While the US relationship with the Islamic world has suffered from the recent inflammatory anti-Islamic film, values-based finance has emerged as an unlikely, yet significant point of connection. Its potential lies at the intersection of Socially Responsible Investing(SRI) in the West and Islamic Finance in the East. Both are on the rise.
Governed by religious principles, Islamic finance forbids the charging or receiving of interest. Transactions are guided by ethical, moral, and social considerations and the belief that money should be used to create social value, rather than just wealth. To this end, Islamic banks cannot trade money nor can they fund projects involving alcohol, gambling, or weapons………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As Oman prepares to introduce Islamic finance, a restriction on the money market instruments which banks can use may curb their ability to manage funds in the market, hurting profitability.
Authorities are expected to release Islamic banking rules by year-end, making Oman the last country in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to accommodate sharia-compliant banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dana Gas PJSC (DANA) said it’s in talks with creditors to extend and amend the terms of about $1 billion in sukuk that matured yesterday as the United Arab Emirates fuel producer’s third-quarter profit dropped 27 percent.
The company, based in the U.A.E. emirate of Sharjah, hasn’t paid the principal amount of $920 million or the accrued profit of $18.75 million, it said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi bourse today. The shares, which plunged 8.9 percent yesterday, gained 2.4 percent to 42 fils at 10:53 a.m. in the emirate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dana Gas, a Sharjah-based energy company with operations in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Egypt, said it failed to pay back a $920 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, that came due on Wednesday.
The company said it is in ongoing discussions with holders of the debt to amend the terms of the sukuk and extend its maturity, according to a statement posted on the Abu Dhabi bourse website on Thursday. The sukuk has been a major source of concern for Dana as it grapples with a large backlog of late payments from governments in Egypt and Iraq’s Kurdistan region………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas failed to repay a $920 million Islamic bond on maturity, prompting a source close to holders of the bond to say they will stake claim to the natural gas producer’s extensive Egyptian assets.
Dana, a leading Middle East natural gas company, said on Thursday it was in talks with bondholders to amend and extend the terms of the bond, or sukuk, after it became the first firm from the UAE not to repay a bond on maturity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata’s Board of Directors has approved the proposed establishment of a Malaysian Ringgit denominated Islamic Medium Term Note Programme, under the Shariah principle of Murabahah.
The value of the proposed move is Ringgit Malaysia Rs. 1.2 billion in nominal value with a tenure of 15 years in Malaysia. Pursuant to the above, the company may, under the Sukuk programme issue Sukuk Murabahah from time to time involving selected Shariah compliant commodities………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) released new draft guidelines on capital adequacy for Islamic banks and the risk management of takaful (Islamic insurance) companies, the industry body said in a statement on Thursday.
The Kuala Lumpur-based IFSB sets global guidelines for Islamic finance, although national financial regulators have the final say on how they apply these………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Maldives Capital Market Development Authority (CDMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry for Islamic Affairs to further develop an Islamic capital market in the country.
Among the most prominent details of the agreement was a joint commitment to establish the ‘Maldives Centre for Islamic Capital Market and Finance’. “This is going to help in promoting the various services available in Islamic financial services under one organisation,” the CDMA said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatari banks are bulking up to play a role in funding the country’s massive infrastructure expansion. But in a country which is already overbanked by some measures, they may risk becoming too big.
Doha Bank, Qatar’s fifth-largest lender by market value and part-owned by the country’s sovereign wealth fund, announced plans in October to increase its share capital by 50 percent in the first quarter of next year, raising about $1.6 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An agreement on cooperation in the sphere of Islamic baking was signed in Dushanbe on Wednesday, Avesta.tj reported on Thursday.
The document was signed between the Tajik National Bank and international consulting company “Zaid Ibrahim & Co” (Malaysia). According to this agreement, the company will develop a bill on Islamic Banking in Tajikistan………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) and Zaid Ibrahim & Co., the largest private law firm in Malaysia, have reportedly signed an agreement on development of Islamic banking. Tajik central banks press center reports the agreement was signed in Dushanbe last Tuesday. Under this agreement, the sides will work out a draft law “On Islamic Banking in Tajikistan” for the purpose of expansion of Tajikistan’s banking system.
Islamic banking (or participant banking) is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of sharia law and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees (known as riba, or usury) for loans of money. Investing in businesses that provide goods or services considered contrary to Islamic principles is also haraam (“sinful and prohibited”)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The initial public offering (IPO) of alizz islamic bank, which closed one-month subscription on October 21, raised RO46 million from investing public. Although the issue manager is yet to announce the subscription figure, it was reliably learnt that the issue was subscribed to the extent of 1.15 times, against an offer of RO40 million.
The retail investors might have subscribed to the tune of RO8-10 million, against their reservation of RO24 million or 60 per cent of the issue amount. As a result, the remaining portion must have been allotted to institutions or the second category of large investors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman’s Al Izz Islamic Bank, the sultanate’s second Islamic bank, attracted bids worth 46 million rials ($119.5 million) for its initial public share offer, 1.15 times the sum which it was raising, a source close to the offering said on Thursday.
The bank, which counts Abu Dhabi state-fund Aabar Investments as a founding shareholder, will be listed on the Muscat Securities Market on December 3, the source said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail institution, announced that it will convert the banking licence of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Faisal Private Bank in Switzerland, to a family office.
The announcement, by Ithmaar Bank chief executive and board member Mohammed Bucheerei, follows a decision by the Ithmaar board to convert Faisal Private Bank into a family office and to focus on further developing Ithmaar Bank’s core business of retail and commercial banking………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Standard Chartered is expanding its Shariah banking operations in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, just a few weeks after HSBC announced it would be pulling out of the region.
Responding to media speculation, a spokesperson confirmed there had been a “growing demand for Shariah-compliant banking services” across its key Islamic banking markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Hamilton Bradshaw Private Equity Chief Executive Officer James Caan says Islamic Finance is attractive to consumers of all faiths. He says the principles of Shariah-compliant financing could have helped preventing the global financial crisis if adopted worldwide. He spoke as part of Bloomberg Television’s “Faith in Finance.”.………………………………………Full Article: Source

In the third episode of “Faith in Finance” Islamic financing for housing is in the spotlight. How does an Islamic mortgage work and what effect is this form of financing having on London?.………………………………………Full Article: Source

Dr Khalid has extensive experience in the area of Islamic banking and finance, as well as Islamic microfinance. Prior to lecturing at UEL’s Royal Docks Business School, he was the Senior Advisor of Islamic Microfinance at the Sudan Microfinance Development Facility – a World Bank funded project.
When he joined the World Bank, he served as an adviser to his Excellency, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan. Dr Khalid also worked as an assistant Professor of Finance at the Abu Dhabi University, where he helped them to establish an MBA and MSc in Islamic banking and finance………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Last month, Paris’s Louvre museum opened its new Islamic Art Wing amidst uproar over the series of controversial Mohammed cartoons that were published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to the tune of $125 million. And just last year, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art re-opened its Islamic art galleries, which had been closed for renovations for eight years. The Met’s revamped galleries, called the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia, cost about $40 million.
The fact that two of the world’s greatest cultural institutions have invested heavily in their Islamic art collections within the last year is worth taking note. So why are these major museums devoting so much space and money to Islamic art?……………………………………….Full Article: Source