There remains a misconception amongst the masses that Islamic finance is essentially a system that shares the profit or the loss. In fact this is not the reality. Islamic finance involves different modes, out of which a few are profit sharing and/or profit and loss sharing. There are many other modes, where the question of sharing profit or bearing loss does not arise.
Even these, however, are rich in their respective virtues. Each of the modes of Islamic finance has got its own distinct characteristics in respect of modus operandi and principles………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s legendary cuisine has been a secret weapon to winning many an investment. But when a major ingredient of the culinary experience is pork, hospitality can only go so far when it comes to entertaining Muslim businessmen from countries like Indonesia and the Gulf’s emirates.
How the Chinese have been able to adjust can be seen in Hong Kong, the international trade port that many of these business people go through on their way to mainland China………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gulf institutions plan to spur development of the Islamic finance industry by setting up a bank that would boost liquidity in Shariah-compliant markets. But the mandate of the bank is so wide that it may struggle to have an impact early on.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), a Jeddah-based multilateral institution, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Qatari government and Saudi Arabia’s Dallah Albaraka Group on Tuesday to launch an Islamic bank based in Doha………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Saudi-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dallah Albaraka Group of Saudi Arabia and Qatar Islamic Bank have signed an agreement to launch a new Islamic bank in Doha with a proposed capital of $1 billion. The three founders have subscribed to $500 million half of the new bank’s capital.
Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir attended the signing by Qatar Islamic Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Dallah Albaraka Group at the IDB’s annual meeting in Khartoum. The new institutions will be based in Doha and will help finance infrastructure projects………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) said in a statement that while it is “delighted” that Qatar will be home to the new Islamic bank, QIB is not part of the initiative.
Earlier today it was reported that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Dallah Albaraka Group and Qatar Islamic Bank signed an agreement to launch a new Islamic bank in Doha with a proposed capital of $1 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Celent has estimated the total core banking market size to be around $4.8 billion for the year 2011. The market is expected to grow to $5.1 billion by the end of 2013. Banks are increasingly looking toward modern solutions to overcome constraints in their existing environments.
Islamic banking is popular in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa and has seen high interest in the region. Temenos and Misys have the highest market share in this region, while Path Solutions, with their Islamic banking focus, also garners a noteworthy slice of the pie………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The UAE is bidding to host the first branch of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a major lender to companies and governments involved in trade deals across the Islamic world.
The effort comes as the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the parent organisation of the ITFC, seeks to encourage closer working among its various financial arms. The UAE already hosts the regional office of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), another unit of the bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Prof Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General, has urged on IDB Governors to re-double efforts towards swifter discharge of their national/regional ownership of rapid implementation of development projects in OIC Member States.
He has conveyed this urgency in his passionate message delivered by Amb. Hameed A. Opeloyeru, Assistant Secretary General OIC, at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of IDB, in Khartoum/Sudan on Wednesday, says an OIC email……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The 37th Annual General meeting of the Islamic Development Bank which held in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, has approved $389.3 million to finance development projects in member countries across the globe.
IDB also approved grants of $867 million for education and health projects for Muslim communities in the United States of America, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Denmark………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An Islamic poverty alleviation fund has attracted just 17 percent of its targeted $10 billion in funding, officials said Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in the Sudanese capital.
A resolution expressed its “concern over the wide gap between the initially targeted amount of $10 billion and the announced contributions… only by a number of member countries” in the 56-nation bank, whose members all belong to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

QNB has reported a 17% rise in net profit to QR2bn in the first three months of this year. Total operating income increased to QR2.8bn, up 24.4% over the same period of 2011, as the bank succeeded in achieving strong growth across the range of revenue sources.
Net interest income and income from Islamic financing rose 31.6% to reach QR2.2bn, said QNB, which recently received an “overwhelming” interest from regional and international investors for its debut five-year bond issue under Euro Medium Term Note Programme for $1bn at a coupon rate of 3.375%………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The retreat of international commercial banks since 2008 has left a void at the heart of project finance in the Middle East. So how can regional governments afford to deliver the grand projects they have promised their people?
The retreat of international commercial banks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis has left a void at the heart of project finance in the Gulf………………………………………..Full Article: Source

According to the audited financial statements for year 2011, net profit after tax reached $4 million, compared with a net profit after tax of $1.5 million in 2010, a net increase of 153 per cent.
Total assets of the company reached $392.6 million as of December 31 2011, compared to total assets of $357.3 million as of 31 December 2010, a net increase of 9.9 per cent. Total liabilities of the company reached $131.7 million as of 31 December, 2011, compared to total liabilities of $110.2 million as of 31 December 2010, a net increase of 19.5 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

