Saudi Arabian dairy and food producer Almarai Co plans to issue the second tranche of a riyal-denominated Islamic bond programme in the coming months to private investors, the company said in a bourse on Monday.
The Gulf’s largest dairy firm raised 1 billion riyals ($266.6 million) through the first tranche in March in a deal which was 4.7 times oversubscribed. “This second tranche of sukuk will be a private offering to sophisticated investors resident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the company statement said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CIMB Group Bhd, Malaysia’s second largest lender, hopes to use its expertise in Islamic finance to distinguish itself from the competition when it formally opens its Australian operations this week, company executives said.
That may include bringing Australian companies to the Malaysian sukuk market as issuers for the first time. “We are very keen to do an Islamic finance transaction as soon as possible, but we also have to be realistic, working on a 12-month time frame,” Michael Forde, head of capital markets at CIMB Australia, said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain’s Islamic bonds jumped in October, sending the yield down the most on record, as backing from the island nation’s neighbours prompted investors to disregard protests.
The yield on Bahrain’s 5.5% sukuk due in March 2020 fell 65 basis points, or 0.65 percentage point, in October, the biggest drop since they started trading in March 2010, to 4.38%, before rising to 4.39% . That outpaced a 21 basis-point decline to 2.96% in the average yield on sukuk in the Gulf Cooperation Council, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai GCC US Dollar Sukuk Index………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Finance Ministry plans to sell as much as RM5.3bil of Islamic bonds under a 20-year programme to help the nation’s loss-making carrier buy new aircraft, according to two people familiar with the deal.
The state-guaranteed notes would be sold by Turus Pesawat Sdn Bhd, a special-purpose vehicle, with marketing starting this week, said the people who declined to be named because the information is private. Malaysian Airlines (MAS) announced in May it planned to lease six Airbus A380s and two A330s for RM5.3bil that would be purchased by the Government………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Investment Minister Osama Saleh said on Sunday4/11/2012 that the government considers issuing Islamic bonds (Sukuk) to redress the state budget deficit for the first time in Egypt, adding a work group was formed including ministries of investments and finance and the Central Bank of Egypt to set Sukuk legal structure.
The minister noted that the ministry is currently preparing to inaugurate projects affiliated to the public sector in different fields in Upper Egypt as al-Nahda cement project and tobacco industrial complex with LE5.5 bn investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Co. asks certificate holders to confirm whether they wish for the trust to be dissolved, according to statement carried by the regulatory news service. That notice, says Exotix’s Gus Chehayeb, officially confirms that a technical default has occurred on Dana’s $920m Islamic bond, and that there was no official standstill agreement in place.
The default could also be a first for UAE public bonds. This one has been rumbling for a while. Sources previously told FT beyondbrics that creditors including Blackrock and Ashmore had agreed to a standstill agreement that would allow talks over extending the maturity of its $920m sukuk to continue. The bond matured on October 31………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sharjah-based Dana Gas , which failed to repay a $920 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, on maturity last week, said it is unaware of any action from bondholders against the company.
A source close to holders of the bond said creditors will stake claim to the natural gas producer’s extensive Egyptian assets, after Dana became the first firm from the United Arab Emirates not to repay a bond on maturity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Fitch Ratings has assigned the upcoming USD3bn Perusahaan Penerbit SBSN Indonesia III’s (PPSI-III) global certificates (Sukuk), due 2022, an expected ‘BBB-(EXP)’ rating.
Fitch Ratings has assigned the upcoming USD3bn Perusahaan Penerbit SBSN Indonesia III’s (PPSI-III) global certificates (Sukuk), due 2022, an expected ‘BBB-(EXP)’ rating………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes is planning to add a range of products to its asset management unit, as soon as it completes a joint venture with a Qatari bank. Sukuk products, designed to comply with the stipulations of Islamic law, and Ucits funds are among the planned products, said Kashif Siddiqui and Karim Awad, who will become co-chief executives of the new entity.
The joint venture will see Qatari bank QInvest acquire a 60% stake in a new entity that includes EFG-Hermes’ asset management, investment banking, brokerage and research units as well as its flagship infrastructure fund. EFG’s holding company will control the remaining 40%………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Is the International Monetary Fund loan permissible under Islamic law? Egypt’s Islamist movements have signaled that this is the case and have gone out of their way to endorse the $4.8 billion package despite more than a year of lobbying that aimed to do the opposite.
But their change of heart has been met with skepticism. Is this loan being structured as sharia-compliant despite the IMF disbursing conventional loans to Islamic countries such as Pakistan? Is Egypt’s government trying to mollify citizens who view the IMF as having a reputation for imposing strict austerity measures? Is this essentially just a move to get voters on side?……………………………………….Full Article: Source

More than 20 banks have applied to Bank Negara Malaysia for licences to become mega-Islamic banks. Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siong Chai said of the number, 10 were local banks, six foreign banks registered in Malaysia, and five international banks.
