Globally, the $1.5 trillion market for Shariah-adherent products is expected to grow by around 20% annually. In India, 1,200 of the total 6,000 stocks are Shariah-compliant already. Over the last one year, Shariah-linked funds, which manage assets worth Rs139 crore, have outperformed the Sensex by a mile.
A cursory comparison of Islam-based investments and broad market performance (as symbolised by the Sensex gyrations) might suggest that Shariah-compliant funds have caught the fancy of Indian investors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia is emerging as a leading hub for the growing Islamic financial industry, with more push from the government to establish an Islamic economic and financial system. This industry is rapidly growing, with total global syariah-compliant fund assets estimated at a hefty US$60 billion as at the end of 2011.
Malaysia is well on its way to strengthening its global position as a leading hub for the growing Islamic financial industry, capitalising on its long-established dual-banking system………………………………………..Full Article: Source

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with USAID and CGAP jointly organised “Iraq Microfinance Policy Forum” on 10 and 11 April 2012 in Erbil-Iraq.
The forum aimed to set up Policy Goals for Microfinance in Iraq, which was attended by high Government functionaries from Iraq Government, including Advisors to Prime Minister, Central Bank in Iraq, USAID, ILO, UNOPS, CGAP, UNHABITAT representatives………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Young Muslims, one of the newest groups to make inroads in American finance, can face steep barriers to entry. Some obstacles are remnants of a less tolerant era. But prominent, too, are the limitations of Islam itself - a faith whose tenets, Muslim workers say, often seem at odds with Wall Street’s sometimes bacchanalian culture.
Granted, for the many Muslims in New York and elsewhere who have made peace with a more secular culture, working on Wall Street may not pose any problem. And Muslims, of course, aren’t the only ones whose values can clash with the ways of Wall Street………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Making inroads into America’s financial hub of Wall Street, Muslims are caught in practices that run counter with their religious teachings. “Wall Street is basically blind to religion,” Rushdi Siddiqui, global head of Islamic finance at Thomson Reuters, told The New York Times on Sunday, April 15.
“What it’s concerned about is deal flow, assets under management and transactions.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Issuance of Islamic bonds will be stimulated by a tightening of yields versus conventional bonds as banks chase a finite amount of quality sukuk instruments, HSBC’s Islamic arm Amanah has said.
HSBC has previously forecast global sukuk volume of $44 billion (Dh161 billion) in 2012, up from $26.5 billion last year. Malaysia is expected to continue to dominate issuance with about 60 per cent of the total; Malaysian toll expressway company Plus Berhad conducted a $10 billion sukuk issue in January………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates may pay less than other Gulf corporate issuers to sell Islamic bonds after global borrowing costs declined and as the world’s biggest international carrier benefits from passenger growth.
The Dubai-owned airline, which is considering refinancing $550mn of sukuk maturing in June, may pay 339 basis points over similar maturity midswap rates, or about 4.55%, according to the average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Bloomberg………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A dramatic fall in yields on the bonds of state-owned property developer Nakheel underlines how investor sentiment toward Dubai is improving, even though the outlook for the company’s own business remains tough.
Nakheel’s $1.0bn, five-year sukuk is yielding about 14%, down from levels above 21% when the Islamic bond was issued to trade creditors last August as part of a restructuring of the company’s $16bn debt………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Debt issuance in the Middle East nearly doubled to $11 billion and M&A reached $4.9 billion, while equity capital market issuances and banking fees fell to almost $1 billion and $91 million respectively, said a report.
Investment grade corporate debt accounted for 81 per cent of all Middle Eastern DCM activity during the quarter, while high yield accounted for 10 per cent, a Thomson Reuters report showed………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banking, if allowed, may attract more funds to India, especially in the infrastructure field, says former Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia R.L Narayan. He said with a Muslim population of about 200 million people, the alternative-banking segment had potential in India.
“Islamic banking has gained acceptance not only in Islamic countries but also in other countries, considering the fact that we have huge needs for infrastructure investment (such a system could augur well with the needs),” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian financial institutions have been invited to explore expansion opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in Islamic banking.
