UK-based Aberdeen, an asset manager with presence in both the conventional and Islamic finance space, plans to introduce two Syariah compliant unit trust funds to break into the local retail funds market.
It is understood that it was now in advanced stage of its application with the Securities Commission (SC) to launch the two funds, which industry sources familiar with the process said would be an another addition to the Islamic Malaysia’s rich Islamic finance landscape……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dana Gas said it’s committed to find a “consensual solution” on a $1 billion Islamic bonds maturing in two months as its trade receivables increased.
“The company is committed to finding a consensual solution that is equitable to all stakeholders,” the Sharjah-based company said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi stock market on Monday. “The company will provide further updates as further progress is made.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd’s 3 billion-ringgit ($962.62 million) sukuk, or Islamic bond, has been assigned a preliminary rating of AAA by Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC).
Funds raised by the company will go to constructing selected government and commercial buildings in Malaysia’s administrative centre of Putrajaya. The company has previously relied on Islamic debt issuances to fund the development of government buildings and quarters. MARC also reaffirmed its stable AAA outlook for the company’s existing issuances………………………………………..Full Article: Source

SME Bank Bhd’s RM500mil sukuk in two tranches of RM250mil each, from its RM3bil government-guaranteed Islamic medium-term notes (IMTN) has been oversubscribed by 5.9 times.
The bank said this reflected the investors’ confidence for SME Bank to play a greater role in supporting the government agenda to boost small and medium enterprises as engines of economic growth………………………………………..Full Article: Source

2012 is expected to be a record year for sukuk issuances in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region. Indeed, the first half of 2012 has already seen an explosive growth in sukuk issuances with US$12.8 billion raised from 16 transactions, compared to just US$1.9 billion issued in the same period last year. In all of 2011, US$7.3 billion was issued, up 62% from US$4.5 billion issued in 2010.
“The growth of sukuk issuances from the GCC will continue at the current pace,” asserts Henrik Raber, global head of debt capital markets at Standard Chartered Bank, which has been one of the key players in the sukuk arranged in the Gulf region………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The country’s central bank will soon issue a regulation requiring Shariah banks to toughen down payments on housing and automotive loans, a deputy governor said. The requirement will be similar to the implementation of the loan-to-value level applied to conventional lenders for housing and vehicle loans issued on March 15 and took effect on June 15.
Under the new regulation, down payments of 25 percent for two-wheeled vehicles are required and 30 percent for four-wheeled vehicles. There were no rules before, but sellers often asked for about 15 percent. Loans typically account for 70 percent of car purchases in Indonesia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

For the development of Islamic banking in Azerbaijan it’s planned to use technical support of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Initially, the development of amendments in national legislation to expand the use of banking services on the Shariah principle was envisaged by the consultant of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) - a consortium of companies Salans, KPMG, Pinsent Masons and the Dar al Shariah.
However, as the IBA told Trend on Friday, the consultant will prepare its own vision and recommendations, and a further phase of the project will be implemented in conjunction with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and the IDB, as this financial institution is the flagship of Islamic banking worldwide………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain-based bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) has registered a profit of $4.7 million for the second quarter compared to a net loss of $11.2 million in 2011 mainly driven by income earned from management fees and restructuring of debt.
Announcing the results on Monday, the leading Islamic investment bank said its net profit for the period ending June 30, 2012, rose to $5.7 million from last year’s $0.7 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bahrain-based Islamic banking group, Al Baraka Banking Group (ABG) announced that its net income increased by 10 per cent in the first half of 2012 compared to the same period of 2011.
Similarly, statement of financial positions witnessed moderate increases. Total assets increased by three per cent, total financing and investments by eight per cent, deposits including equity of investment accountholders by three per cent and total equity by three per cent as at the end of June 2012 as compared with the end of December 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd. (Nakilat) has successfully closed $380m of Islamic Murabaha financing with Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) and Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB). Muhammad Ghannam, Managing Director of Nakilat, emphasized that this financing underlines the strength of Nakilat’s position: “Nakilat’s $380m Murabaha financing with QIIB and QIB once again proves Nakilat’s prime status in today’s financial market. Investors across the board appreciate Nakilat’s strength. This refinancing will increase our financial flexibility. We’re also now better placed to pursue additional high-yield investment opportunities and maximize returns for our shareholders.”
Ghannam also expressed appreciation for the responsive and proficient approach of both QIIB and QIB: “QIIB and QIB worked very adeptly to close the financing in a very short period.(Press Release)

