After 40 years of delays, the Philippines still faces hurdles in a renewed push to attract Shariah-compliant investors to Muslim Mindanao, its poorest region, according to Islamic lenders.
The Southeast Asian nation lacks regulations and talent to develop the market, said Kuala Lumpur-based Asian Finance Bank Bhd. and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank in Manila, the sole lender dedicated to the industry, was forced to postpone a sale of what would have been the country’s first sukuk last year because it wasn’t making a profit………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Jersey is well placed to benefit from a forecast massive rise in Islamic finance by having made such a strong move into the Gulf region, according to global advisory firm Ernst & Young. The global demand for sukuk, securities structured to comply with Islamic law, is expected to grow three-fold from US$300 billion to US$900 billion by 2017, according to estimates by the big four accountancy firm.
And a senior manager at the firm’s global Islamic banking centre, Bilal Ahmed, said that as most of the demand for sukuk comes from South East Asia and the Middle East, Jersey can capitalise on its strong links with Arab states in order to increase its involvement in the area………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Over the last decade, trade between African countries and the rest of the world has grown significantly and, in particular, charting a 170% increase in trade with the GCC. The ongoing shift by African countries from being aid-dependant to increasing trade and investment ties with the Middle East has positioned Islamic finance to play a key role in facilitating further increases in trade and investment flows between Africa and the Middle East.
This is even more significant given the inherently strong linkages between Islamic finance and real economic activity and the potential to provide funding for key areas such as SMEs and project finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The local bond market remains robust, hitting RM100bil as of Sept 30, surpassing the total issuances of RM70bil in 2011, according to Securities Commission (SC) chairman Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh.
He said the issuance of PLUS Bhd’s RM30bil sukuk early this year was a significant milestone as it represented the single largest sukuk issuance globally. “As of end-Sept, the total amount of bonds outstanding stood at close to RM980bil, compared with RM841bil at end-2011, reflecting the continued growth of the bond market,” Ranjit said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Indonesia’s government bonds rose, pushing the yield on five-year securities to an 11-week low, after global funds increased their debt holdings by the most since January. The rupiah weakened.
Overseas investors added 4.52 trillion rupiah ($470 million) to their portfolio of local notes this month through Oct. 24, poised for the biggest inflow since January, Finance Ministry data show. Indonesia plans to raise 500 billion rupiah by offering Islamic bonds tomorrow, after a debt auction last week drew bids for three times the amount offered. The yield on 10-year bonds was 5.73 percent, less than the central bank’s record-low reference rate of 5.75 percent………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Financial Services Branch of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of Hong Kong issued their response to the Sukuk consultation paper which was issued in March 2012.
The formal title of the consultation paper was “Proposed Amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) and the Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117) to Facilitate Development of an Islamic Bond (i.e. Sukuk) Market in Hong Kong”. It provided a detailed analysis of the Sukuk market and relevant tax related changes which would be needed to facilitate the use of Hong Kong based assets in a Sukuk issuance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Government is finalising a bill that will provide a taxation framework for Islamic bonds, or sukuk, that it hopes to introduce to the Legislative Council in early 2013, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau said.
The bureau has released results of consultations on proposed amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance and the Stamp Duty Ordinance that aim to promote Islamic finance’s development in Hong Kong. They would provide a taxation framework for sukuk on par with that for conventional bonds………………………………………..Full Article: Source

While more Western banks reported worrisome news this month, most lenders in the Gulf Arab region celebrate a comeback after streamlining their businesses and joining hands with other institutions.
consolidation and innovation gained momentum in the Gulf Arab financial sector. Emirates NBD said it will integrate Dubai Bank, which it took over a year ago, into its subsidiary Emirates Islamic Bank. Its rival Noor Islamic Bank, which was hit hard by the financial crisis and had to close branches, celebrated a comeback when it launched in mid October the UAE’s first online-banking fully compatible with smart phones………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As one of the pioneers and big players in Malaysia’s banking scene, Hussain Najadi is impressed with the progress made since he entered the local sector some 27 years ago.
Najadi also believed that Islamic banking has done extremely well in Malaysia, but tighter governance on the quality and the type of Islamic sukuk must be well placed to comply with syariah rules and guidance. “This must be done in substance and not only in forms,” he explained. “Islamic banking must become a risk sharing platform with savers and not interest bearing loan with mortgages and foreclosures. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

International Banks General Manager at Kuwait Finance House ( KFH ) Shaheen Al-Ghanem said that achieving steady revenues through new services and products is a strategy that will allow KFH to continue leading the Islamic banks locally and globally, since KFH takes advantage of the increase in demand for Islamic financial services and products in Kuwait and international markets; especially that KFH follows a policy that allows it to expand globally through increasing its market share, reinforcing trust, and increasing potential for success in all fields. (Press Release)

The Kuala Lumpur Islamic Financial Forum has named Al Rajhi Bank as the recipient of the ‘The Most Outstanding Islamic Finance Product’ for Al Rajhi Collateralised Commodity Murabahah-i (CCM-i). The award is part of the KLIFF Islamic Finance Awards 2012 held in conjunction with the ninth Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF 2012).
A statement from Al Rajhi Bank said the awards were established with the objective to recognise, reward and encourage activities that lead to the promotion of significant efforts and outstanding works and performance in the fields of Islamic banking and finance by key players in the industry………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank signed a three-year agreement for exchange of experience in the Islamic finances and studies for assistance for the development of the economies, Preportr reported. The money is provided for assistance of countries in Central Asia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo.
Kosovo will receive USD 30 million for investments in the Pristina-Mitrovica motorway and the construction of a youth medical centre………………………………………..Full Article: Source

In order to avoid a repetition of the financial crisis’ shocks, Islamic finance can be an ethical and sustainable business model in the global financial landscape, said Tirad Al Mahmoud, CEO of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). Mahmoud said conventional banks shall endorse the principles of Islamic finance as a non-interest, non- conventional, ethical style of investing.
According to global auditing and consultancy firm Ernst and Young, there are 390 Islamic financial institutions worldwide, based in 75 countries. Islamic investments reach the mark of 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars, Ernst and Young estimated………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia will build a massive Islamic center complete with a university and a mosque in Afghanistan, an Afghan minister said, describing the project as “grand and unique.” Estimated to cost up to $100 million, the center on a hilltop in central Kabul will house up to 5,000 students, Dayi-Ul Haq Abed, the acting Haj and religious affairs minister told AFP.
It will be named after Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the minister added. “The agreement was signed last week in Jeddah. The construction will start next year, in a couple of months or so,” Abed said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkey has good cause to be happy with its millennial decision to instigate a strategic international realignment from Europe to the Middle East, say analysts.
Europe’s only Islamic nation spent the nineties agonising whether to join the European Union; the failure of this long-term goal, due to a European refusal to countenance its membership on little more than religious grounds, today looks like a clear case of serendipity, given the European economic crisis, and has resulted in nothing short of a boom for Turkey, whose increasingly eastwards outlook reaps dividends that are expected to multiply………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fears of Islamic extremists, precarious relations with Muslims and secret conversions to Christianity sparked concerned debate at a global synod in the Vatican of Catholic bishops around the world.
Dozens of bishops from the Middle East and Africa expressed concern during the three-week synod which ended Sunday over the threats extremist Islam poses to Christianity and spoke of the difficulties of preaching the Gospel in majority Muslim countries………………………………………..Full Article: Source