The expanding shariah-compliant investment fund universe has been attracting more and more fans from outside the Islamic world, as their overall volume of capital under management grows and attention shifts to alternative products and asset types not implicated in the post-2008 crisis.
According to the Ernst & Young Islamic Funds and Investments Report 2011, “the Islamic funds industry grew to US$58 billion in 2010, achieving a 7.6% growth. The Islamic fund universe comprises of some 100 fund managers”. With change and development sweeping through the Islamic world, shariah-compliant investing seems only destined to grow further………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic finance scholars should be regulated in line with other professionals such as lawyers and accountants, says David Gray, the director of supervision at the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
Under DFSA rules, which apply to companies operating within the Dubai International Financial Centre framework, firms offering Islamic services must have a Sharia supervisory board made up of “competent” scholars………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Climate Bonds Initiative, the Clean Energy Business Council of the Middle East and North Africa and The Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association have launched a Green Sukuk Working Group.
The group aims to channel market expertise to develop best practices and promote the issuance of Sukuk for the financing of climate change investments and projects, such as renewable energy projects………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new type of financing is being developed to encourage millions of pounds worth of long-term investment in green technology, in particular from the Islamic community.
Hundreds of billions of pounds worth of investment in green technology is required around the world to create the low-carbon future. However, many projects are unattractive to some investors because of their long-term nature………………………………………..Full Article: Source

International Islamic (QIIB) is set to capitalise on the growing demand for Shariah-based financial services in Qatar and projects up to 20% growth in the bank’s overall business in 2012.
QIIB CEO Abdulbasit A.al-Shaibei said the bank was “quite optimistic” about 2012 given Qatar’s strong fundamentals and pace of growth………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Affin Holdings Bhd expects its plan to set up Islamic banking operations in China to materialise in the second half of this year. Deputy chairman Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said Affin Holdings would collaborate with its shareholder, Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA), to offer Islamic banking products in China.
BEA, which holds some 23% of Affin Holdings, is the biggest foreign bank in China………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman’s first Islamic bank’s (Bank Nizwa) RO60 million initial public offering (IPO) may be floated in April, even as the bank authorities are planning to unveil their programmes for the first time to the media on March 10.
Although high-ranking officials involved in setting up the bank are tight-lipped on the plans, sources at the bank’s issue manager said that Bank Nizwa will have a paid-up capital of RO150 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Takaful Emarat - Insurance P.S.C., a Dubai-based Shariah-compliant life and health insurance company, started a 20 million Saudi riyal ($5.3 million) equity fund, Chief Executive Officer Ghassan Marrouche said.
“It’s a global equity investment fund that protects 90 percent of the capital,” he said in an interview in Dubai. “The expected annual rate of return is between 3 to 5 percent.” The fund is managed by Riyad Capital, Marrouche said………………………………………..Full Article: Source