Malaysia’s National Higher Education Fund Corp. sold 2.5 billion ringgit ($786 million) of government-guaranteed Islamic debt, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The 10-year sukuk, or securities that pay returns on assets to comply with Islam’s ban on interest, were privately placed and yielded 3.83 percent yesterday, said the people who didn’t want to be named because the information is private. The Kuala Lumpur-based corporation, known locally as PTPTN, provides financing for students eligible for higher education………………………………………..Full Article: Source

DIFC Investments, or DIFCI, the investment arm of the Dubai International Financial Centre, announced on Wednesday that it repaid a $1.25 billion sukuk due this month.
“This transaction reaffirms our commitment to meet our obligations,” said Abdullah Mohammed Saleh, governor of the Dubai International Financial Center and chairman of DIFC Investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Basic Industries Corp on Wednesday said it intends to repay an 8 billion riyal ($2.13 billion) Islamic bond, or sukuk, ahead of maturity, from internal cash balances.
The petrochemicals giant sold the 20-year sukuk in 2007 in a deal which was arranged by HSBC’s Saudi Arabian unit. The bond had a call option after five years, allowing SABIC to repay investors early, a Saudi-based banker told Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai’s Emirates, the fast-expanding Gulf airline, will repay in full a $550 million Islamic bond maturing later in June, a senior executive told a local newspaper. The sukuk that matures on June 16, will not be refinanced, Emirates’ President Tim Clark said in a interview with the Dubai-based paper in Beijing.
“No, we are not refinancing the $550m (bond). We are just about to repay the sukuk,” he was quoted by the paper………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The government may offer as much as $1 billion worth of dollar-denominated Islamic bonds in the third quarter this year in a bid to finance its budget deficit, a senior official said.
Rahmat Waluyanto, director of the Finance Ministry’s general debt management office, said the Islamic bond sale would be conducted after the Idul Fitri holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month. Indonesia, a country with the world’s largest Muslim population, plans to sell between $650 million and $1 billion worth of bonds this year, Rahmat said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jebel Ali Free Zone FZE has successfully priced yesterday the issuance of US$ 650 million Sukuk Certificates due 2019, marking the company’s first US dollar-denominated issuance and its first transaction in the international debt capital markets since 2007. The certificates pay a profit rate to investors of 7.0% per annum.
The proceeds of the Sukuk will be used to partly refinance JAFZ ’s outstanding AED 7.5 billion Sukuk due November 2012, ahead of the stated maturity. JAFZ will also contribute proceeds of AED 4.4 billion bank facility and its own cash sources towards the redemption”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

UEM Group Bhd has proposed a 30-year Islamic medium-term notes (MTN) programme of up to RM2.2bil. RAM Rating Services Bhd had on Wednesday assigned a long-term rating of AA2 to the Sukuk, which would be issued by United Growth Bhd - which is a unit of UEM Group. The long-term rating has a stable outlook.
The ratings agency said through an irrevocable and unconditional purchase undertaking between United Growth and UEM, the latter would buy the portfolio units from United Growth at a price equal to the exercise price………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Flag carrier Malaysia Airlines said Wednesday its 2.5 billion ringgit ($786 million) Islamic bond issue to fund an ambitious plan to overcome financial difficulties has been fully subscribed.
“I am delighted to announce to you that our entire sukuk programme is fully subscribed,” Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian Airline System Bhd’s (MAS) share price rose to a high of RM1.19 on Wednesday after it secured enough takers for its RM2.5bil 10-year perpetual sukuk and plans to unveil a new business plan next week.
At 10.57am, MAS shares were up four sen to RM1.16. There were 1.99 million shares done at prices ranging from RM1.14 to RM1.19………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The global takaful industry has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade, rapidly becoming an integral part of the mainstream financial system, with Saudi Arabia at the forefront, Ernst & Young executive said.
Brandon Bruce Sta Maria, Partner, Assurance – Insurance Leader, Ernst & Young Malaysia, noted that “global takaful contributions grew by 19 percent to $8.3 billion in 2010. Of these, the GCC contributed $5.68 billion and South East Asia contributions were $2 billion. Saudi Arabia remains by far the largest takaful market, contributing $4.3 billion or 51.8 percent of the industry at an average contribution per operator of $141 million.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s contribution to the global takaful industry is expected to increase to US$2.4bil (RM7.68bil) this year from US$1.4bil (RM4.48bil) in 2011. Ernst and Young partner (assurance) Brandon Bruce Sta Maria said the estimation was based on expectations that the industry’s growth trend would be sustained for the next two years.
“Malaysia’s market grew 24% to touch US$1.4bil contribution last year at an average of US$141mil per operator,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Western banks operating in the Islamic banking market need to understand the cultural differences to implement technology sucessfully. The question about whether differences arise when implementing technology in an Islamic bank in comparison to one that operates under a Western ‘conventional’ model attracts a mixed and sometimes contradictory response.
However, modern Islamic banking is only about 40 years old and it has developed the most within the last 10 years. This means that it is comparatively immature, and so it has some catching up to do………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Masraf Al Rayan’s plan to take over a loss-making bank in the UK will provide Qatar’s biggest publicly traded Islamic lender a foothold in Europe’s largest market for Shariah-compliant financial products and services.
Masraf Al Rayan, which also offers Islamic banking in Oman and Saudi Arabia through affiliates, plans to acquire 70% of Birmingham-based Islamic Bank of Britain, while the Qatari government will buy the remaining 30%, the bank said on June 4. Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), which owns 84% of the bank known as IBB, plans to buy shares it doesn’t own before selling the entire stake, the British lender said June 6………………………………………..Full Article: Source

