Emerging markets in Islamic banking and finance in India and abroad need close to 50,000 financial experts, a requirement that can be met by the huge reserves of human capital in the country, particularly in Hyderabad.
M S Sheriff from the Institute of Islamic Banking Finance and Insurance (IIBFI) said, “There are 75 countries in the world which have recognised Islamic banking and finance with South Africa, USA, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia being a few of them……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic wealth manager Lotus Capital and Nigeria’s bourse (NSE) on Monday launched a debut index of Nigerian Stock Exchange-listed companies that comply with centuries-old Islamic investment principles.
The NSE Lotus Islamic index, which covers 15 equities with combined market capitalisation of around 2.87 billion naira ($18 mln), excludes banks, companies with high levels of debt or leverage and other stocks that conflict with Islamic principles………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Another Gulf borrower is turning to diversify its funding sources to the ringgit sukuk market. Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding is believed to be planning roadshows in Kuala Lumpur via joint leads CIMB and Standard Chartered.
It is setting up a RM3bil Murabahah programme, which was rated AA2 by RAM. An imminent deal is not expected as basis swaps are not favourable to Gulf borrowers at the moment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic finance industry has shown an impressive growth of 15-20 per cent per annum with assets under management valued at $1 trillion. The industry is projected to reach $2 trillion in the next three years.
Islamic finance has become a global phenomenon with a number of non-Muslim countries also showing keen interest in this area. United Kingdom intends to make London the hub of Islamic finance with plans to issue sovereign sukuk and amend tax laws on Islamic finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Allen & Overy has advised Malaysian telco Axiata Group on its issuance of $1.5 billion worth of Islamic bonds, the first internationally rated multi-currency sukuk programme in the Asia-Pacific region.
Axiata said the fund raising, which came in the form of non-fixed tenure multi-currency sukuk programme, allowed airtime vouchers on Axiata’s mobile telecommunications network to be included as a trust asset………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Azerbaijan’s largest lender, International Bank of Azerbaijan, plans to have an Islamic banking subsidiary in Qatar by the end of this year as it develops its regional Islamic finance capabilities, a senior executive said.
IBA, 50.2 per cent owned by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Finance, would then start operating in Qatar in the first quarter of 2013, Behnam Gurbanzada, IBA’s director of Islamic banking, said in an interview this week………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Nizwa, Oman’s first Islamic bank, hosted its constitutive general meeting (CGM) at the InterContinental Hotel Muscat, earlier this week, where the bank’s first board of directors was elected.
Seventy-four per cent of shareholders voted in person or by proxy to elect the first board, which includes Amjed Mohammed Al Busaidi, Amer Hamed Al Sulaimani, Abdul Aziz Saud Al Khalili, MusabahSaif Al Mutairi, Adil Abdul Aziz Yahya Al Kindi, YousufYaqoob Al Harthy, Saif Hilal Nasser Al Mawali and MuadhSalim Al Ghazali………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Bank of Oman (NBO) is well poised to offer Islamic Banking products as soon as the final guidelines and the necessary approvals are received from the Central Bank of Oman, the Deputy Chairman Mohammed Mahfoodh al Ardhi stated in the Chairman’s Report of the bank’s financial performance for the six months to June 30, 2012.
“The shareholders of the bank, have, at an extraordinary general meeting held on June 10, 2012, approved the Board of Directors’ recommendation for the appointment of a Sharia supervisory board for the bank’s Islamic Banking window………………………………………..Full Article: Source

HSBC is cashing in on its recent acquisition of Oman International Bank. The recently merged HSBC Bank Oman reported a 4.3 per cent rise in second-quarter profit. Net income in the quarter ended June 31 stood at 7.2 million Omani rials, up from 6.9 million rials on the same period last year, the bank said.
The merger between HSBC and Oman International Bank - previously the country’s fifth-largest lender - was completed last month. HSBC had been Oman’s sixth-largest lender before the merger………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In recent years there has been a worldwide move towards ethical investment leading to a dramatic growth in Islamic Finance. Jersey Finance has invested much time and effort in highlighting Jersey’s credentials in this area.
Jersey is well placed to meet the demands and challenges associated with providing Shari’a-compliant services. But this is not a new development, Jersey has been providing services to Muslim clients and in particular to those resident in the GCC for many years………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The legitimization of political discourse against Muslims is on the rise in the United States, while Beijing—an ostensibly socialist, secular government—builds mosques, in a paradoxical soft-power pitch to the Muslim world. Will Muslim business interests look East?
In little over a decade since 9/11, China built a mosque to welcome Muslim guests from countries like neighboring Kazakhstan, a major supplier of natural fuels, to Guangzhou for the 2010 Asian Games. Chinese state-owned construction companies finished a railway allowing Muslims to travel between pilgrimage sites in Mecca and Medina in the same year and broke ground in the construction of a monumental Grand Mosque of Algiers in 2012………………………………………..Full Article: Source