The Islamic finance asset is expected to grow between 10 per cent and 15 per cent in the next three years due to increasing demand for Islamic products as well as diversification of such products in the marketplace.
World Bank Managing Director Mahmoud Mohieldin said the growth potential for the industry is big with demand and supply as drivers of growth. “The supply side being very much driven by more competition. More banks, not just the ones that have headquarters in member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) or countries with a majority of Muslims but we can see that many banks around the world is offering Islamic finance or profit-sharing products,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s corporate sukuk issuance is expected to grow by 15% to 20% to RM90bil this year, supported by strong demand for sukuk on the back of uncertainties in the market.
Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (Aibim) president Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid (pic) said as of June 2012, Malaysia’s corporate sukuk stood at RM64bil………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesia will offer its lowest- ever coupon for dollar-denominated bonds when it sells global sukuk as soon as next month, according to Manulife Asset Management Indonesia and BNI Asset Management.
The fund managers, who oversee a combined $3.1 billion, expect the $1 billion issue to be sold at a yield of about 3 percent, lower than a sale of seven-year Shariah-compliant notes in November that paid a rate of 4 percent. The nation sold $2.5 billion of non-Islamic 10-year securities in April at 3.75 percent, the lowest for any Indonesian dollar sale………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bloomberg announced further commitment to the Islamic finance market with the launch of a Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) corporate sukuk index, developed with the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and Bursa Malaysia.
The Bloomberg AIBIM Bursa Malaysia Corporate Sukuk Index will serve as a benchmark for investors of ringgit- denominated Islamic bonds in Malaysia, the world’s biggest sukuk market. Global demand for corporate and sovereign sukuk has grown over the last decade and in Malaysia, as low borrowing costs continue to drive issuance. Malaysia is having a record year for sales of corporate sukuk, with potentially about 20 billion ringgit of Shariah-compliant debt in the pipeline, according to data compiled by Bloomberg………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals, today announced the launch of the Thomson Reuters Global Sukuk Index, an independent and transparent benchmark for investors seeking exposure to sukuk (Shariah-compliant) fixed-income investments, to be used to monitor the performance of the sukuk market.
The US$1.2 trillion Islamic finance industry is currently growing at more than 15% per annum, and it is led by the Islamic debt capital market, which is primarily composed of Sukuk. (Press Release)

Malaysias Airlines (MAS) has issued the second tranche of the junior sukuk programme, amounting to RM500mil yesterday, following the programme of up to RM2.5bil in May this year.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MAS said that the sukuk was issued at par and carries a semi-annual profit rate of 6.9% per annum up to year 10. If MAS does not exercise its option to redeem at the end of the 10th year, the periodic distribution increases by 2.5%………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In a market galvanised by central bank action in the US and in Europe, strong appetite for emerging market bonds have eroded the pricing advantage enjoyed by sukuk over conventional paper say origination bankers, at a time when yield-starved Islamic investors have started to become more selective.
The shift might carry significant implications for the sukuk market, where issuers used to be able to save as much as 40bp by printing Sharia-compliant bonds as opposed to conventional notes. Meanwhile, as much as $19.2bn has been raised so far this year by borrowers according to S&P……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Turkey sold $1.5 billion of its first-ever dollar bond compliant to Islamic law. The strong demand for the bond led to the bond price tightening even more than the existing government bond. A majority of the buyers of the bond were said to be investors in the Middle East.
The bond sold at a yield of 2.803%, or 185 basis points over comparable mid-swaps, a benchmark rate that currently is at 0.953%, a person familiar with the deal said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dana Gas PJSC, the fuel producer with $1 billion in Islamic bonds maturing in October, may reach a “reasonable resolution with investors” on the sukuk, the president of the company’s biggest shareholder said.
“I am very optimistic about the professionalism of Dana Gas management to reach a reasonable resolution with investors,” Crescent Petroleum Co.’s President Badr Jafar told reporters in Dubai today. “Discussions are ongoing with Egypt regarding scheduling payments.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Crescent Petroleum, a key shareholder in Dana Gas, is optimistic that the Sharjah-based natural gas producer can reach a “comfortable resolution” on its $920 million Islamic bond maturing in October, Crescent’s president said on Tuesday.
