Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Tunisia’s moderate Islamist-led government aims to issue 1 billion dinars ($634 million) worth of Islamic bonds next year, the first time the country has used the developing sector to fund public borrowing.
“One billion dinars will be available from the Islamic bonds in the 2013 budget for the first time,” Finance Minister Slim Besbes told state radio. Central bank governor Chadli Ayari told Reuters last month that Tunisia planned to issue Islamic bonds early next year………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Retail investors in Singapore and Thailand will soon be able to take part in Malaysia’s largest infrastructure project, as the country’s stock exchange prepares to issue the first tranche of a 1.5 billion ringgit retail Islamic bond or sukuk.
DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, owned by the Ministry of Finance, is scheduled to issue the tranche, a 300 million sukuk, by the end of the month. It will be the first retail bond to rely on the ASEAN Trading Link, which connects the stock exchanges in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Indonesia, Philippines,Vietnam are set to join the trading link in the near future………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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The Finance Ministry paid a 50 basis-point premium for a 20-year sukuk over non-Islamic sovereign debt, the biggest spread this year for government-guaranteed syariah-compliant notes.
Turus Pesawat Sdn, a company set up to sell the securities that will fund aircraft purchases on behalf of loss-making carrier Malaysian Airlined, sold RM3.4bil of debt in total, said two people familiar with the deal who declined to be named because the details are private. The RM1.65bil portion of 2032 notes yielded 4.36%, the top end of the 40 basis-point to 50 basis-point guidance, they said………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the emirate’s largest sharia-compliant lender, launched a $1 billion sharia-compliant hybrid Islamic bond, or sukuk, on Thursday to boost its core capital, arranging banks said, after attracting strong demand.
The Tier 1 perpetual sukuk, which has no defined maturity date, was launched at a profit rate of 6.375 per cent, at the tighter end of revised guidance, after orders totalled over $15 billion………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The Tunisian government will issue Islamic bonds for the first time in 2013 in an effort to close its budget deficit, according to Finance Minister Slim Besbes.
Besbes told Tunisan state radio yesterday that the government will issue 1 billion dinars ($630 million) in Islamic bonds (known as Sukuk), helping reduce the deficit to 6 percent of GDP from 6.6 percent in 2012………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Egypt may struggle to meet its Islamic finance targets. The new Muslim Brotherhood government aims to boost the sharia-compliant share of total banking assets from 5 to 35 percent within five years. The potential is undoubtedly big. Egypt is predominantly Muslim and only 10 percent of the 80 million people have bank accounts. But the rise of Islamic finance in Egypt might be slow.
Hosni Mubarak, the long-time former president, didn’t hold back Islamic finance, although he didn’t encourage it either. However the nascent sector was badly tarnished in the 1990s by a series of investment scams………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Egypt’s Salafis are branching out into business, bringing their ultraconservative teaching of Islam into the world of modern finance. The Salafi Dawah, the largest organization of ultraconservative Islamists in Egypt, founded a non-profit economic organization nine months ago that is nearing its formal launch early next year.
In preparation, Salafi leaders have been gathering to talk business — from promoting religious pilgrimages to holding a televised competition for entrepreneurs………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Any discussion of Islamic finance usually includes Islamic financial hubs such as Malaysia or the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. These hubs have played an integral role in the development of Islamic finance, which has now surpassed $1 trillion worldwide in terms of total assets. However, one anomaly remains: Islamic finance is still relatively underdeveloped in some of the most populous Muslim countries in the world.
After Asia Pacific, which boasts more than 60% of the world’s global Muslim population, the next-most-populous Muslim region is the Middle East and North Africa, which boasts 20% of the world’s Muslim population………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Djibouti started to develop an Islamic finance industry five years ago, and completed its legal and regulatory framework to accommodate Islamic banks in January last year.
“We are committed not only to the regulatory aspect of the business but we are also highly aware that the industry will not grow if the relevant human capital is not available and in view of that, we are also working on the establishment of an Islamic finance institute where students will take up at an early stage Islamic finance as a subject of study,” H.E. Djama M. Haid, Governor of the Central Bank of Djibouti said………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Paula Cox, Bermuda’s premier and minister of finance, shared the stage with former US president Bill Clinton in New York in September at the C3 Summit, a conference designed to promote relations between business people in the US and the Arab world.
Cox said that Bermuda “welcomes the global Islamic finance community with open arms” and could provide knowledge transfer in a trusted environment, as it seeks to open “a shariah window on the West.” ……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Saudi Arabia’s Sedco Capital, an investment firm complying with Islamic laws, expects assets under management to double in the next five years as it expands into new areas to meet rising demand from sharia-compliant investors.
