Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Islamic finance industry is growing strongly in three segments globally, the consumer sector, the small and medium enterprises, and among the institutions. Islamic banker Iqbal Khan said the future for Islamic finance would be in the card and asset management segment.
Iqbal, the founding chief executive officer of Fajr Capital Ltd and chairman of the executive committee and board member of Saudi Arabia-based Jadwa Investment, said Islamic finance could give capitalism “a moral compass”………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
An integration between the halal sector and Islamic finance will create a combined industry worth US$3.5 trillion as compared to US$2.35bil if they were to be developed independently of each other, said Edbiz Consulting Ltd United Kingdom chairman Dr Humayon Dar.
Dr Humayon said the actual combined amount of both halal industry and Islamic finance worked out to be US$2.35bil but the integration actually worth more at US$3.5bil due to the greater potential following the synergy………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Islamic finance may have grown rapidly over recent years but there is still ample room for it to expand further as more small-to mid-sized firms take to it and Muslim population grows, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Ali Babacan said.
Babacan said despite Islamic finance assets having passed the US$1 trillion (RM3.1 trillion) mark globally, they still make up only about one per cent of total financial assets………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The future of Islamic finance in Europe will depend on a few factors such as high-profile promoters and tax enabling framework, industry experts said. KPMG Dubai head of Islamic finance Neil Miller said there is yet sufficient drive across Europe to push Islamic finance forward.
He said the success of Islamic finance in the UK was mostly due to the efforts made by the Labour government at that time, the Bank of England Governor Baron George and England’s then chancellor Gordon Brown………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
There is still significant growth potential for Islamic finance in Malaysia and Indonesia as well as the rest of the Asean region, said HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Rafe Haneef.
“Malaysia and Indonesia are countries with large Muslim populations. In Malaysia, Islamic finance is 25% to 27% of the total banking market. If you look at the capital market, it is more than 60% or 70%………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Indonesians often complain that neighbouring Malaysia is stealing their traditional dances and costumes for its tourism marketing. If they were to take something in return, however, they could do worse than replicate Malaysia’s approach to Islamic finance, says IFR’s Asia bureau chief Nachum Kaplan.
Islamic finance in Asia is a distinctly Malaysian affair. Indonesia, an emerging regional powerhouse with the world’s biggest Muslim population, does not even figure. Indonesia needs to address this shortcoming. Islamic finance could help it solve two of its biggest financing challenges: funding infrastructure and reducing its dependency on foreign borrowing………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The new horizon emerging in Islamic finance has prompted Islamic financial players to revisit strategies to ensure resilience of Islamic finance in the global marketplace. Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said to ensure its resilience, Islamic finance need to be underpinned by sustainability strategies.
“Islamic finance beckons us with a new frontier. It prompts us to revisit strategies to ensure resilience of Islamic finance,” she said……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The rapid internationalisation of Islamic finance will hinge on three key factors including the wide range of global supply of high-quality Islamic financial products and services, said Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
She said Islamic finance needed to be dynamic and innovative, and hence the second factor was a diverse and dynamic intermediaries and market participants with a global focus. The third factor was the required talent to steer the Islamic financial sector towards increased internationalisation, she said………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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BNP Paribas Malaysia and INCEIF, The Global University Of Islamic Finance, today (19 September) launched the BNP Paribas-INCEIF Centre for Islamic Wealth Management, an event witnessed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
BNP Paribas Malaysia CEO Krishna Chetti and INCEIF President and CEO Daud Vicary Abdullah exchanged the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to commemorate the launch witnessed by BNP Paribas Malaysia Berhad Chairman Dato Abdullah Mat Noh, BNP Paribas Malaysia Board Member En………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Cairo-based Ridge Islamic Capital said on Wednesday it has $100 million to raise its capital and invest in funds over the next two years to tap a growing market for Islamic finance.
The firm was launched on Wednesday after Dubai-based regional investment company Ridge Solutions International Holdings, which is providing the $100 million, acquired Egyptian investment banking and asset management firm El Rashad………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Malaysia wants to be the top supplier of human capital in Islamic finance and business, said Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
To reach the 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
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Indonesian Islamic banks like Bank Mandiri have offered strategic partnerships with foreign investors in its plantation projects, saying this would strengthen the Islamic banking platform.
“Foreign companies can join us in loan syndication to (jointly) finance the medium and large scale projects,”said Bank Syariah Mandiri CEO Yuslam Fauzi. Such cooperation would not only increase the efficiency and better manage risk but it would also strengthen Islamic banking………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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In March this year Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena told the Rajya Sabha (Council of States – the upper house of the Indian Parliament) that he had been informed by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, that ‘it is not legally feasible for banks in India to undertake Islamic banking activities’.
