Despite the recent global economic crisis, the Islamic finance industry has continued pushing forward strongly. Entering 2012, the industry increased its total assets by 23.8 per cent by the end of 2011— comprising a hefty 22.4 per cent of the total assets of the banking system.
Global recognition has not been in short supply either as evidenced by The Banker Magazine’s 2011 rankings of top Islamic financial institutions which saw 21 Malaysian institutions listed. By all appearances, Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry is well on its way to fulfilling its aspirations to becoming an international Islamic financial centre. Is it all hunky dory?……………………………………….Full Article: Source

New Islamic banks in Oman are bolstering their balance sheets to challenge the country’s larger conventional lenders after the sultanate allowed sharia-compliant lending for the first time last year.
This month, Al Izz Islamic bank, Oman’s second dedicated Islamic bank, opened subscription for its initial public offering of 40 per cent of the lender. So far, it says interest has been strong. Before that, in June, Bank Nizwa, the first Islamic bank in Oman, attracted 681m rials ($1.77bn) of bids, 11 times what was needed, in a successful share sale………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Supportive socio-political factors and economic incentives should accelerate the growth of Islamic banking activities in North Africa from current low levels, according to a new report published by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services titled “Prospects For Islamic Banking In North Africa Improve Following The Arab Spring.”
Islamic banking started to emerge in North Africa in the 1970s when Egypt was among the first countries in the Arab world to authorize the establishment of pioneer Islamic banks. However, the sector is still branded as a niche market in the region, with an overall market share well below 5% of total banking assets. We think the change in political landscape following the Arab Spring should rekindle the development of Islamic banking in the region………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A Bahraini investment bank is working on a deal to buy England’s Leeds United Football Club, in what could be the latest acquisition of a European soccer team by oil-rich Gulf investors.
Gulf Finance House, an Islamic investment bank from the tiny Gulf island state, said Thursday one of its Dubai-based subsidiaries will “lead and arrange the acquisition of Leeds City Holdings, the parent company of LUFC.” A person familiar with the matter said the transaction price would be about £50 million ($80.8 million), and that GFH Capital is acting on behalf of “investors from the Gulf,” without elaborating………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As Malaysia aims to increase Islamic assets to 40 per cent of its total banking assets, Saadiq, the Islamic banking arm of Standard Chartered (StanChart) Bank is confident that it too could bank on this ambitious target and significantly grow its Islamic banking assets here.
Like other international banks, StanChart does not publicly share growth targets but Saadiq Malaysia chief executive officer Wasim Saifi said in the first half of this year, 12 per cent of StanChart Malaysia’s revenue was contributed by Islamic banking business compared to 11 per cent in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Jeddah-based Indian Forum for Interest-Free Banking has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clear huddles for granting license for Shariah-compliant banks and financial institutions to operate in India.
In a petition submitted to the prime minister at the Emerging Kerala Global Connect, a biennial summit of investors and policymakers, held in the southern port city of Kochi last week, they said it would open floodgates infrastructural funding for India. Islamic banking assets are estimated at more than $ 1.5 trillion worldwide and it is operational in 52 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, France, Singapore, Japan and China………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Arcapita Bank has asked US Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane to approve its request for a $150 million debtor-in-possession financing package from Silver Point Finance. Arcapita said it had used up its cash reservers and needs the funding to assist its Chapter 11 exit.
Law360 reports that the Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank has requested authorisation to commit to a deal with Silver Point. Fees involved with the deal amount to $2.25 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party is consulting with other political parties and the financial industry about the possibility of introducing rules allowing the issue of sukuk (Islamic bonds), a party official said Reuters reported
“We started weeks ago to discuss details of how to permit the issuance of sukuk, instead of submitting a full bill that would need to be approved by parliament,” Ahmed al-Najjar told Reuters on Tuesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkish Islamic lender Bank Asya said on Thursday it had mandated investment bank Is Yatirim for a sukuk issue worth up to 150 million lira ($84 million) with a one-year maturity.
The lender made the statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Clifford Chance has advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch, CIMB and HSBC as joint lead managers on Axiata Group’s MYR 1 billion Sukuk issuance. The Sukuk is the largest RMB-denominated Sukuk and the second Sukuk to date to be issued in the dim sum bond market. The Sukuk is listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities (under the Exempt Regime) and the Singapore Stock Exchange.
The issuance is the inaugural issuance from Axiata’s $1.5 billion multi-currency Sukuk Issuance Programme established in August this year, on which Clifford Chance also advised………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Growing trade between China, the world’s second largest economy, and Malaysia will encourage more yuan-denominated fundraising through the issuance of conventional and Islamic bonds, Malaysia’s central bank chief said on Thursday.
China has become Malaysia’s largest trading partner in recent years, importing products that range from palm oil to rubber tyres………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Islamic banking which follows Shariah law has been in operation since the enactment of the Islamic Banking Act in 1983. In these 30 years, Malaysia has been practising the dual-banking system - Islamic and conventional.
Islamic principles dictate that money lending (dealing with interest) as well as investing in businesses that are considered haram (unlawful) are prohibited. Islamic finance is all about accumulating all the available resources (from savings) and providing financing based on pre-determined profits rather than dealing with interest………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Waqf Fund, the Bahrain-based special fund to support Islamic finance training, education and research, has enhanced its role by supporting the industry in various ways during the last year. That was the message from fund chairman and Central Bank of Bahrain executive director of banking supervision Khalid Hamad at the annual Waqf meeting.
“We are supporting Bahrain University in their Bachelor of Arts in Sharia for banking and finance, a recently launched four-year bilingual programme aimed at producing capable human resources for the Islamic finance industry who are well-versed in Sharia as well as banking, finance, accounting and business,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian Islamic insurers are expanding into neighboring Indonesia to tap growth three times as fast as in their home market, where Standard & Poor’s predicts tighter rules will curb expansion.
Great Eastern Takaful Sdn Bhd, the Shariah-compliant subsidiary of Malaysia’s biggest insurer that already has a Jakarta-based unit, will target low-income people in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Chief Executive Officer Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad said in a Sept. 13 interview. Etiqa Takaful Bhd wants to buy an Indonesian Islamic insurer, Chief Commercial Officer Shahril Azuar Jimin said in an interview last week………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investor demand for Shariah-compliant products, both corporate and sovereign, has grown significantly in recent months. In particular, sukuks (financial certificates seen as the equivalent of Islamic bonds) have been issued at record amounts on the back of cheap borrowing costs.
Bloomberg’s new index, developed with the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) and the stock exchange Bursa Malaysia, aims to offer a benchmark for investors in Ringgit-denominated sukuks in Malaysia, a country that has styled itself as a global hub for Islamic finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

There is more renminbi (yuan) financing in the pipeline after the two issuances of offshore yuan sukuk out of Malaysia and a yuan bond issuance by Malaysian corporations, according to Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
The reason, she said, for this was that there was greater potential to raise funds in the currency (yuan), especially investments in China and bilateral cross-border activities between Malaysia and China………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The denial of service attack that disrupted the Wells Fargo & Co. electronic banking operations Tuesday was the fourth since last week. And it appears to lend some credence to threats and claims that the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters, the military wing of Hamas, the Islamic party that governs the Gaza Strip, are behind them.
The group claimed responsibility for DoS attacks against Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup Inc. that disrupted online operations, and said the attacks would continue “until the Erasing of that nasty movie” — a reference to a trailer of the independent film “Innocence of Muslims,” which Muslims say insults the Prophet Muhammed………………………………………..Full Article: Source