Abu Dhabi-listed Dana is also in talks with the Egyptian government to recover delayed receivables from its operations in the North African country, Badr Jafar, Crescent’s president, told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Dubai………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been fully subscribed by 328%.
Subscriptions worth BD65.5 million were received for the BD20 million issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days. The expected return on the issue, which begins on 20 September 2012 and matures on 21 March 2013, is 1.35%………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As part of the implementation of the country strategy together with Kazakhstan, in 2012-2014 the Islamic Development Bank may finance projects worth 1 billion USD. The vice president on finance Abdulaziz Al-Hinai has announced that at the beginning of October in Astana the Islamic Development Bank will sign a new country strategy of the bank in Kazakhstan.
He hasn’t told about the document in details and just announced that the sides are still discussing some issues of the strategy. In his turn, at the meeting in Almaty the deputy minister of industry and new technologies Bakhytzhan Dzhaksaliyev noted that in the nearest 2 years the IDB will finance projects worth to 1 billion US dollars in Kazakhstan………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group set up its office of business forum (thiqah) at the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) in Jakarta on Monday. With its first office outside of Saudi Arabia, IDB is hoping to further mobilize its resources and promote Indonesia as a major investment destination for its members.
Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for Development of Private Sector (ICD), IDB’s arm which focuses on private sector cooperation, said that the move would be important to connect more investors from fellow Muslim countries with Indonesia, a vibrant economy that offers lots of investment potential………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain-based Bank Alkhair has appointed Khalil Nooruddin as its managing director and chief executive officer, as the Islamic bank seeks to return to the black after posting a loss in the first half of this year.
Nooruddin joins Bank Alkhair from Capital Knowledge, a financial and training institute in Bahrain, and has 35 years of banking experience in the Gulf which includes positions with Investcorp, UBS and Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank Alkhair said on Tuesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama on Tuesday called for increase awareness on Islamic banking to prevent economic crisis and boost the nation’s economic development.
The minister made the call at a forum organised by ARIT consult and sponsored by Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc with the theme: developing Islamic financial institutions in Nigeria in Abuja………………………………………..Full Article: Source

“Islamic banks still face the challenge in their day-to-day management of cash because of the lack of a comprehensive Islamic interbank money market today,” Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd general manager Norashikin Mohd Kassim said.
Shariah scholar Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Atram said Shariah governance standards issued by international bodies have yet to receive international acceptance. “The standards are there, but they are not being paid proper attention by Shariah boards and individual institutions,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The much-awaited regulation for Islamic banks and window operations of conventional banks will be announced through a Royal Decree at any time. “It can come at any time. The Majlis A’Shura and Cabinet have already cleared the new regulation and now we are waiting for a Royal Decree, which can come at any time,” Central Bank of Oman Executive President Hamoud Sangour Al Zadjali, told Times of Oman.
It appears that the Royal Decree is for amending certain clauses to incorporate Islamic banking business. In fact, Bank Nizwa - the first Islamic bank in the country - and several other conventional banks are ready for starting Islamic banking business………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The growing recognition of the increasing significance of the Islamic capital market, especially in view of rising cross-border transactions, has triggered the need for stronger oversight, greater transparency and more robust disclosure requirements, global standard-setters and senior regulators acknowledged.
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), two global standard-setters in their respective fields, collaborated with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to organise a high-level roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, themed “Disclosure Requirements for Islamic Capital Market Products”………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia aims to be the supplier of human capital in Islamic finance and business, says Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
To help achieve this goal, he said, the Curriculum and Training Task Force on Islamic Finance Education of Higher Learning led by the International Islamic University Malaysia had been formed……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Amanie Advisors, a globally recognised Sharia advisory firm, has announced the opening of its office in Muscat. This adds to the group’s growing list of offices in Kuala Lumpur, Luxembourg, Dubai, Dublin, Cairo, South Korea, Melbourne, and Astana, positioning itself as a truly global, boutique advisory firm.
The new company, Amanie Advisory House of Oman, will be led by Omani banker, Fahad al Khalili, who will be charged with business development activities for Amanie’s Islamic Finance Advisory business, as well as country head for Amanie’s growing list of businesses………………………………………..Full Article: Source