This was not the first time that the idea of Islamic finance had been knocked back in what is, after all, the country with the world’s third largest Muslim population………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Dr. A. Riawan Amin, Chairman of the Indonesian Sharia Bank Association, has said that Indonesia will not be vying for investment from the Middle East because the region has shown no faith in its young Islamic finance industry.
“We will not be going to the Middle East for money because they have no faith in us,” Amin told Islamic Business & Finance at the Global Islamic Finance Forum in Kuala Lumpur. “If they want to come to us, they are welcome, but we will not wait for them.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Al Hilal Bank Kazakhstan, the country’s sole Islamic bank which currently caters to high end corporates and government sectors, is looking to start offering consumer banking services by the end of the year.
“We’ve just done a market survey and have decided that we will venture into the retail side. That is on the cards for either later in 2012 or early 2013,” explained Prasad Abraham, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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The Malaysian Islamic bank is planning to launch products that are competitive not only in terms of returns, but also in terms of corporate social responsibility, its CEO said.
“Our depositors don’t just want returns, they sometimes want to do good deeds,” Datuk Mohd Redza Shah Abdul Wahid, the bank’s CEO, explained……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Turkey’s issue of its first sovereign sukuk this week paves the way for Turkish companies to raise money through Islamic bonds, and may help the country become a major market for Islamic investors from the Gulf and southeast Asia.
After coming to power a decade ago, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which espouses Islamic values, largely shied away from Islamic finance for fear of opening itself to charges that it was trying to roll back state secularism………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Turkey’s Sept 18 sovereign sukuk issue could be a benchmark for future issuances and attract investors from the Middle East, says Deputy Prime Minister Babacan. The Islamic paper was five times oversubscribed.
Turkey could see a flurry of Islamic bonds in the coming years, as the country’s landmark $1.5 billion sovereign sukuk on Sept. 18 set a benchmark for future issuances. The issue was oversubscribed by more than five times, with a yield of 2.8 percent and maturing in 2019, bringing in more than $8 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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AmIslamic Funds Management (AIFM) is aiming for returns of 4% per annum for the AmGlobal Sukuk, its recently launched US dollar-denominated global sukuk fund. AIFM, which is part of the fund management division of AMMB Holdings Bhd, is the investment manager for AmGlobal Sukuk.
“AmGlobal Sukuk will invest in sukuk both locally and globally including but not limited to countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other foreign markets,” said AmBank Group chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim……………………………………….Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Dana Gas surged the most in almost six months after the company’s biggest shareholder said a resolution with investors had been reached over the repayment of a US$1 billion sukuk due next month.
Dana’s shares advanced 4.8 per cent yesterday to close at 45 fils, the highest level since March 11 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Dana Gas, the Sharjah producer, is making progress on renegotiating a AED 3.37 billion ($920 mn) sukuk due next month and could soon begin receiving payments from regional concessions.
Fears of a default on the convertible Islamic bond maturing October 31 have pushed yields to 321.25 per cent. Crescent owns a fifth of Dana, and together they operate core concessions in Egypt and Iraqi Kurdistan………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
National carrier Malaysian Airlines System Bhd (MAS), which is 69%-owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, has issued the second tranche of its Perpetual Junior Sukuk programme amounting to RM500 million.
This tranche is part of its entire programme valued at RM2.5 billion. It is part of its turnaround plan which was introduced in December 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
AmIslamic Funds Management Sdn Bhd (AIFM) expects ringgit-denominated bonds to hit between RM90bil and RM100bil by year-end, with 60% of the bonds coming from Islamic bond (sukuk) issuances.
“We anticipate the bulk of the issuance is for projects under the Economic Transformation Programme,” said Sukuk and Alternative Investment Executive Director, Mohd Farid Kamarudin. Currently, ringgit-denominated bonds stood at about RM65 billion to RM70 billion, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Managing Director of Jaiz Bank Plc, Alhaji Mustapha Bintube told stakeholders in the Islamic finance industry to embark on initiatives that will enable the country contribute to the growth of the sector and top the list of countries that will generate $4 trillion Islamic fund in 2020.
Abuja said that Standards & Poor’s among other reputable rating agencies, have forecasted that the Islamic fund will hit $4 trillion, adding that Nigeria stands the chance to contribute to such exponential growth………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 20 September 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Royal Award for Islamic Finance, inaugurated in 2010, is an international award that is held every two years to recognise one exceptional individual who has excelled in advancing Islamic finance globally through outstanding performance and contribution.
Dr. Iqbal Khan was among 32 nominees for the award. Khan is the Founding Board Member and Chief Executive Officer of Fajr Capital Limited and Chairman of the Executive Committee and a board member of Jadwa Investment in Saudi Arabia.. Khan is also a board member of Brunei Islamic Development Bank in Brunei Darussalam and Waqf Trust Services Limited in Dubai, United Arab Emirates………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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