Bank Mandiri, the country’s largest lender by assets, is considering an initial public offering next year for its Islamic unit, Bank Syariah Mandiri, a top executive has said. Sunarso, a commercial director of Bank Mandiri, said on Thursday that the preparations for the offering were under way and the IPO was likely for next year.
“The preparations for the share sale, still have to be completed first but I don’t think it will take too long,” he said. “We want the IPO to help strengthen the capital [of Bank Syariah Mandiri] .”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Judging by the growth rates that takaful has witnessed in the past decade, it’s fair to say that the segment has definitely managed to overcome the resistance of many Muslims to insurance, and to life insurance in particular. Takaful is also benefitting from factors that support insurance growth throughout the GCC region, including strong economic growth, which has led to rising incomes.
People are now more aware of the importance of both life and general coverage as they take out mortgages to buy property, seek to ensure a comfortable retirement and provide for the education of their children………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s success in according Islamic banking a notable position in the world bears testimony to the Islamic-centric focus of the country’s leaders, Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said.
He said the status was not an easy one to attain, and could not have suceeded without hard work and sacrifices. “When the Islamic banking system was drafted, many were sceptical, including Malaysians and several foreign countries, on the country’s ability to implement the system,” he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Financial reforms in Malaysia could spur the growth of the country’s Islamic banks by giving them more opportunity to tap into rural areas, which have a greater proportion of Muslims than urban centres. But concerns about profitability may slow the expansion.
The central bank issued new agent banking guidelines this month that expand a pilot programme allowing lenders to offer basic financial services through non-bank retail outlets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Demand for Islamic banking and insurance products is expected to be fairly robust when Islamic banks, Islamic windows and Takaful companies formally roll out their products and services, starting from as early as the fourth quarter of this year.
According to a prominent expert on Islamic banking, demand will be driven by a number of categories of potential customers who have been “waiting patiently” for Islamic financial services to become available in the Sultanate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) recently hosted a ceremony to honour the winners of its inaugural Seven Star Award, which was launched by the bank in April 2012. Mohammad Abdullah, CEO of SIB, presented mementos and prizes to the winners in the presence of a number of SIB directors and employees.
The award, the first of its kind in the UAE banking sector, aims to improve the quality of services provided by SIB’s various branches and encourages the creation of a more competitive business environment to help ensure increased efficiency and growth rates………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In building up expectations for the upcoming Budget 2013, OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) expects the local financial sector to be in the limelight, particularly for the further development of Islamic finance.
According to OCBC Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi in an interview with The Borneo Post, this was evidenced by the introduction of the Kuala Lumpur International Financial District, now known as the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), as proposed in Budget last year. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Despite negative spillover effects from the Euro zone debt crises and various scandals at Western banks, the Islamic finance industry celebrates a comeback. According to Kuwait Finance House, the Gulf region’s second largest Islamic bank by assets, the global volume of issued Islamic bonds reached 66.4 billion US dollars in the first half- year of 2012, representing a year-on-year growth of 40 percent.
“This is the biggest year for sukuk simply because supply is finally catching up to demand,” John Sandwick, wealth manager at Islamic asset management firm Safa Investment Services in Geneva, said in an e-mailed interview with Xinhua………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Optimists will hail the fact that finally, after a mushroom growth in Pakistan of Islamic and other banks offering Sharia-compliant services and products, a debate has finally been generated about the viability and genuine adherence to religious teachings of these products and services.
An indicator of how this very important debate has begun to enter the mainstream was published in this newspaper some time ago in which the legitimacy of the interest-free financial instruments proffered by these banks was questioned. It was argued that an economic transaction would be considered riba- (interest) free if it avoids the multiplier mode of money-making, profit-taking and capital creation………………………………………..Full Article: Source

More than USD76-billion of bond and sukuk debt is expected to mature by 2014, according to Kuwait Financial Centre ( Markaz ) research. Around USD20.6-billion of sukuk and bond is expected to mature this year, USD14-billion in 2013 and a massive USD41.4-billion in 2014, according to the Kuwait-based investment bank.
In total, there are around USD205.6-billion of outstanding debt and sukuk in the region. “Corporate issuances make up the majority of the total amount outstanding with USD138.3 billion, or 67.2% of the total amount outstanding,” according to Markaz . “Sovereign issuances amount to USD67.4 billion or 32.8% of the total amount outstanding.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has assigned the Development Bank of Kazakhstan’s (DBK) Islamic Medium Term Note Programme, which has a total value of up to MYR 1.5 billion Malaysian Ringgits (about $479 million), a final rating of ‘BBB-’.
The agency has also assigned a ‘BBB-’ rating to the debut five-year MYR 240 million issue of Sukuk under the programme………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The accession of Russia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) earlier this week as its 156th member opens up new possibilities in trade and investment cooperation not only with markets in the European Union, the US and China, but also with the Islamic World especially Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Turkey.
Just as the Kingdom and China had a phased-in transition period after their accession to the WTO, Russia similarly will have a grace period of a number of years to comply with the various trade liberalization, dispute resolution and procurement provisions which are a condition of its membership of the world trade body, which in turn in many respects is trying to re-invent itself in the wake of the impasse in the last Doha Round of trade liberalization negotiations. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source