Pakistan’s high commissioner to Malaysia, Masood Khalid said that the invitation to do so was made by the country’s Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, when he met his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Perth last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic finance has achieved a substantial growth in the last few years, annualizing a growth rate of about 18 percent. The Islamic finance industry that was currently estimated to be worth about US$1 trillion had made further headway in the Islamic traditional markets such as Malaysia, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Pakistan, Indonesia, apart from penetrating new markets such as Europe and Africa.
While Islamic banking assets account for a large part of this value, the segment that has enjoyed especially strong growth in the more recent years is Sukuk………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It is almost a year since the Royal Decree paved the way for the creation of Islamic banks in the sultanate and the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) is in the final stages of putting down the final set of regulations. Bank Nizwa, the first dedicated Islamic bank in Oman, has unveiled its logo and says it plans to start operations in July.
BankMuscat and Ahli Bank have already announced the setting up of Islamic windows – Meethaq and Al Hilal respectively – which will be operational once approval from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) comes through and the regulatory framework is in place………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Developing industry driven standards for education in Islamic finance. The work of the Association of Islamic Finance Professionals (ACIFP) is both pioneering and essential if the industry is to get the type of resources it needs to fuel further growth.
Using education, to change perceptions about Islam and Islamic finance. This is not just a top down approach from universities such as Inceif, but also a bottom up approach from primary schools onwards. This involves financial literacy and building an appreciation of the Islamic finance value proposition in terms of a global move from risk shifting to risk sharing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Many member countries of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), the multilateral development bank (MDB) of the Muslim world, have urged the institution to adopt a much more aggressive resource mobilization strategy in order to deliver its strategic objectives which include promoting intra-Islamic trade, reducing poverty, promoting the private sector and the role of women in development, and promoting economic growth in member countries.
The clarion call at the 37th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB held in Khartoum, Sudan recently surfaced as the least developed members……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Driven by a strategy to focus on the rapidly growing local economy, International Islamic (QIIB) has posted a first quarter net profit of QR175.5mn, up 10.4% on Q1, 2011.
The bank’s operating income grew 13.5% quarter-on-quarter to QR309.6mn Q1, 2012. QIIB chairman and managing director Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani al-Thani the results clearly indicated the bank’s “very strong position” in the local industry and its success in utilising the “conducive, business-friendly and pro-growth” environment in Qatar………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Asian Finance Bank (AFB) has staged a turnaround for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2011 after posting a small profit, said its chief executive officer Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil.
“The profit was contributed by the corporate banking sector and we will announce the details soon,” he said. AFB had posted losses of RM30 million for its financial year 2010 due to the provisions made for the funding of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced the launch of the Arabic interface of its internet-based banking service, Al Islami Online Banking. DIB customers can now conduct over 70 banking transactions in both Arabic and English using this service.
In addition to a complete Arabic portal, Al Islami Online Banking now offers additional innovative features including opening of Investment Deposits in multiple currencies, instant salary in advance (Tayseer), automatic Salik recharge, and Cash on Cards………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Global banking group Standard Chartered said it has signed two major agreements with Kuwait-based Islamic bank Warba to facilitate its transactions in Asia.
The announcement comes in light of increased trade activity between Mena financial institutions and companies with Asia in general and China in particular………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Financial Services Board has admitted five new organisations into its membership. The Oman Capital Market Authority, the country’s regulatory and supervisory authority, has been admitted as a full member.
The Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Regulation and Supervision of Financial Markets and Financial Organisations was welcomed as an associate member………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Sharia-compliant insurance industry has witnessed significant internationalisation in the last decade with the industry rapidly expanding its footprint beyond the traditional high-growth markets of the GCC and Malaysia, says David McLean, Chief Executive of the World Takaful Conference.
Though the overall outlook for the global Takaful industry remains positive, it is essential that the mounting challenges posed by increasing competition not only among Takaful operators but also from conventional players entering the Takaful market space, declining underwriting profits and investment portfolios need to be immediately tackled so that the industry can maintain its current growth levels and hit the projected $25 billion mark by 2015………………………………………..Full Article: Source