State Bank of Pakistan and the ministry of finance have done a lot to promote Islamic Banking in the country but must make more efforts to promote this prudent financial industry in the country, insists the chief executive officer of Burj Bank, Pervez Said.
He contends that “holding the relatively mature industry of conventional banking to the same rules as those applied on the Islamic banks, does not constitute a level playing field”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) organised a seminar on Islamic banking in collaboration with Ernst & Young, Bahrain. Speakers at the seminar stressed that the growth prospects for the banking sector would increase by 20 per cent over the next decade, especially since the Islamic banking system was less affected by the recent global financial crisis compared to conventional banks.
Regarding the development of the Omani market in this field, experts noted the need to provide the necessary expertise in Islamic banking to groom Omani institutions operating in banking and finance and to provide appropriate training in order to keep them abreast of the developments taking place in this sector………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sukuk issuance in the first quarter of 2012 exceeded all expectations reaching a record USD 43 billion globally, according to data compiled by Zawya’s Quarterly Sukuk Bulletin for 1Q 2012. This is almost double the average amount of sukuk issued in any given quarter of the past year, and half the amount issued throughout 2011.
The best-case scenario suggests sukuk issuance could reach USD 126 billion this year and will be at least as good as last year’s USD 85 billion, according to Zawya’s global sukuk forecast………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Market participants have welcomed Hong Kong’s move to introduce new rules for Islamic financial products as an important step towards the development of its own Islamic bond market.
Hong Kong launched on March 29 a two-month consultation on legislative amendments designed to level the playing field between conventional and Islamic products………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An Egyptian plan to sell certificates of deposit (CDs) - a form of debt - to its citizens living abroad to finance its deficit has been delayed because of technical problems over their issue in a single Gulf country, a minister said on Wednesday.
It also plans to sell parcels of land to its citizens abroad and dollar-denominated Islamic sukuk bonds to foreign institutions to help plug an external financing shortage estimated at $11 billion over the next 18 months………………………………………..Full Article: Source

I do hope London’s efforts to develop into a global hub for offshore renminbi debt issuance (aka Dim Sum bonds) are pushed forward more aggressively than similar efforts to promote London as a global centre for Islamic capital markets.
That may sound a little harsh, given the existence of five fully Sharia-compliant UK-registered banks plus Islamic windows at a host of other banks in the UK. But Islamic finance continues to operate in something of commercial/wholesale backwater in the UK, while on the investment side, it’s kind of been pushed into the ethical investment bucket………………………………………..Full Article: Source

During March, Saudi dairy and poultry firm Almarai issued the first series of its SAR 3.2 billion (USD 853 million) sukuk program for SAR 1 billion, which used a mudaraba-murabaha structure. According to Zawya’s sukuk database, there have only been 22 issues using this structure, mostly by two companies — LBS Bina Group and KNM Capital — in Malaysia.
The use of this structure in the GCC has been driven by HSBC’s Saudi Arabian unit, which advised on SABB’s Tier II subordinated sukuk also issued in March, and the sukuk issued by the Islamic Bank Aljazira in the first quarter of 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia is well- positioned to become a global halal hub by 2020 given the global acceptance of Malaysia’s halal certification, increasing recognition of its halal food and consumable products and its global leadership in Islamic banking finance industry.
“We are on the right platform and we would like to believe we are there already in terms of concept, products, ideas, instruments and certification………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A business delegation from Belgium that is keen to partner with Brunei on potential bilateral collaboration would need to meet a stringent requirement in terms of halal certification, says the Director of Administration at the State Mufti’s Office.
Dato Paduka Ahmad Bukhari Pehin Siraja Khatib Hj Abu Hanifah said there were interesting and brilliant ideas brought forward by the Belgium delegation. The group was led by Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Under Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme, Entry-Point Project 10 (EPP 10) the Government in Kuala Lumpur will issue Shari’ah parameters on Mudharabah, Musharakah, Ijarah and Istina this year.
EPP 10 has been formulated with the aim of increasing Malaysia’s share of global Islamic banking assets to 13 per cent in 2020 from eight per cent now. The latest Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) Annual Report 2011 released by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) also highlights plans for the Islamic Omnibus Act which encompasses licensing framework, supervisory powers, prudential requirements……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic finance litigation? Disputes arising out of Sharia compliant agreements were unheard of in the early days of Islamic finance. Banking transactions, by their very nature, are discrete, and as long as Islamic finance was confined to a small community, there was no need to enforce contractual arrangements in court.
The growth of Islamic finance, however, and the globalization of the Islamic finance industry, has transformed the industry from a community based endeavour into a global business. In the global market, lenders default and banks sue and enforce………………………………………..Full Article: Source