The United Arab Emirates needs a centralized body for the Islamic finance industry to help develop its sukuk market further, a top central bank official said on Wednesday. Saif al-Shamsi, assistant governor for monetary policy and financial stability, said the law calls for a central sharia committee at the federal level that would work with sharia boards at the corporate level but that has not been implemented yet federally.
“Despite the advanced state of the UAE in issuing Islamic sukuk, we believe that we still need to do more,” he said in a speech. “This includes finding a unified body for the main fatwas (decrees) in the Islamic financial services domain, as is the case in Malaysia.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

“The Basel III rules are almost rendered meaningless without effective supervision. They should be implemented in full on a timely and sustainable basis,” said William Coen, Deputy Secretary General of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the group of 27 Governors of Supervisory Authorities that set the rules of the game for international banking.
This is a challenge for any standard-setting body in international financial services, including IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions), IASB (International Accounting Standards Board), IFSB (Islamic Financial Services Board), and AAOIFI (Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, or AAOIFI, announced on Wednesday new seven Shariah standards in Dubai. The new standards include; Financial Rights and its Management, the Regulations of Liquidity Management, Bankruptcy, Capital and Investment Protection, Agency in Investment, Calculation of the Profit Transactions and Options of Trust.
The new standards shall be added to the existing 41 Shariah standards and the 40 accounting standards which have been announced previously. The event was organised by Menhaj Advisory, which also discussed the standards with the Islamic Bank industry practitioners and how to implement the same in their applications………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank said its $500 million (Dh1.83 billion) five-year sukuk due May 2017 has been four times oversubscribed. The sukuk’s pricing was announced on Tuesday under its newly established $2.5 billion sukuk programme.
Deutsche Bank, DIB, Emirates NBD, HSBC and National Bank of Abu Dhabi acted as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners, with Sharjah Islamic Bank and Union National Bank acting as senior co-managers and Qatar Islamic Bank as co-manager. The transaction was priced at a profit rate of 4.752 per cent with a spread of 365 bps over the five-year mid swaps………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialization Co (Tasnee) has priced a 2 billion riyals ($533.3 million) Islamic bond, or sukuk, the first time the petrochemicals firm has tapped the bond markets.
The privately-placed, seven-year transaction was issued at par and carried a profit rate of 105 basis points over the six-month Saudi Interbank Offered Rate, a document from HSBC’s Saudi Arabian unit, which arranged the deal, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Morocco is considering a potential dollar-denominated international bond of up to $1 billion in September or October. “It would be our first issue in dollars and give us the opportunity to diversify,” said El Hassan Eddez, deputy director, treasury and external finance at the ministry’s debt office.
Eddez said the government is also mulling issuing Islamic bonds, or sukuk, once the legal framework is in place possibly by next year. Morocco’s government, led since December by the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), outlined in March how it intends to develop Islamic finance in the country………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s National Industrialization Co (Tasnee) has priced a 2 billion riyals ($533.3 million) Islamic bond, or sukuk, the first time the petrochemicals firm has tapped the bond markets.
The privately-placed, seven-year transaction was issued at par and carried a profit rate of 105 basis points over the six-month Saudi Interbank Offered Rate, a document from HSBC’s Saudi Arabian unit, which arranged the deal, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The rapid international expansion of Islamic finance reflects its ability to remain competitive and to increasingly meet the complex requirements of the global financial community.
With various countries now intensifying efforts to develop their respective Islamic financial capabilities, it is becoming increasingly vital to build deeper relationships between the key markets for Islamic finance and also between the leading industry players in each of these jurisdictions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions, the innovative Islamic mortgage finance provider, recently signed a memorandum with ARK Holding to provide home financing for ready-to-move-in super deluxe luxury Kazerooni Villas located near St Christopher’s School in Saar.
The project comprising 10 villas each with built up area of approximately 550 sq m is developed and promoted by Kazerooni Contracting and offered for sale to Bahrainis and other GCC nationals at BD285,000 ($756,130.9) and above depending on plot size and location………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Finance Ministry turned down a request by the Thai Hotels Association (THA) for at least 10 billion baht in aid to help small and medium-sized tourism operators survive the business downturn.
Instead, the ministry advised the THA to discuss financial assistance with the Islamic Bank of Thailand (IBank). THA president Surapong Techaruvichit said most SME tourism operators cannot access the 5-billion-baht soft loan programme approved recently by the government due to lack of qualifications………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank has agreed to a $133 million financing plan to develop two wind projects in Pakistan as the nation seeks new renewable sources to overcome power shortages.
Fauji Foundation, set up as a charitable trust for former servicemen, and the nation’s Tapal Group are backing the projects totaling 100 megawatts, according to a statement by the Islamic Development Bank………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Noor Islamic Bank is backing what could be Islamic finance’s biggest shake up in years, lending its support to the announcement of seven new standards from the Middle East’s leading Islamic finance regulator, the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions ( AAOIFI ).
The new standards govern key areas of Islamic finance, including financial rights and their management, liquidity management; bankruptcy, capital and investment protection, agency investment, calculation of profits transaction and options of trust………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s banks face the biggest risk from a maturity mismatch between assets and liabilities and need to find “creative” ways to bridge the gap, the chief executive officer of Alinma Bank (ALINMA) said.
The mismatch needs to be monitored and can be bridged by issuing long-dated securities like Islamic bonds, Abdulmohsen Al Fares, told reporters at a conference in Riyadh today. Some foreign banks cut lending in Saudi Arabia after the debt crisis in Europe which is creating “opportunities for local banks as well as for others like Asian banks,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Under the patronage and attendance of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Warba Bank celebrated its official launch during a ceremony at Salwa Sabah Al-Ahmed Ballroom. The bank started operating during the first quarter of 2012 with the opening of four branches.
Warba Bank came into existence with the issuance of an Amiri decree and has been registered in the Islamic Banks’ register of the Central Bank of Kuwait since April 5, 2010. The government, represented by the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), owns 24 percent of the bank’s total capital………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sharjah Islamic Bank were honoured with the “People’s Choice” Award for the best Customer Experience Provider in the Middle East at the CUSTOMER360ME Summit & Awards 2012, an annual event managed and organized by IIR Middle East, part of Informa plc, the leading international provider of specialist information and services for the academic and scientific, professional and commercial business communities.
Speaking about the award, Mohammed Abdullah, CEO of Sharjah Islamic Bank, said, “We are very proud to have received this prestigious award. SIB prides itself on delivering the highest standards in customer service and satisfaction and it is extremely satisfying to see that our esteemed customers place such a high value on the services we provide.” (Press Release)

Amana Bank further strengthened its Independent Sharia Supervisory Council with the inclusion of Ash-Sheik Mufti Muhammad Hassan Kaleem, an established Islamic banking academic and practitioner from Karachi, Pakistan.
Ash-Sheik Hassan Kaleem is a permanent faculty member of Jamiah Darul-Uloom Karachi (a leading Institute of Islamic Sciences in Pakistan) and the Centre of Islamic Economics, Karachi. He is also a trainer of Sharia standards at the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institution (AAOIFI), Bahrain and a visiting faculty member of the National Institute of Banking and Finance (State Bank of Pakistan)………………………………………..Full Article: Source