The two-year old Jeddah-based firm, which manages about $3 billion in client assets, is one of few firms offering sharia- compliant investments globally. It is part of the Sedco Holding which has interest in real estate, automobiles and financial investments………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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To mark the conclusion of the first ever two-day forum on Islamic finance, the organisers have compiled key recommendations which have resulted from the discussions among senior industry figures, global investors, takaful operators, bankers, as well as top Shariah scholars who participated in the event.
Over the diverse categories covered, the recommendations are as follows: Regulatory Framework: As the industry is in its early stage of development, it is essential to create a solid regulatory framework and incorporate learning from the experiences of other regulators. (Press Release)
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank has gained court approval for a $125 million bankruptcy loan from Fortress Investment Group, believed to be the first such loan consistent with sharia, Islamic law.
The loan, approved by Judge Sean Lane in US Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York, will fund Arcapita as it tries to restructure debt after filing for bankruptcy in March………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Hj Abdullah bin Hj Ahmad Badawi yesterday underlined that the Muslim world lacks quality human capital to develop Islamic civilisation, and also called for the utilisation of the vast natural resources in our pristine forest of the Heart of Borneo (HoB) to develop biotechnology.
In delivering his keynote speech entitled `Understanding Islam, Developing Civilisation’ in his capacity as chairman of Malaysia’s Institute of Islamic Understanding (IKIM) during a joint seminar by the Sultan Omar All Saifuddien Centre for Islamic Studies (SOASCIS) Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and IKIM, the former prime minister noted quality human capital is lacking in our Muslim world, particularly in research, science and technology, and other fields………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Yemen’s Saba Islamic Bank and Djibouti-based Dahabshil Bank are both planning to start operations in Somalia next year. Basel Haj-Issa, who took over as CEO of Saba Islamic Bank five months ago, explained that client demand is driving the bank’s expansion into Somalia.
“Djibouti does a lot of trade with Somalia, and many of our clients need our Islamic services in the country, Haj-Issa told Islamic Business & Finance. “They [our clients] have been coming to us and asking why we do not have a presence in Somalia.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source
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Uzbekistan has raised a $100 million loan from the Islamic Development Bank for the modernization two hydroelectric power plants in the Tashkent region, Farkhad HPP and HPP-14 of the Lower Bozsui Cascade.
A source in the government circles told Interfax that representatives from the bank and the Uzbek government signed a loan agreement on Tuesday in Tashkent during a meeting of the Arab Coordination Group………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Ajman Bank, one of the youngest lenders in the UAE, on Wednesday posted net profit of Dh25.2 million for the first nine months of this year, representing an increase of 623 per cent from the same period in 2011.
Profit for the third quarter was Dh13.5 million up by 350 per cent from Dh3 million for the third quarter of last year. The third quarter profit also rose by 87 per cent compared to the profit of Dh7.2 million recorded during the second quarter of 2012, the bank said………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Hong Kong fund managers are taking a serious look at Malaysia as the market has performed well in the midst of a challenging global financial marketplace, said OSK Investment Bank CEO U Chen Hock. “The Hong Kong fund managers are taking note of the opportunities available in Asean. With 600 million people, cross border collaboration increasing day-by-day and strong gross domestic product growth, Asean is an exciting marketplace,” he said.
Bursa Malaysia will list one of the region’s first Exchange Traded Bond & Sukuk that will provide retail access to sukuk later this month. To date, 88% of listed companies on Bursa Malaysia are Shariah compliant………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
The introduction of measures aimed at updating and expanding the rules on takaful (sharia-compliant) insurance in Bahrain is expected to aid the segment’s efforts to make inroads into the market share currently held by conventional insurers.
Bahrain saw its first Islamic policy writer open its doors in 1989, well ahead of most of its Gulf neighbours and Asia. But while the Kingdom has been developing itself as an insurance and takaful centre for the region, more could be done to strengthen its position, such as developing its human resources pool through advanced training programmes, according to Abdul Rahman Al Baker, the executive director of financial institutions supervision at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB)………………………………………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 09 November 2012 by Laxman | Email|Print
Hong Kong Disneyland has introduced halal food to woo Muslims as looming competition could draw away mainlanders to Shanghai. About 40 percent of the theme park’s visitors are mainlanders, but a rival Disneyland is scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2015.
The restaurant, Tahitian Terrace, is situated in Adventureland. Its menu ranges from South Asian specialities such as halal dishes and Indian vegetarian to Penang fish curry, and roasted lemongrass chicken steak………………………………………..Full Article: Source
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