Dana Gas is set to become the first UAE company to fail to pay an Islamic bond on maturity, three sources familiar with the matter said, sending its stock and bond prices sharply lower.
The UAE’s largest listed natural gas firm, hit by payment delays from Egypt and Iraq’s Kurdistan region, will not repay a $ 920 million convertible sukuk, when it matures today, the sources said. However, Sharjah-based Dana has won more time to hammer out a deal with bondholders, they added. Dana Gas declined to comment………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is planning to boost its capital through the sale of a Shariah-compliant debt instrument, in what would be a rare method by a regional lender to boost its core capital ratios.
ADIB, the largest Shariah-compliant lender by market value in Abu Dhabi, will start investor meetings today ahead of a potential Islamic bond, or sukuk, sale, a statement from the arranging banks said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Islamic bonds offered by the Indonesian government in Tuesday’s auction are more than five-times oversubscribed, an official says. Incoming bids for the bonds, commonly known as sukuk, topped Rp 2.65 trillion (US$275.18 million) while the Finance Ministry’s debt management office only hoped to raise only Rp 500 billion through the offering.
Dahlan Siamat, director of Islamic financing policy, said that the government successfully floated Rp 913 billion of sukuk in the offering: Rp 640 billion from six-year notes (PBS001) and Rp 273 billion from 25-year notes (PBS004)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

TH Plantations Bhd (THP) has established a sukuk murabahah programme of up to RM1bil in nominal value with the Pilgrimage Fund Board. THP told Bursa Malaysia that yesterday it had issued RM200mil of sukuk under the programme.
The sukuk has a tenure of up to 15 years and will mature on Oct 29, 2027 and will bear a profit rate of 6.60% per annum, payable semi-annually in arrears………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The report prepared by KFH-Research regarding Sukuk in September explained that the issuance of Sukuk in September reached USD 11.6 billion with a 135% increase compared to September last year, while total volume of Sukuk issuance during the first nine months if this year reached USD 103 billion, exceeding the volume of Sukuk last year.
Sovereign Sukuk formed 66% and Malaysia was first while Turkey came in second in volume of issuance; thus making the Malaysian Ringgit the first currency followed by the US dollar………………………………………..Full Article: Source

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the AA2 ratings of Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd’s (Litrak) Sukuk Musharakah Islamic Medium-Term Notes I Programme (IMTN I) of up to MYR 1.15 billion (2008/2023) and Sukuk Musharakah Islamic Medium-Term Notes II Programme (IMTN II) of up to MYR 300 million (2008/2023).
Both the long-term ratings have a stable outlook. Concurrently, we have withdrawn the P1 rating on the Company’s Islamic Commercial Papers Programme of up to MYR 100 million following confirmation that the facility’s validity period had lapsed………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) plans to revise its capital adequacy guidelines for Islamic financial institutions, with a draft to be released in November for industry feedback.
The IFSB sets global guidelines for Islamic finance, although national financial regulators have the final say on how much capital banks must maintain and in what form………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Differences between the Reserve Bank of India and government are out in the open with RBI governor D Subbarao on Tuesday spelling out Islamic banking where it doesn’t see eye to eye with the finance ministry.
The central bank had received a proposal to consider whether it was possible to permit Islamic banking in India. “Current banking regulation require interest rates. RBI charges interest on the funds it provides banks under repo and it also pays interest. Also, we do not permit risk financing while Sharia finance takes a position on this. There is the issue of dual regulation by Sharia board and RBI. We have said that should the government want this, they should have a new law” said RBI……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Putting an end to the speculation on allowing Islamic banking in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, D Subbarao on Tuesday said the current Banking Regulation Act does not permit Islamic banking and that the government will have to bring in a new law if it wants to introduce it in the country.
The governor was answering a question on Islamic banking in a press conference after announcing the second quarter review of the Monetary policy 2012 on Tuesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Standard Chartered, which makes most of its revenue from Asia, is expanding its retail Islamic banking business in the UAE and Bahrain, two markets HSBC Holdings is withdrawing from.
Standard Chartered Saadiq, the lender’s Islamic banking unit, has started to offer Shariah-compliant financing to small and medium-sized companies in Bahrain, according to Sultan Ali Haider, Dubai-based general manager for consumer Islamic banking. The bank is also developing its businesses in the UAE, the second-biggest Arab economy, he said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Driven by “sound financing policy” with focus on liquidity and risk management, International Islamic (QIIB) posted a third quarter net profit of QR531mn, up 5.4% on the same period last year.
The bank’s assets totalled QR24.5bn in the third quarter of the year compared with QR22.2bn in 2011-end. QIIB chairman and managing director Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Thani bin Abdullah al-Thani said the bank registered “good growth across the balance sheet” during the period under review………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB), a leading full-service bank in Qatar, has successfully gone live with Misys’ payment solution, Misys Payment Manager. The bank selected Misys to support its transition onto Qatar’s Automated Clearing House (ACH) network and will now be able to make simple, secure and reliable payments through this network.
The ACH project’s scope was to connect Qatar Central Bank with all banks in the country in order to deploy Direct Debit and Direct Credit payment transactions, which provides a simple, secure and reliable means for banks to make payments via electronic transfer. QIIB has implemented Misys Payment Manager to provide comprehensive support for Direct Debits thereby helping to reduce the volume of cheques received. The bank can now process any types of payments regardless of size, complexity and structure. It has improved efficiency through compliance with the ISO20022 standard format for payments and process automation enabling it to comply with local regulations and maintain its high standard of customer service. (Press Release)

Jamal Bin Ghalaita, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) and Dubai Bank, met with key corporate banking customers at an exclusive event, organised at the Address Hotel, Marina Mall, to underline the bank’s commitment towards building long-term relationships with its clients.
Emirates Islamic Bank opened its doors in October 2004 with a mission to provide customers in the UAE with innovative Sharia-compliant financial solutions. The Bank offers a wide range of products and services conforming to the highest standards of Islamic finance and all its activities are overseen by a prestigious Sharia board………………………………………..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 per cent 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………………………………………..Full Article: Source