Banking in line with Islamic law or Shari’ah still achieves growth rates above 15 percent per year, but in Dubai, the Islamic banking Mecca, times are over when all market participants could enjoy “free lunch” simply launching a product or service being labeled “Islamic.”
According to global consultancy Ernst and Young, the global Islamic Finance will hit the mark of 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars in 2012, up from 826 billion dollars in 2011. However, a closer look at recent developments reveals a mixed picture………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With an estimated worth of around $1.1 trillion in global assets, Islamic finance has experienced continuous growth against a backdrop of global economic turmoil affecting conventional markets.
While the appeal to gain exposure to safer and better performing alternatives is strong, the continuing lag in sharia rules harmonisation is putting a dampener on the market’s potential. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

A small number of elite Shariah scholars ought to help bring consistency and standardization to Islamic finance around the world, but that’s a red herring.
Last month, word began to circulate that Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s (ADIB) Shariah advisory board had rejected a proposed sukuk programme from Goldman Sachs as inappropriate for Islamic investment.Lacking formal confirmation from either party, observers in the industry started trying to second-guess the outcome and reasoning by looking at who was on the Shariah board………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An Islamic bond could be the first corporate-level issuance in the capital markets by a leading Middle Eastern national oil company.
Qatar Petroleum (QP), one of the world’s largest state-owned oil and gas companies, is considering a debut corporate-level issuance in the capital markets, according to senior management………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A flood of money into the bonds of Saudi Arabian property developer Dar Al Arkan is due to renewed confidence in the company’s ability to repay its debt, but also to a general scramble to buy Saudi assets as the economy booms.
The yield on the company’s $1 billion, 2.817 percent floating rate sukuk, due to mature this July, has plunged from above 25 percent at the start of January to around 8 percent now as it became clear the Islamic bond would be repaid on schedule………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Bonds Corporation (NBC), the Shariah-compliant saving scheme, on Saturday announced a profit rate of up to 2 per cent for 2011, the lowest since its inception in 2006. The company had announced a profit rate of 3.78 per cent for 2010 and 3.54 per cent for 2009.
In a statement, Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, CEO, NBC, said: “The year passed posed many challenges for investors as the global economy struggled to recover from the crippling effects of the financial crisis and regional unrest destabilized many economies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

KFH Research prepared a report about the future of Islamic finance in Africa that said that there are various promising opportunities for the growth and development of Islamic banking in Africa; especially North African countries, in addition to Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. It is worth noting that South Africa is a market with great potential for Islamic banking transactions.
In addition, the report mentioned that Africa hosts 38 Islamic finance institutions, and stressed that most African countries have amended their legislations to allow Islamic institutions to operate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Baraka Banking Group BSC, a Bahraini Islamic lender, is seeking to buy about 75 percent of an Indonesian bank before the end of this year, Chief Executive Officer Adnan Yousif said.
Al Baraka is in talks with the Chinese shareholders of the non-Shariah compliant bank and expects to invest as much as $100 million in the deal, Manama-based Yousif said in a phone interview today. He declined to provide the bank’s name. “We would like to do it before the end of the year,” he said. Al Baraka will “inject new capital and turn it into an Islamic bank.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a top-tier Islamic financial services group, has been named the ‘Best Islamic Bank in the UAE’ for the second year consecutive year by Islamic Finance News.
In addition, ADIB won the ‘Best Syndicated Deal of the Year 2011’ for its leading role as a mandated lead arranger & Book runner in the innovatively structured deal of Dh250 million syndicated Islamic financing deal for the Emirates National Factory for Plastic Industries (ENPI)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CIMB Bank aims to approve SPD 100 million ($79.8 million) this year for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the republic.
“We are targeting about $100 million for SME financing this year. At the moment, we already have about S$30 million on our balance sheet with a healthy pipeline for the full year. The take-up rate of Islamic financing for SMEs has been encouraging although it is very early days for the industry in Singapore,” said Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, CIMB Group’s Head of Group for the Islamic banking division at CIMB………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The CIMB Islamic Bank plans to launch the Ar-Rahnu Islamic pawnbroking business in Malaysia in the second half of this year following the success of the similar business in Indonesia under CIMB Niaga Syariah, said chief executive officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani.
“We’ve been fairly successful in our Ar-Rahnu business in Indonesia and it’s time for us to do the business here. We”ve obtained Bank Negara’s approval and once we finalise our delivery framework, we’ll launch the business most likely in the east coast………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Takaful insurance across the Middle East and South East Asia has seen rapid growth over the past five years. Francesca Nyman reports on what the future looks like for this sector.
The takaful insurance industry has seen remarkable growth over the past five years. Global takaful contributions grew by 31% in 2009 to reach $7bn, and by the end of 2011 the market was thought to have a value of $12bn, according to Ernst & Young………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi National Takaful Company (ADNTC) has posted a net profit for 2011 of AED 24.4 million compared to AED 21.0 million for 2010, up by 16.2 per cent.
Gross Takaful contributions increased from AED 149.9 million to AED 196.6 million, a growth of 31.2 per cent. Basic earnings per share for the year were at AED 0.27 compared to AED 0.23, a rise of 17.4 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source