Sharia-compliant banking is expected to witness a global growth of 15-20 per cent, according to a banker. Dr Rajesh Nayak, Director (Training), Central Bank of Oman’s College of Banking and Financial Studies, Oman, said that sharia concept of banking is attracting bankers in some western countries. At present, around $1 trillion of banking assets are under this concept of banking, he said.
Sharia-compliant banking emphasises on sharing risks than shifting risks. It is based on the principles of prohibition of interest and prohibition of uncertainty……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Global corporate sukuk yields are at the lowest relative to government debt since February 2010, helped by improving profits for Dubai developers.
The average yield on corporate debt has fallen 154 basis points this year to 3.76 per cent, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai Sukuk Corporate Index, while yields on government Islamic bonds are down 34 basis points to 3.56 per cent. The 20 basis- point gap is the smallest since February 26, 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkey is set to mandate HSBC, Citi and Deutsche Bank to manage the sale of its first sukuk, or Islamic bond, banking sources told Reuters. The move by the Treasury, overcoming sensitivities about Islamic finance in the secular republic, should give Turkey access to a wider pool of investors via a global sukuk market estimated at more than $100 billion.
One banker said a size of $1 billion was being targeted, but that the sale amount was still unclear………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ankara is finally set to help open the way for Turkish banks and companies to access Islamic funding by issuing a debut sukuk sovereign bond, according to reports. The move is partly motivated by recent difficulties investors have met in raising funds to take part in infrastructure projects and privatisations.
According to Reuters, which cites unnamed banking sources speaking on July 5, Turkey is set to mandate HSBC, Citi and Deutsche Bank to manage the sale of its first sukuk. The issue would set a benchmark for Turkish borrowers looking to tap a global sukuk market estimated at more than $100bn, allowing the Muslim, but secular, economy to diversify its fixed income investor base………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sudan’s latest issue of Islamic “sukuk” bonds was fully subscribed and raised the Sudanese pound equivalent of about $160 million, and two more such issues are planned this year to help make up for the loss of oil revenue, a debt official said.
Sudan also hopes to sell $758 million of dollar-denominated sukuk, an offer which has already been partly subscribed, said Osama Saeed, head of the research and statistics section at Sudan Financial Services Company, which issues Islamic bonds on behalf of the government. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Gulf Arab state of Qatar is planning to issue Islamic bonds, or sukuk, for the first time in nearly a decade, as it seeks to take advantage of global demand for safe havens and sharia-compliant assets amid market uncertainty.
Qatar has mandated banks for investor meetings in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore starting on July 9, arranging banks said on Thursday, and a dollar-denominated sukuk issue may follow subject to market conditions………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Experts weigh its pros and cons while critics say it goes against the nation’s secular fabric. BY holding the first-ever meeting in India this week of its International Advisory Panel (IAP), the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation promoted its agenda of “building bridges through business” in a country where it sees big potential.
Foundation chairman Tun Musa Hitam emphasised the need to “solidify the partnerships and work towards concrete initiatives based on changing trends and new opportunities in the global economic scene”………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fifteen years ago, Muslims wishing to take out a home finance using a credit card or deposit money into a current account would have been hard pushed to do so and stay compliant with syariah.
With few Islamic banks around - and a limited range of syariah products - banking as a Muslim invariably involved compromising either your faith or your financial needs. Today, in many markets, such compromise is no longer necessary. Islamic banking is becoming a part of the mainstream, widely available across financial products and geographies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jaiz Bank Plc of Nigeria, which provides Shariah-compliant banking services, said it plans to raise 8 billion naira ($49.7 million) to expand its operations.
“We are targeting between the end of July and early August to raise the capital,” Idris Isa, a spokesman for the Abuja- based bank, said today in a phone interview. The funds will be sought through private placement, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) appears to have experienced something of a mutiny, after the entirety of its Shari’ah board resigned following concerns that the bank was moving away from its conservative approach
The board reportedly had “differing views” on their role in the operational management of the business. The board members claim to have held discussions with FNB executives regarding their concerns. “Concerns were ironed out and a new pathway chalked out going forward,” BusinessTech quotes Mufti Ebrahim Desai, former Chairman of the Shari’ah Board of FNB Islamic Finance, as saying………………………………………..Full Article: Source

