Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
A new report from TheCityUK’s UK Islamic Finance Secretariat (UKIFS) indicates that Islamic finance assets worldwide continued a long run of growth to reach an estimated $1.3 trillion in 2011, 150 per cent up over the previous five years.
Despite political unrest in some countries the industry has continued to expand, not only in its core markets of the Middle East but also in South East Asia and offshore jurisdictions such as Bermuda……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
In an effort to help Islamic financial institutions hedge risk, global standard-setting bodies have launched a standard contract template for Islamic profit rate swaps (PRS).
By exchanging one cash flow for another, PRS function in a similar way to the interest rate swaps (IRS) widely used in conventional financial markets. But they do not use interest rates, which are banned under Islamic principles………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) have launched the ISDA/IIFM Mubadalatul Arbaah (Profit Rate Swap) product standard to be used for Islamic hedging purposes.
The Mubadalatul Arbaah (MA) standard follows on from the ISDA/IIFM Tahawwut (Hedging) Master Agreement and provides the industry with a framework for Islamic risk mitigation………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Saudi British Bank (SABB), the lender 40 percent owned by HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), raised 1.5 billion riyals ($400 million) from a private placement of Islamic bonds.
The bank issued the five-year, floating-rate notes to return 120 basis over the three-month Saudi Interbank Offered Rate (SAIB3M), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. HSBC Saudi Arabia Ltd. was the sole sale manager………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) launched a $1.75 billion two-part Islamic bond, with tighter pricing on the five-and 10-year tranches, indicating strong demand for the first dollar-denominated issue from Saudi Arabia since 2010.
The $500 million five-year portion was launched at a spread of 140 basis points (bps) over midswaps, from 160 bps over midswaps indicated earlier………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Dubai Islamic Bank has repaid a $750 million, five-year Islamic bond which matured on March 22 using its own resources, the bank said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.
The sukuk, which was issued by Dubai’s largest sharia-compliant bank in March 2007, was then oversubscribed by three times, with 45 percent allocation to the Middle East, 25 percentto Asia and 30 percent to Europe………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Jebel Ali Free Zone FZE, a business park operator in Dubai, plans to raise a $900 million syndicated loan to help repay a 7.5 billion-dirham ($2 billion) Islamic bond maturing in November, a banker familiar with the plan said.
The company expects to sell a $500 million sukuk, raise at least $200 million from the sale of its U.K.-based Gazeley Ltd. unit and pay the remaining with its own cash, the banker said, declining to be identified because the information is private………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Malaysia’s national mortgage corporation, Cagamas, on March 28 announced that it has successfully issued a multi-tenured 500 million ringgit (USD167 million) sukuk wakala bil istithmar, representing the first of its kind in the country.
The innovative offering is expected to broaden and diversify Cagamas’ investor base by enhancing the secondary market liquidity of its sukuk through the increased participation of Shariah compliant investors, who would normally hold sukuk, which is deemed as debt instrument until maturity………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Pembinaan BLT Sdn, a construction company owned by Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance, sold 1.35 billion ringgit ($441 million) of Islamic bonds to yield 3.60 percent to 4.4 percent, according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal.
The sukuk, which pay returns on assets to comply with Islam’s ban on interest, attracted orders totaling 4.25 billion ringgit, or a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.1 times, said the people who declined to be named because the information is private………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Kingdom Holding, an investment company controlled by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, received shareholder approval to sell as much as SAR3.75bn (US$1bn) in bonds inside the Saudi Arabia or abroad.
Shareholders met in Riyadh, Kingdom Holding said.
Saudi Arabian corporate bond sales are poised to set a record in 2012 as a surge in state spending in the Arab world’s biggest economy encourages private businesses to invest more in expansion projects………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
As European banks have pulled back from overseas exposures to concentrate on cleansing their balance sheets and strengthening their core businesses, Middle Eastern and Asian borrowers have turned to local investors and alternative forms of financing, analysts say, with issues of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, notably on the rise.
In the first three months of 2012, $6 billion of sukuk were sold in the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, approaching the total of $7.3 billion issued in the whole of 2011, according to data from the Dubai bank Emirates NBD………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
As Bermuda continues to position itself as a hub for Sharia-compliant business, a new report from the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat [UKIFS] indicates that Islamic finance assets worldwide continued a long run of growth to reach an estimated $1.3 trillion in 2011 — 150 per cent up over the previous five years.
Despite political unrest in some countries the industry has continued to expand, not only in its core markets of the Middle East but also in South East Asia and offshore jurisdictions such as Bermuda………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The introduction of Islamic banking in Oman will lead to loan growth of 15 percent this year, NBK Capital said and upgraded the sultanate’s largest lenders, Bank Muscat SAOG and National Bank of Oman.
Oman reversed its secular approach to finance last year after seeing a steady trickle of investment flow to nearby countries with well-established Islamic banking………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Islamic banking Industry completed 94 percent of its approved expansion plan by having a network of 886 branches by end of 2011, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported. The quarterly “Islamic Banking Bulletin” said that Islamic Banks assets and liabilities both constitute 7.8 percent of the overall banking industry by 2011-end.
The asset base of the industry reached to Rs. 641 billion indicating 13 percent quarterly growth by close of Dec 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Interest free banking is according to the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan as our current banking system is entirely different from the Islamic financial system. It is need of the hour media play its role to make people aware of the benefits of Islamic financial system.
Dr Javed Iqbal said ‘Riba’ is haram according to Islamic law but it has been adopted in financial system of a country which has been set up in the name of Islam. He said Iqbal was against capitalism but he was not in favour of its complete omission from the society………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has made some senior appointments. Constantinos Constantinides has joined QIB as Chief Strategy Officer to lead the bank’s transformation programme. Prior to joining QIB, Constantinides held various senior roles at Al Rajhi Bank for about eight years.
Since 2007, he has been the general manager of Strategy responsible for business development and regional expansion. Previously, he was deputy general manager in Retail Banking responsible to set up and grow the operations ……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Emirates NBD has appointed Jamal bin Ghalaita as CEO of its unit Dubai Bank, according to an e-mailed statement today. Bin Ghalaita will remain the CEO of Emirates Islamic Bank, another unit of Emirates NBD. Douwe Oppedijk, formerly the interim CEO of Dubai Bank, was named as an advisor to the CEO.
The Dubai government handed control of Dubai Bank to Emirates NBD in October 2011, just four months after the troubled Islamic lender was bailed out by the Gulf state following loan losses………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 29 March 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The country’s first Islamic insurance operator, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd, expects to invest an additional RM1-2 million by the end of this year to fully automate its paperless operation, said managing director Datuk Hassan Kamil.
This focus underpinned Takaful Malaysia’s plans to boost its operational efficiency and productivity when the system takes centre stage nationwide………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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