Bank of Khartoum, Sudan’s oldest bank, plans to start selling Islamic corporate bonds, or sukuks, again as the economic outlook for African country improves in the wake of an oil deal with South Sudan, its general manager said.
Fadi Salim Faqih told Reuters the Islamic bank, which is around a fifth-owned by Dubai Islamic Bank, expects to post a record profit this year boosted by strong lending and a substantial windfall from the devaluation of the Sudanese pound. “A couple of sukuks have been started,” Faqih said in an interview late on Tuesday, saying the bank could realistically issue $100 million in bonds for local companies by early 2013………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Corporate and infrastructure issuers in the Gulf region may increasingly rely on sukuk, the Islamic equivalent of bonds, as a source of funding in coming quarters says a report titled “Sukuk Are Surpassing Conventional Bond Issuance in the Gulf Countries as Yields Tighten,” published by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.
Sukuk issuance in Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) - comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates - has reached a record high this year, propelled by positive developments in the region’s economy and capital markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Azerbaijan continues preparation for the first-ever issue of Islamic bonds (sukuk).
The preparation is carried out by leasing company Ansar Leasing, established the Islamic Corporation for Private Sector (ICD)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman’s Government is planning to amend the existing tax legislation to accommodate Islamic finance create a level playing field with its conventional counterparts. KPMG are advising the Government on how best to amend the tax legislation to ensure that Islamic financial institutions are not disadvantaged compared with their conventional peers.
“In Islamic finance, the way transactions are entered into is very different. You buy an asset and sell the same (instead of giving a loan and paying interest in conventional finance)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (LKRCA) announced new rules for arbitration that would allow for the arbitration panel to “outsource Shariah issues to a specialist council or expert agreed by the parties”.
This is an important move for Islamic finance because it will provide a process for dispute resolution that incorporates a process for deciding differences of opinion between parties on the Shari’ah-compliance of contractual arrangements………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The lack of clients underscores the struggle Islamists face to promote Shariah- compliant financing after last year’s revolt propelled them to power. For Islamic banking to flourish in the majority Muslim nation, President Mohamed Mursi must lift economic growth from 2011’s 19-year low of 1.8 percent, Capital Economics Ltd. said.
Mursi, who became Egypt’s first democratically elected leader in June, is preparing laws to increase the share of Shariah-compliant deposits from 6 percent now, and enable borrowers to sell bonds complying with Islam’s ban on interest………………………………………..Full Article: Source

State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has obtained the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ approval to sell its stake in the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (Al-Amanah), a senior official said.
“We have obtained the approval in principle for the divestment of our stake in Al-Amanah,” said Estrella E. Icasiano, DBP senior vice president and head of investment banking and capital markets group. The BSP issued its approval on Sept. 20………………………………………..Full Article: Source

ABC Islamic Bank, a subsidiary of Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation, has registered a 75 per cent jump in its net profit for the third quarter which hit $2.8 million compared to $1.6 million last year.
Announcing the results on Wednesday, ABC Islamic said the bank’s net profit for the first nine months were flat at $6.8 million compared to $6.7 million last year. The bank saw its third quarter profit grow 15 per cent over its last quarter………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Net profit before taxes reached $5,379,263, compared with a net profit before taxes of $1,460,076 from the first nine months of 2011, a net increase of 268.4 per cent.
Total assets of the company reached $411,718,718 as of 30 September 2012, compared to total assets of $392,675,894 as of 31 December 2011, a net increase of 4.8 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has agreed to a partnership with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to “combat communicable disease and food insecurity in low-income countries”, the bank says.
A memorandum of understanding signed by IDB, based in Jeddah, and the Gates Foundation establishes a collaboration over five years for agricultural development, and the elimination of malaria and polio across Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Islamic Insurance Company revealed a net profit of QAR 45.3 Million for the nine months period ended 30 September 2012, in comparison with a net profit of QAR 41.2 million for the corresponding period last year.
The company’s Earnings per Share (EPS) amounted to QAR 3.02 for the period ended 30 September 2012 versus QAR 2.75 for the corresponding period in 2011……………………………………….Full Article: Source

UDA Holdings Bhd has come up with a development blueprint to sidestep limitations for proposed projects on wakaf (endowment) land in the country. The blueprint — first of its kind here — will see the development of commercial properties for higher returns to the respective Muslim community, simply by leasing out the plots while maintaining the Islamic titles.
Otherwise, complications arise due to wakaf land currently being regulated and managed under different laws and regulations within the purview of the States Islamic Religious Council — consisting of 15 states and federal territories in the country, said UDA chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed………………………………………..Full Article: Source

There is a revolution going on in Southern Thailand and it is not the long-running Islamic insurgency, which has taken the lives of an estimated 5,500 people on either side since the conflict began to escalate in 2004.
Cities like the notorious Hat Yai, a sexual playground for Malaysian tourists, are being transformed into vibrant Islamic business centers. This rapid transformation has been spurred by the migration of Muslims from the three troubled provinces of Pettani, Yala and Narathiwat to Songkhla Province in order to get away from the trouble……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Economic growth in both regions has been very impressive during the last five years of the financial and economic crisis. It fluctuated between 4-7 percent per year. This robust economic growth is expected to continue for the next few years. The GCC states have around $ 2.2 trillion held in foreign assets and their combined current account surplus is around the same amount.
Bilateral trade and investment have been growing relatively smooth, although there is still a lot of room for improvement………………………………………..Full Article: Source