Differing views among international Shariah scholars on the trading mechanisms and the tradability of sukuk (Islamic bonds) pose a key challenge to achieving a global sukuk market.
Furthermore, differences in acceptability of certain sukuk structures are also limiting the marketability of such Islamic bonds on the international front, said Securities Commission Deputy Chief Executive Datuk Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood. “In order to overcome this challenge, sukuk issuers intending to maximise their investor base are now opting for structures that are more broadly accepted by most jurisdictions,” she said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Lack of liquidity in the secondary market remains a key issue for sukuk, according to Securities Commission deputy chief executive Datuk Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood.

She said there was a need to develop a more robust secondary market for sukuk that would enhance its appeal, especially to active investors such as fund managers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The global Sukuk market could reach $125 billion this year. Malaysia will remain the dominant market despite a strong rise in issue in GCC countries.
Professor Dr Malik Muhammad M. al Awan, Sharia Adviser, Hong Leong Islamic Bank and Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Bhd, is quoted by Kuala Lumpur-based Business Times as saying total global Sukuk issuance in Q1 2012 reached $43 billion, of which some $30 billion was issued in Malaysia – the country accounts for some 73 per cent of the total Sukuk issued globally………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Proceeds from Dubai’s new $1.25bn, two-tranche Islamic bond provide enough funds for the Gulf emirate to manage its budget deficits and refinancing plans, a senior government official said.
Dubai priced on Wednesday a $600mn 5-year tranche at 4.9% and a $650mn 10-year tranche at 6.45% and the department of finance said the issues drew orders of more than $4.5bn……………………………………….Full Article: Source

DIFC Investments LLC, which owns properties in Dubai’s tax-free financial center, may have its credit rating cut at Standard & Poor’s due to “heightened refinancing risk” on its $1.25 billion Islamic bond due in June.
DIFC Investments “has little room for delays in its efforts to secure a bank loan and government support to refinance the sukuk,” the rating agency said in a statement. The B+ long-term and B short-term ratings were placed on creditwatch with negative outlook………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Healthy demand for Dubai’s first sovereign bond issue in nearly a year shows how pleased investors are by the emirate’s strategy of scrupulously honoring its public debt obligations while playing hardball in restructuring bank loans.
Dubbed “burn the banks, bail out the bond holders” by investment bank Exotix, the strategy seems to involve doing what it takes to ensure bond maturities of government-related enterprises are repaid on time. In February a unit of Dubai Holding, owned by the emirate’s ruler, said it was using internal cash flow to fully repay a maturing $500 million sukuk………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is aiming to keep its prized AAA rating from RAM Rating Services Bhd once it completes the full drawdown of its Islamic debt issuance facility (sukuk) latest by the middle of next year, said its chief financial officer Faizal Mansor.

The airport operator has to date already drawn down RM2.5bil of the total sukuk allocation amounting to RM3.1bil, meaning that it has a balance of RM600mil left to use from the financing facility………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic microfinance represents an opportunity for Islamic finance to develop ethical yet profitable products, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He said at the same time, it can support social entrepreneurial activities, while investing over the long-term in social fund.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, said Islamic microfinance was about financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and risk sharing through partnership finance, an approach that conventional microfinance lacked………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In a press release issued by the Bank, Mr. Khalid Abdulla Al-Bassam - Chairman of the Board of Directors announced that the Board has approved the Financial Statements for the period ended on 31 March 2012 where the Bank registered BD543 thousand as net profit for the first quarter of this year compared to BD1.5m for the same period last year.
Khalid Al-Bassam then explained that BD2m in operating profit were realized compared to BD2.5m for the same period last year and the Board has taken provisions of BD1.5m as a precaution against any unforeseeable deterioration in asset values compared to BD1m for the same period last year. The income has all been generated from major core activities of the Bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House , the emirate’s leading Islamic bank, said on Thursday its net profit in the first quarter of 2012 dropped 11.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

KFH posted a net profit of 20.1 million dinars ($72.1 million) in the first three months of this year compared to 22.6 million dinars ($81.3 million) in the same period of 2011, the bank said in a statement on the website of the bourse………………………………………..Full Article: Source

EFG-Hermes Holding SAE said Qatar’s QInvest LLC may hold a majority stake in a planned investment bank that would take over the Egyptian bank’s brokerage, investment banking and asset management businesses.

The investment bank would be the largest in “the Arab World, Africa, Turkey, South and Southeast Asia, with the possibility of QInvest holding majority stake,” Cairo-based EFG-Hermes said in a statement Thursday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Gulf One Investment Bank (Gulf One) advised and arranged a $23.50m Islamic debt refinancing transaction for the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST), the largest private sector university in Kuwait. The transaction was successfully closed in early 2012 with Kuwait International Bank (KIB) as the sole lender.
Gulf One combined its regional network, leading structuring skills and extensive debt arrangement experience to deliver multiple benefits for GUST including a more favorable profit rate, longer tenor and better security structure………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd, confident with the takaful industry’s potential in Sabah, expects its business in the state to continue double-digit growth.
Executive Vice President (Business Operations) Wan Mohd Fadzlullah Wan Abdullah said the target for 2012 was to achieve RM25 million in contributions, an increase of RM10 million compared with last year. The company’s focus was still Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan dan Tawau, he told Bernama……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Al Khaleej Takaful Group’s financial statements revealed a net profit of QAR 20.5 million in comparison to QAR 44 million for the corresponding period in 2011.
The Earnings per Share (EPS) amounted to QAR 1.44 as of 31 March 2012, versus QAR 3.09 of the same period in 2011. Total Takaful revenues were slightly down at QAR 38.5 million, compared to QAR 40.7 million in 2011. Total assets were slightly up at QAR 1.06 billion, compared to QAR 919.5 million in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Insurance and Reinsurance Company (Aman), an Islamic Insurance provider in the UAE, has announced its participation at this year’s edition of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the industry’s leading travel and tourism exhibition, which will be held from April 30, 2012 to May 3, 2012 at the Dubai international Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).
During the event, the company will be throwing the spotlight on its three new travel insurance offerings–Musafir, Shengen and the Haj & Umrah travel insurance products, which have been designed to offer high benefits to both individuals and families at a reasonable cost. (Press Release)