The global market for Islamic finance at the end of last year was worth around $1.3 trillion, according to the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat, part of the CityUK lobby group. The total value of sharia-compliant assets has grown by 150% since 2006.
Globally, banks hold over 90% of Islamic assets, and together with funds are big investors in sukuk, a type of bond. According to the latest quarterly report from Zawya, a business information firm, global sukuk issuance in the first quarter of this year was $43.3 billion, almost half the total for the whole of 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said on Tuesday it received the Kuwaiti central bank’s approval to increase its stake in Boubyan Bank to 60 percent from 47.29 percent.
The approval is valid for three months starting April 8, the statement added. NBK, the country’s largest lender, has been building its Islamic banking business and in April last year raised its stake in Islamic lender Boubyan Bank to 47 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Iraqi Cabinet has approved the establishment of the country’s first state-owned Islamic bank, according to Mudher Saleh, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iraq.
Saleh also told Bloomberg that two of the country’s state-owned banks, Rafidain Bank and Rasheed Bank, opened Islamic banking units earlier this year. Dr. Ali al-Dabbagh, Official Spokesman for the Government of Iraq confirmed that the Two Rivers Islamic Bank will start with capital of IQD 25 billion ($21.5 million)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Shariah-compliant banking in Brunei is seen to reach between 55 to 60 per cent from the current 40 per cent market share in the next five years, said the managing director of a local bank.
The forecast, coupled with a more central role that Islamic finance is now playing in the Bruneian economy, emphasises the need for standardised regulations for Islamic finance, said Javed Ahmad, the Managing director of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Turkish Treasury said on Tuesday it had secured three loan agreements worth $554 million with the Islamic Development Bank on April 4.
The loans will be used for the financing of construction projects, the treasury said in the statement published on ites web site………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gulf institutions plan to spur development of the Islamic finance industry by setting up a bank that would boost liquidity in sharia-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

Some financial experts have called for effective supervision of non-interest banking to ensure its success and integration into the Nigerian economy.
They said in separate interviews in Lagos on Tuesday that its implementation should be properly monitored to forestall a recurrence of banking sector crisis of 2008. They said non-interest banking would accelerate expansion of the banking system in Nigeria if well embraced………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In line with its microfinance policy, Bank of Khartoum (BoK) General Manager, Fadi Saleem signed with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Deputy President for Finance Affairs, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Hinani an initial partnership agreement to establish Irada Company for microfinance.
According to the partnership agreement, the IDB will contribute in the capital of the company. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Khaled Al-Aboodi, chief executive officer and general manager of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group, signed additional Line of Financing (LOF) agreements with two banks of Uzbekistan - Ipak Yuli Bank for a $5 million facility and Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank for $6 million - during the 37th IDB Group Annual Meeting in Sudan.
Since 2006, the ICD has signed financing agreements with seven local financial institutions for a total of $72 million LOF facility approved by the ICD board of directors for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uzbekistan………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al-Rajhi Bank, the Kingdom’s biggest Islamic lender, on Tuesday posted an 18 percent rise in first-quarter net profit due to an increase in operational income, but it missed analysts’ forecasts.
Earnings for the three months ended March 31 rose to SR2.01 billion from SR1.70 billion a year earlier, the bank said in a statement posted on the website of the Saudi bourse………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Leading Saudi banks, including HSBC affiliate SABB and the kingdom’s biggest Islamic lender Al Rajhi Bank, today reported impressive profits for the first quarter of this year.
SABB posted a 13.7 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, beating analyst forecasts. The bank cited lower operating expenses as the reason for its performance in a statement posted on the website of the Saudi bourse………………………………………..Full Article: Source

After a raucous shareholder meeting and years of declining profits, Kuwait’s biggest Islamic lender is hoping a new turnround plan will help it regain the confidence of investors.
The plan’s outcome will be closely watched by Gulf bankers, as the region’s financial industry remains haunted by the non-performing loans and problem assets that are a legacy of the financial crisis………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bilal Mustafa, Managing Director Bank of Khyber (BOK) said BOK is committed to cater the Banking requirements of Islamic Banking as well as conventional in a befitting manner in order to encourage the economic developmental activities in the country through its expanding network of branches.
He was speaking at the formal inauguration of BOK Raast Islamic Banking branch at Shah Alam Market- Lahore this afternoon in a simple but graceful ceremony………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In Malaysia and Indonesia, pension funds’ plans to increase holdings of Sukuk are being stifled by a shortage of investment-grade Sukuk.
Pension funds in the two majority-Muslim countries have a combined total of $192 billion in assets, and its largest pension managers, Malaysia-based Employees Provident Fund and Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), Indonesia-based PT Jaminan Sosial Tenaga Kerja (JAMSOS) are demanding more Shari’ah-compliant debt in order to diversify portfolios that must hold investment- grade securities………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia-based Riyad Capital is mandated as lead manager for “a number of IPOs” expected to open in the kingdom this year, a person close to the transactions said. The investment bank is also mandated to arrange the sale of a privately placed Islamic bond, or sukuk, which will close later this week, the person told Zawya.
City Cement Company and National Medical Care Company are two IPOs expected in 2012, while the third could take place in 2013. The kingdom has witnessed two IPOs so far this year, according to Zawya’s IPO Monitor………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia raised approximately $6.4 billion (SR24 billion) through issuances of Islamic bonds (sukuk) in the first quarter of 2012, the most money raised through sukuk in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) during the same period, and the second largest amount worldwide.
A large percentage of this total was from a $4 billion (SR15 billion) sukuk issuance by the General Authority for Civil Aviation in January………………………………………..Full Article: Source

HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited has successfully closed the first private placement of SR1.5 billion ($400 million) sukuk (Islamic bond) issue for the Saudi British Bank (SABB).
This is the first subordinated Tier II sukuk transaction which comes in line with the Basel III transitional arrangement requirements in the region………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Processed food producer PT Mayora Indah (MYOR) is set to launch Rp 750 billion (US$82 million) in debt paper to develop factories as it seeks to grow sales by 20 percent this year.
Rp 500 billion of the total planned issuances will be raised from conventional bonds, while the remaining Rp 250 billion would come from Islamic debt papers (sukuk), the company announced Monday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

James Caan made his millions in the recruitment and headhunting business and his claim to fame was his starring role as part of a BBC show which strived to find the latest and hottest new business models.
As a result, he is an expert at delivering the perfect pitch and getting his message across. In the Gulf to announce his latest move into the world of Islamic finance, it soon becomes clear Caan knows exactly how to combine his latest business campaign with some headline grabbing soundbites………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Despite its advantages, both in monetary value and Syariah compliance (in terms of avoiding ‘riba’), the level of public understanding on the risks associated with Islamic investment products is still low.
Due to regulatory directives and initiatives encouraging Bruneians to be conscious about financial planning, there are now opportunities in Islamic banking to be innovative in creating more Syariah-compliant instruments (products), which are needed in order to avoid concentration on any one asset class………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Brunei’s Islamic finance sector must find a niche in Islamic capital markets and reposition itself to find new opportunities in order to catch up with other industry players in the region, an expert said.
Sri Anne Masri, managing director of Pro Ethica Training and Research, said more building blocks are needed in the country to pave a way for the creation of more Islamic products and services such as equity funds, wealth management, and murabahah………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Great Eastern Takaful Sdn Bhd (GETSB) is aiming for RM124mil in takaful contribution (or premium in conventional insurance) this year after achieving RM7.6mil in the first quarter.
Of the RM124mil, GETSB aimed to secure RM30mil in contribution from the Koperasi Angkatan Tentera Group Scheme which had more than 140,000 members, said its executive director/chief executive officer Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The World Takaful Report 2012, developed in collaboration with leading international advisory firm Ernst & Young, will be officially launched on April 16, 2012 at the 7th Annual World Takaful Conference (WTC 2012) which will held in Dubai.
The Ernst & Young World Takaful Report, a ground-breaking initiative designed to not only identify but also to raise the bar of competitive excellence, strategic leadership and performance improvement in the global Islamic insurance industry, now in its 5th annual edition, will analyse key strategies that leading Takaful institutions must deploy in order to ensure continued growth as the global Islamic insurance industry enters its next phase of market development………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ethica Institute of Islamic Finance has lowered prices by nearly 50 per cent for all residents of developing countries. “We noticed that with Ethica’s growing popularity, we were having to turn away many highly motivated professionals and students,” said Ethica’s spokesperson in a recent statement.
“We think subsidised pricing helps spread the message of Islamic finance, especially in the wake of the global financial crisis, while the world rethinks its relationship with conventional, interest-based finance.” (Press Release)

The recent BRICS summit in New Delhi, India, should be a wake-up call for the Muslim world’s own proposed BRICS, called SAMI: Saudi, Ankara, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The collective market place is more intelligent than an individual, hence, proposed Muslim majority countries to add to SAMI could include: Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt. If we look at metrics for present and growth concerning population, GDP, regional influence (politically and economically), Islamic finance, halal industry, nuclear capability (Pakistan), inclusion in other grouping (Egypt as part of CIVETS, and NIGERIA as part of Next-11), etc., these three countries are ahead of their brethren Muslim countries………………………………………..Full Article: Source