“The licence is issued to a bank with a paid-up capital of at least US$1 billion and fulfils several criteria,” he said in reply to Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR-Machang)………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Teaching and medicine have traditionally been deemed ‘suitable’ professions for the educated urban women in Pakistan. Because of the cultural acceptance of female employment in these sectors, there has certainly been an oversupply of women in the educational sector, and increasingly in the public health and medical professions.
While there is no systematic evidence of exploitation of women in the health sector, there is a very clear indication of such a trend in the private educational sector, especially in the schools catering to low-income families. Private schools in particular, both in urban and rural areas, have benefitted immensely by employing women for salaries and wages that their male counterparts would reject outright………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The lender has made new appointments to establish a family office for the super rich and begun an Islamic private banking service for rich Muslims. Standard Chartered Plc’s private banking arm says it aims to focus on business from super-rich clients as it expands its services to the wealthy in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The British bank typically defines such clients as those who have $25 million invested with the bank, and who are thought to have assets of at least $100 million; the industry refers to such clients as the ultra-high net worth (UHNW) category………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Central Bank of Libya is continuing to work on plans for the introduction of Sharia-compliant banking within the Libyan financial sector. A consultant engaged on the project at the bank, Fatih Aqoub, has been reported as saying that rapid progress has been made, since a special committee began work this January.
The committee had been seeking best practice from elsewhere in the Islamic world . It was formulating amendments to the banking laws that would enable Sharia banking for an interim period before separate legislation was enacted………………………………………..Full Article: Source

There is a dire need for Islamic banking in this age to make the optimum use of capital available in the Islamic world, according to Mahathir Mohammed, former prime minister of Malaysia.
Non-Islamic countries too can adopt the Islamic banking model, he added. “The common problem faced by investors is uncertainty in the investment climate. Now that Islamic banking is available there is no reason why Muslims cannot develop their countries,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Sri Lankan Islamic banking assets would reach $ 1.5 billion from the present $ 250 million in coming years, says Amana Bank Chief Executive officer Faizal Salieh. Of the country’s 21.5 million people, about 8 % are Muslim and there is a strong demand for Islamic financial products from the Muslim population as well as from non-Muslims.
Though the local Islamic finance is still at a preliminary stage, it is developing. Local Islamic Finance industry would grow at a double digit rate over medium to long term and the growth is attributed to the increased awareness of faith based concepts and the internalization of the financial markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) announced its financial results for the period ending September 30, 2012, reflecting the bank’s continued focus on strengthening its core operations through optimal utilization of its large balance sheet while simultaneously ensuring a prudent approach to growth.
For the first nine months of 2012, DIB reported a net profit of Dhs854m, compared to Dhs850m for the corresponding period of 2011. For the third quarter of 2012, the bank reported a net profit of Dhs298.5m, thereby maintaining its profitability over the same period last year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Researchers at the Accounting Research Institute (ARI) of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) are developing an Islamic Corporate Social Responsibility (i-CSR) General Practice Framework for Islamic institutions.
“The framework will provide a more appropriate guidance for Islamic institutions as compared to the mainstream CSR which is based on Western experience,” Associate Prof Dr Faizah Darus said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) is on track to achieve its target of RM600mil in profit before tax (PBT) this year, said president and chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Zaini Othman.
“If you look at the trend of the business momentum that we have seen over the last nine months, we do not foresee any problems in achieving our target,” Zaini said. MBSB posted a 25.5% year-on-year growth in PBT to RM410.5mil for the nine months ended Sept 30………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Al Madina Financial and Investment Services Co of Oman and ACA Amanie of Malaysia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate together in common areas of interest in Islamic investment.
The MoU was signed on the second day of the 1st Muscat International Islamic Banking Forum (MIIFF), which concluded at Al Bustan Palace — A Ritz Carlton Hotel………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Mutual fund investors with strong religious beliefs have more options than ever these days. Faith-based mutual funds are one of the more interesting subsets of socially responsible mutual funds, which screen out investments that don’t meet certain ethical criteria.
The idea of investing according to religious principles has been around for a long time, and today there are dozens of U.S.-based mutual funds catering to a variety of faiths, with more than $30 billion in assets under management as of October 2012. Like socially responsible investing funds in general, religious funds are a very diverse group, using a wide variety of screening criteria………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Modern buildings are constructed daily in Doha, but urban planners designing the city that overlooks the Arabian Gulf have not lost sight of the importance of preserving Qatar’s rich architectural past, experts say.
Beginning in 1995, Qatar began to revive the spirit of historical buildings, according to archaeology expert Mohammad al-Khulaifi, 1993 winner of a prestigious award from the Organisation of Islamic Capitals and Cities………………………………………..Full Article: Source