For the second consecutive year, Qatar National Bank ( QNB ), the largest financial institution in the State of Qatar and the MENA region, was announced the Best Bank in the Middle East and Best Bank in Qatar at the Banker Middle East Industry Awards ceremony held recently in Dubai.
The Banker Middle East Industry Awards recognize the best performing institutions across the region. A study of audited financial results across 14 measures determines the best bank and fastest growing bank in each country, from this they decide the top 100 banks. (Press Release)

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has been awarded by the Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS), for its continued commitment to Emiratisation. ADIB was presented with an official appreciation trophy for supporting all Emiratisation initiatives in the UAE.
HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, presented the appreciation trophy to Tirad Mahmoud, ADIB’s CEO, on the sidelines of the graduation ceremony at Emirates Institute of Banking and Financial Studies (EIBFS)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House – Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain), the Transaction Advisor to Capivest, Elaf Bank and Capital Management House on a potential merger, said today that the three Islamic banks based in the Kingdom of Bahrain will be voting on the merger in shareholder meetings to be held by the end of the month.
If approved, the newly created entity will have a shareholders’ equity of almost $350m and assets in excess of $400m, which would give them a scale that would make them more competitive in the market. The transaction is the first three way merger to take place in the Kingdom of Bahrain………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) signed a four-year licensing agreement with Sedania Corp Sdn Bhd’s unit IDOTTV, to use the latter’s Islamic banking platform to promote its personal financing-i scheme.
IDOTTV is the developer of the Islamic banking Tawarruq trading system As-Sidq, a system which uses telecommunication airtime as the commodity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic banking remains one of the fastest growing sectors in the Middle East and has outperformed their conventional peers in most markets and this robust growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Islamic finance through its equity-based nature has a lot to offer for the stability of the markets and the economies of the world.
“However, despite a sustained annual growth it should be acknowledged that the industry still remains a relatively niche area and has to break into the mainstream. Therefore, it is important that the industry continues to move forward and innovate in order to continue to achieve growth: development of the Sharia framework, the diversification of products, and how best to manage financial assets are just some potential areas for improvement,” sated Mohammad J. A. Zaqout, EVP - Personal Banking Gropu at Al Hilal Bank. (Press Release)

As part of major preparations for the launch of Islamic financial services in the Sultanate of Oman, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has delivered an inaugural, dedicated Islamic finance training programme for its officers.
The Bank selected Islamic Finance Advisory & Assurance Services (IFAAS), the international Islamic finance consultancy, as its training supplier to design and deliver the course, entitled ‘The Islamic Banking Foundation Programme’………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Navy Cooperative Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Space) is confident the Cooperative Financing the Sharia (Kopsya) based on the Islamic banking system would be Implemented in January, said deputy president Datuk Space Abdullah Abdul Fattah.
He said at the moment about 200 credit cooperatives with a total accumulated fund of RM360 million had agreed to join the Kopsya scheme………………………………………..Full Article: Source

From an Islamic perspective, the gold dinar and silver dirham were the monetary units of the Islamic caliphate from the dawn of Islam until the collapse of the caliphate in 1924.
The world has to be careful not to allow money or SDRs to be created out of thin air and thereafter, lent out on interest. Money and SDRs should be made redeemable for gold or other commodities, even oil, in order to prevent abuse and the repeat of monetary crises in the proportions of recent times………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An organisation set up to foster economic growth among Islamic countries has set up a partnership with a Dutch asset manager to address the “growing food security concerns” in some of its member states.
The Islamic Development Bank, a Jeddah-based organisation set up to aid economic growth among 56 member countries, has launched an agriculture-focused private equity fund in partnership with Dutch asset manager Robeco………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Muslim countries need forward-looking policies to take advantage of the opportunities offered by mobile technology. The mobile phone is recognised across the world as one of the greatest enabling technologies of modern times.
The exponential growth in its penetration and accessibility has defied all expectations — the UN agency International Telecommunications Union estimates that there were more than 5.98 billion mobile phones in use around the world in 2011, corresponding to about 86 per cent of the world’s population………………………………………..Full Article: Source