Shariah Capital, an Islamic asset management firm based in the United States, is to delist from London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) after a seven-year string of losses.
The hedge fund manager, which operates in the Middle East and has reported annual losses every year since 2005, said in a market message it would seek a cancellation of the shares………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A unit of Malaysia’s MMC Corp will issue 4.5 billion ringgit ($1.44 billion) of Islamic bonds after winning approvals from the securities commission, the firm said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.
Tanjung Bin Power Sdn Bhd — a coal-fired power station 90 percent owned by Malakoff Corp that is in turn controlled by MMC Corp — will be using the proceeds from the sukuk, or Islamic bonds, for working capital and to pay off debts, MMC Corp said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the biggest lender in the U.A.E. by market value, has priced a seven-year, $750 million bond to yield 3.043%, after receiving strong demand, a banker aware of the deal said Monday.
The bond carries a coupon of 3%, and the spread of 180 basis points over midswaps is tighter than the initial price guidance of about 200 basis points over midswaps, reflecting strong demand, the banker, who declined to be identified, told Zawya Dow Jones………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s top sukuk arrangers are predicting domestic sales in 2012 will surpass last year’s all-time high as record-low borrowing costs and the government’s $444 billion (Dh1.63 trillion) spending programme drive issuance.
Offerings of ringgit notes reached 30.8 billion ringgit ($36.03 billion) this year, compared with 75.6 billion ringgit ($88.43 billion) in 2011. CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd., the second-biggest debt manager in the past seven months, has 15 billion ringgit ($17.55 billion) of deals in the pipeline, according to Chief Executive Officer Badlisyah Abdul Ghani………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic bonds of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding LLC, a Dubai-based family-run operator of malls and hotels, rose to the highest since their debut, buoyed by a rebound in Dubai’s tourism and real estate markets.
The yield on the 5.85 per cent sukuk due February 2017 fell 174 basis points since they were sold on January 31 to 4.1 per cent today. Average yields on sukuk from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) dropped 106 basis points in the period to 3.23 per cent on Friday, the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai GCC US Dollar Sukuk Index shows. MAF is rated the second-lowest investment grade at Standard & Poor’s, while Dubai’s debt isn’t ranked………………………………………..Full Article: Source

RAM Rating Services has reaffirmed the AA1 long-term rating (with a stable outlook) of Sarawak Energy Bhd’s (SEB) Sukuk Musyarakah programme of up to RM15bil (2011/2036).
It said on Monday the rating reflects SEB’s strategic role as the electricity provider in the state and key facilitator of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

There are a number of business schools now introducing Islamic Finance in their curriculums. For some, the reasoning is to open MBA students up to different cultural realities, but for many schools, it just makes business sense.
We can identify three main reasons why it is important to include Islamic Finance in the curricula of an MBA student. Islamic finance has a niche hold on the market, and it is growing at a tremendous rate……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Although Islamic banking has grown rapidly over the last three decades, the volume of transactions touched $1.086 trillion (Dh3.98 trillion) in 2011, accounting for only one per cent of the world’s total.
This point was made at a seminar organised last week by the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi in cooperation with the Paris Institute of Geo-Political Studies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Director, International Institute for Islamic Banking and Finance (IIIBF), Professor Shehu Usman Rano, at the weekend said the Islamic banking system is meant to ensure fairness through just and equitable distribution of resources.
Professor Rano said this while presenting a paper titled; “The Role of Islamic Finance in Economic Development” at the second annual national conference of the Islamic Economic Thought Association (IETA), a students’ group in the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest lender by market value, saw its OMR96.7 million ($251.2 million) rights issue 127.5 per cent covered by investors, the bank said in a bourse filing on Monday. The capital raised will be used to fund credit growth and the lender’s upcoming venture into Islamic finance.
The lender received bids worth OMR123.3 million from 1,675 investors for the share sale, which took place between July 9-23 and was used to raise capital to fund credit growth and its upcoming venture into Islamic finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Azerbaijani TuranBank prepares to sign an agreement for the provision of the second credit line of Islamic Finance – “Ijara” (lease) in the amount of $3.5 million with the Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector (ICD is part of the Islamic Development Bank).
“The signing of the agreement is expected within the next two weeks,” the bank noted. The first loan in the amount of $3 million, granted in the beginning of this year, has been completely mastered. In June this year the bank held a meeting with representatives of the ICD and plans to sign an agreement in the frame of the second line………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a top-tier Islamic financial services institution, announced today the launch of ADIB Instant Finance, a facility that adds finance facilities on to the ADIB EMV (chip)-enabled Debit and Covered card. ADIB is the 1st UAE Islamic bank - and among the 1st in the world - to offer such a quick installment based finance product.
A key feature of ADIB Instant Finance is the quick turnaround time that allows a transaction to be completed in a matter of minutes compared to the minimum three days required to approve regular financing facilities. (Press Release)

Practical experience under different changing paradigms has led the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to draft the second revision of the Basel Accord i.e. Basel III. This latest version of the Basel Accord has been evolved as a more stringent regulation to come into force phasing over the years from 2013 to 2019.
This stringency has disqualified many a hybrid or derivative instrument for treatment as regulatory capital. As a result, although they were eligible under Basel I and Basel II, those derivative elements are now scheduled to be excluded from the purview of capital according to Basel III………………………………………..Full Article: Source

UK law firm Clifford Chance has submitted draft proposals for legislation to cover Takaful and Sukuk in Oman. The firm had been appointed to set out a legal framework for the Shari’ah-compliant instruments by Omani regulator the Capital Market Authority (CMA).
Abdullah bin Salem al Salmi, executive president of CMA, said the rules covering Takaful will be a completely new set of legislation while amendments will be made to the existing Capital Markets Law to accommodate Islamic debt instruments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index finished July up 2.50 per cent, according to data compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index measures the performance of 100 of the world’s leading Shari’ah-compliant stocks.
The Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the world’s 50 largest companies, posted a July gain of 2.22 per cent. Regionally, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of 25 of the leading Shari’ah-compliant stocks in the Asia/Pacific region, increased 2.37 per cent in July; the Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index increased 2.67 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source