a solution provider for both Islamic and conventional banks, announced that it has completed deploying its ETHIX Core solution for Islamic banking at Capinnova Investment Bank, the Shari’a compliant investment banking arm of BBK.
Capinnova is an independent provider of world-class Shari’a compliant investment products and services for corporate businesses, high net worth individuals, family businesses and government institutions, regionally and globally. (press Release)

Solid fundamentals will support a resumption of strong long-term economic growth and secure Bahrain’s long-term future as a wealth management centre of excellence, said a top government official.
‘Bahrain remains committed to ensuring that the same core business fundamentals remain in place,’ remarked Economic Development Board (EDB) chief executive Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Oman’s Renaissance Services said on Tuesday it will ask shareholders to approve plans for a 40m rials ($103.9 million) offering of zero coupon convertible bonds.
The approval will be sought at a shareholder meeting on March 25, the oil services firm said in a filing to the Muscat Securities Market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The UAE expects its first ever federal sovereign bond issue to be around $1bn after a public debt law is approved, a senior finance ministry official on Tuesday was quoted as saying.
The UAE’s top advisory council passed a new public debt bill in December 2010, aiming to establish a local debt market in one of the world’s top five oil exporters, but the legislation is still awaiting presidential approval it needs to become law………………………………………..Full Article: Source