“In Pakistan Islamic banking is being practiced on the basis of supply and demand, and is not mandatory,” said Director Education Jamiatur Rasheed Abdul Aziz Raja.
Raja said that a banking ordinance was introduced in 1974 but tabled in-house in 1984, under which Islamic banking in Pakistan should be mandatory and not optional. He said that Islamic banking should be enforced with the Supreme Court’s orders………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkish Islamic bank Turkiye Finans, which is majority-owned by Saudi’s National Commercial Bank, said its net profit rose 61 per cent year-on-year to 145 million lira ($80.3 million) in the first half.
The bank has also plans to issue a $300 million sukuk (Islamic bond) in the next 6 to 9 months, revealed Turkiye Finans’ general manager Derya Gurerk in an interview with Reuters………………………………………..Full Article: Source

For high-flying Bumi companiesto use as working capital and to buy assets. UNIT Peneraju Agenda Bumiputera (Teraju) and SME Bank have launched a RM500 million Islamic loan facility aimed at high-performing Bumiputera companies.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the new fund called the TeraS Fund is to facilitate the business expansion of high-performing Bumiputera companies under the Teraju TeraS programme………………………………………..Full Article: Source

6-year credit facility comprises a conventional term loan facility and Islamic facilities. Airport retailer Dubai Duty Free has secured a $1.75 billion (Dh6.422 billion) loan facility that will be used to fund expansion of the emirate’s international airport.
The six-year senior, unsecured syndicated credit facility will comprise a conventional term loan facility and Islamic facilities, the company said in a statement on Thursday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oasis Crescent United Kingdom, a subsidiary of South African firm Oasis Crescent Global Group Holdings opened for business in London on 30 June 2012. The company had taken offices in Knightsbridge in March and its unit Oasis Crescent Advisory Services (UK) Ltd had obtained its license to provide financial services advice from Financial Services Authority in May.
The company will advise on both retail and institutional investment products through Oasis Crescent Advisory Services UK. Oasis Crescent UK will provide Shari’ah-compliant investment products and services………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Recently concluded 2012 Global Finance Conference in Chicago, the USA had a Saudi Arabian participant researcher Dr. Dawood Ashraf, an Assistant Professor in Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU).
“The economic downturn caused due to excess of leverage in the financial system hardly impacts Islamic Mutual Funds (IMF),” said the PMU researcher after analyzing relative performance of IMFs with the conventional funds in Saudi Arabia that constitutes for more than 20% of world’s Islamic capital market. (Press Release)

S&P Capital IQ Fund Research announced today that it has assigned a Silver fund grading to Mashreq Al Islami Income Fund, the first Islamic fixed-income fund in the MENA region to be graded by S&P Capital IQ.
The UAE-domiciled product is run by Abdul Hussain, Mashreq Capital’s experienced CIO of fixed income and group CEO. Mashreq Capital is part of Mashreq Bank, the largest retail bank in the UAE. (Press Release)

Emirates NBD Asset Management Limited, the asset management arm of Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced today that it received the award for ‘Best Islamic Wealth Management Service Provider’ at the recent 2012 Sukuk Summit - Islamic Finance Awards of Excellence held in London.
The award ceremony was held alongside the two-day investment summit in London, which brought together leaders and experts from across the world to meet and discuss the Islamic investment space. (Press Release)

The insurance sector is forecasted to see substantial growth in the next few years as continued diversification, consolidation and international activity spur rising premiums and uptake of new services.
Moderate gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the rest of the year, however, could pose a challenge to its growth as the effects of a weakening global economy trickle down to private consumers………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has said that it will this month release the guidelines on full fledge Takaful underwriting as against the existing practice of window operation.
The Commission disclosed this through its commissioner for Insurance, Fola Daniel, at the ongoing Annual Education Conference in Abuja, that all the efforts made by the government through the Commission were expected to galvanize the market to enhanced productivity and meaningful contribution to the nation’s economy……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Middle East equity capital markets issuance reached $4 billion during the second quarter of 2012, nearly four times the value seen during the previous quarter, Thomson Reuters said in its 2012 investment banking analysis for the Middle East region.
According to the report, Middle Eastern M&A activity reached $8.5 billion during the second quarter of 2012, an increase of 45 per cent on the previous quarter, and marking the strongest quarter since 1Q 2010………………………………………..Full Article: Source