The Islamic Development Bank Group has signed a service agreement with Misys, the global provider of financial application software and services for Banking and Capital Markets, to enhance the Treasury and Investment Departments within the IDB Group.
As per the agreement, Misys will provide various solutions including Opics Plus, Opics Risk Plus, Sophis VALUE and Eagleye to enhance the capacity of the Treasury and Investment functions, in order to serve IDB’s clients more effectively and make its internal processes more efficient as part of IDB Group Business Enhancement and Systems Transformation (GBEST) Program. (Press Release)

From 1975 Islamic Development Bank (IDB) invested 25% of its financing in energy sector development in member- countries. The bank reports that it recently approved $1,158 bn for financing power generation projects in Morocco, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Tajikistan.
Other energy sector approvals in the Board meeting were US$ 185 million for the North-West Region Electric Power Transmission Project in Iran, which aims to improve heavy electricity transfer grid in the country’s East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan and Ardabil provinces………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will finance the power plant of Sousse with investments of around 300 million dinars, said Riadh Bettaieb, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation at the periodic meeting of the communication cell, held Friday, August 10, 2012, at the seat of the Prime Ministry.
The Saudi Fund for Development and the OPEC Fund for International Development will contribute, in turn, with 193 million dinars and 75 million dinars, respectively………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The National Commercial Bank (NCB) is providing the first Islamic structured international airport financing for Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah. Although NCB faces some challenges due to the nature of Shariah-compliant financing; government owned infrastructure, and build, transfer, and operate (BTO) structure; the bank will ensure the project is planned and executed in compliance with Shariah law.
Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport is estimated to cost $1.2 billion (SR4.5 billion) and NCB is providing a significant amount of the total funding through both senior participation and equity bridge financing. Islamic project financing of long-term infrastructure projects has largely been confined to the power and hydrocarbon sectors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Arbatec, the consortium responsible for the construction of Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) at Abu Dhabi International airport (ADI), is close to sign a $1.1bn financing deal for the project according to reports.
The Shariah-compliant financing deal is led by Mashreq and also includes First Gulf Bank, Union National Bank, Al Hilal Bank, all from Abu Dhabi, and Jordan’s Arab Bank. Out of the total financing facility, 80% will be Sharia-compliant, with the remainder planned to be secured through a conventional loan………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates Aluminium (Emal), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and Dubai Aluminium, has approached banks to arrange $4bn in financing to expand its smelter, Project Finance International (PFI) said on Monday.
The loan tranches will have a tenor of 15.5 years. Banks who commit to join the conventional and Islamic loan portions will be able to pitch for the bond mandate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Stock Exchange officially launches the NSE Lotus Islamic Index (NSE LII) which consists of companies whose business practices are in conformity with the principles of Shari’ah. Sunday Trust looks at the necessity of the index.
In a bid to attract Sharia/ethical investors to Nigeria’s budding stock market, Islamic wealth manager Lotus Capital and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday launched a debut index of NSE-listed companies that comply with Islamic investment principles………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In a move to manifest its solidarity in the revival of Egypt’s economy and its struggle to shake-off the effects of its post-revolution, Qatar has announced that it will deposit an amount of $2 billion at Egypt’s Central bank. The announcement was also confirmed by Egypt.
The gesture came after a closed door meeting was held by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Egypt’s new president Mohamed Morsi. The Emir is on a visit to Cairo and it’s the first of its kind by a Gulf leader after the election of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate as president………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will present a multi-sector aid plan to lift the PA out of its financial crisis when he addresses the Organization of Islamic Countries this week, a PA minister told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency on Sunday.
The plan “needs hundreds of millions of dollars to be implemented, and we hope that Islamic countries will support us,” Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habash told Ma’an………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia (Takaful Malaysia)’s first half of financial year 2012 (1HFY12) annualised core net profit lifted by higher wakalah fees and surplus transfer from its family takaful business.
Its core net profit, which grew 24.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM47.9 million, was boosted by significantly higher wakalah fees (up 117.4 per cent y-o-y) and stronger top-line growth (gross contributions, up 53.4 per cent y-o-y) and had exceeded OSK Research Sdn Bhd’s (OSK Research’s) expectations, accounting for 63.6 per cent of its full-year estimates………………………………………..Full Article: Source