A regulatory framework for Islamic finance is taking shape in Oman as government bodies move towards meeting the country’s stated aim of making sharia-compliant products available to the public this year. But logistical challenges and the limited size of the market may prevent entrants to the business from making quick profits.
Legislation covering takaful (Islamic insurance) and sukuk (Islamic fixed income securities) is expected to be finalised by the end of the third quarter of the year, Capital Market Authority officials told Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australia likes to congratulate itself on “discovering” economic trends that it is actually late to get into. Asia is one area like this. We’re 12 years into the 21st century, but Canberra is spending millions assembling a white paper on “Australia in the Asian century”.
Another trend is towards Islamic finance. Some people raise their eyebrows. Why do pious Muslims need to work with capital differently from the rest of us? Wrong question. The right one is, how can we get more pious Muslims to deposit more of their money with us? Fortunately, Australia, which has almost half a million Muslims, according to the 2011 census, is starting to answer that question………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The next phase of growth of the Islamic capital market would be characterised by greater internationalisation, which would see more product as well as service providers expanding beyond their home market.
The Securities Commission’s executive director of Islamic capital market Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin said more investors would seek products or instruments with international exposure………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new fund house has launched in London offering Shariah compliant funds in a Ucits structure to UK investors. Oasis Crescent, which has its new office in the Knightsbridge area of London, has been managing Islamic and conventional funds for more than 15 years, with £2.5bn (€3bn, $4bn) of assets under management, and operating within Europe for more than ten.
The company said the Islamic investment market in the UK is currently “under £1bn” but has the “potential to be between £120bn and £160bn”………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The global Islamic finance and banking sector is pegged at $1 trillion with an estimated growth rate that is four times higher than conventional financial services, according to organisers of the upcoming International Islamic Finance Conference 2012.
Recent estimates predict a year-on-year growth rate of 25%, which would see the global industry valued at $5 trillion in 2016. They said that this indicates a need for an increased understanding of both the sector and the robust strategies needed to support such growth where the increased competition is in danger of blurring of lines between products and services. (Press Release)

The global Islamic finance and banking sector is pegged at $1 trillion with an estimated growth rate that is four times higher than conventional financial services, according to organizers of the upcoming International Islamic Finance Conference 2012.
In a news announcement the event management team at Emerald Insight suggested that the demand for the Shariah-managed industry is largely market driven with a noticeably high number of institutions entering the arena introducing new products to market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Olayan Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Saudi Arabia, has concluded its maiden issue of an Islamic bond, or sukuk, sources said.
It is one of a number of Saudi entities that have priced their first local currency sukuk this year as interest in the country’s debt market grows on the back of high investor liquidity and a desire to diversify funding sources away from bank loans………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Muamalat, an Islamic lender in Indonesia, is planning to raise Rp 800 billion ($85 million) from the sale of subordinated Islamic debt this week. The bank, which is partly controlled by the Islamic Development Bank, is offering the 10-year Islamic notes to investors today and plans to list the debt on the Indonesia Stock Exchange next Monday.
The offering will be the first as part of Bank Muamalat’s long-term plan to raise Rp 1.5 trillion within two years, the lender said in a brief prospectus published in Investor Daily on Monday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Tamweel’s Islamic bond climbed to a record as the mortgage provider controlled by Dubai Islamic Bank plans its second sukuk sale this year, boosted by an increase in property sales.
The yield on the 5.154 per cent Islamic bonds, which pay returns on assets instead of interest, due January 2017 has fallen 57 basis points in June to 4.30 per cent on Wednesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A year after it called off its maiden conventional bond issue in the international market, Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim Holding is trying again. This time, stronger global demand for Gulf debt, and better investor sentiment towards Dubai in particular, mean a much smoother ride for MAF.
The shopping mall developer is eyeing a seven-year, $500 million conventional bond, longer than the five-year tenor favoured in the region. It released price guidance at 5.375 percent on Wednesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain, which quashed anti- government protests in 2011, will pay more to raise $1.5 billion than it did in prior 10-year bond sales, a person familiar with the sale said, as investors focus on political risks.
The smallest member of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council priced bonds at 437.5 basis points over similar-maturity midswaps, or about 6.15 percent, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Sohar, the Sultanate’s most youthful and dynamic Banking institution and Path Solutions, a global provider of software solutions to the Islamic financial services industry today announced that they have inked a pact at a signing ceremony in Muscat, Oman.
As per the deal, Path Solutions’ pioneering Islamic Banking system iMAL will be implemented at Bank Sohar to assist the bank extend Islamic Banking services………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Bank of Thailand (IBank) plans to increase its focus on halal food exports, with a target of 3 billion baht in loans for the industry this year, says bank president Dheerasak Suwannayos.
The target is a 50% increase from last year, he said. IBank expects to extend 20 billion baht in credit to all sectors this year. Dheerasak said of Asean’s 601 million people, Muslims account for 260 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic Bank of Thailand has asked the central bank to provide it with an additional Bt800 million in soft loans for re-lending to flood victims, president Thirasak Suwanayos said.
The bank also plans to lend more to support those wanting to do business in Asean. Flood victims have already applied for loans worth Bt800 million, which is the amount previously made available to the bank under the flood-recovery scheme, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB), one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the region, announced today that it will provide housing finance to UAE and GCC nationals buying property in Manazil Towers in Sharjah.
The announcement follows a MoU signed with the developer, Manazil Real Estate, to finance end users for its five completed towers (Manazil Tower 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) in Sharjah. (Press Release)

A statement by the Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, said, “The issuance of an Islamic mega bank licence in Malaysia is to increase the international dimension of Islamic Finance in the Malaysian financial system and thus enhance Malaysia’s global economic and financial interlinkages with other parts of the world, in particular, with other emerging economies and international financial centres.
“Entities applying for such licences are required to meet all the existing rules and regulations set forth by Bank Negara Malaysia. A full licence will only be awarded once all legal and regulatory requirements are met………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Over a year since the Middle East’s revolts began, countries hit by unrest are having trouble obtaining the foreign aid they badly need to rebuild their economies and ease social problems.
When Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador to Cairo in late April, yields on Egyptian Treasury bills rose and stock prices slipped as investors feared Egypt would be cut off from billions of dollars of Saudi financial aid………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Muslim Brotherhood as a movement has committed to respect whatever has been agreed and concluded by Egypt and even by the previous Egyptian Government. Connections with the Muslim countries will probably influence the presence of Egypt within the Arab and Muslim world and it will be redefined. It is a deep shift in the positions of Egypt.
I do not see Egypt becoming a country that encourages any subversive or destructive movements across the region, I have no fear that this is the case. I think Egypt will want to remain a country that works for the stability of the Middle East but I think the tone will change and eventually, depending on Egypt’s interests, we will see different traces in terms of the foreign policy………………………………………..Full Article: Source