Islamic bonds trailed emerging-market debt for a second year as foreign funds chased higher yields, a trend that Union Investment Privatfonds says is likely to continue in 2013. Global Shariah-compliant notes gained 9.6 percent in 2012, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai US Dollar Sukuk Index, compared with 18.5 percent for developing-nation securities, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI Global Composite Index shows.
The average yield on dollar sukuk dropped 1.18 percentage points to 2.81 percent, while that for emerging-market paper fell 1.58 percentage points to 4.50 percent, according to the two gauges………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egypt’s core Islamic institution contests a bill on Islamic bonds, saying it is not compliant with Sharia law that prohibits usury. Members of the Islamic Research Academy, one of Al-Azhar’s affliated institutes, say they reject a bill on Islamic bonds (sukuk) recently approved by Egypt’s Cabinet.
The institute declared that it rejects the bill because “it is not compliant with Sharia rules and threatens the state sovereignty.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Shura Council’s financial and economic affairs committee has endorsed the Islamic Research Academy’s rejection of the Finance Ministry’s proposal for Islamic bonds.
Al-Azhar’s body had rejected the bill during an urgent meeting late Tuesday held by Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, on the grounds that it “violates Islamic Sharia and endangers the state’s sovereignty.” Academy member and former Grand Mufti Nasr Farid Wasel told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the bill would allow foreigners to own Islamic bonds and shares in local factories and businesses………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd (MARC) has affirmed its AAAIS and AA+IS ratings on Tradewinds Plantation Capital Sdn Bhd’s (Tradewinds Capital) asset-backed RM180mil Class A and RM30mil Class B Sukuk Ijarah respectively.
The outlook on the ratings is stable. The ratings agency said on Wednesday Tradewinds Capital, a unit of Tradewinds Plantation Bhd (Tradewinds), was set up to issue the Sukuk Ijarah through a sale and leaseback agreement for a collateral portfolio comprising 12 oil palm estates and three palm oil mills………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Global sukuk issuance in 2012 exceeded $144bn, according to the IFIS Sukuk Database, with some $7.5bn of deals in December adding to the year’s record volume.
The final total was nearly 55% up on the $93bn issued in 2011, which was also the industry’s previous record year………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The global Islamic banking industry enters its 38th year in 2013 in its contemporary phase with invigorated optimism, fueled partly by its continued proliferation in new markets especially in Oman and Arab Spring countries and partly by the impressive momentum of the sukuk market which in 2012 by its own standards enjoyed a record year with several new entrants to the market, especially from non-traditional issuers, and pioneering new structures.
But the industry has a tendency to be beguiled by its own relative success largely because of a lack of independent evaluation of its performance and policy and architectural development………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A report issued by KFH-Research highlighted high potential for Islamic banking in Hong Kong, because Hong Kong has high liquidity, free economy, strong presence of foreign banks, and simple taxes system, which makes it a great candidate to become a major Islamic financial hub.
Hong Kong is also considered to be a gate to China that has a robust market. In addition, Hong Kong held cooperation agreements with Dubai to reinforce cooperation in the field of promoting and developing sectors of Islamic banking, in order to take advantage of the liquidity in the GCC region. Hong Kong works on issuing a legislation that organizes Sukuk, so that it can attract more Sukuk issuance from neighboring countries, such as Malaysia that took many initiatives in Hong Kong for the past six years. (Press Release)

When U.S. banking giant Citigroup Inc moved one of its top bankers, Alberto Verme, to Dubai in 2008, it was a sign of international banks’ ambitions to tap economic growth in the oil-rich region. By bringing in Verme, who at the time was co-head of Citigroup’s worldwide investment banking operation, the bank became the first among its peers to station the global chief of a major business in the Middle East.
J.P. Morgan Chase made some senior hires in the region last year while winning mergers and acquisitions business in places including Qatar. It was the sole global lender present in a $2.4 billion Islamic loan facility raised last month by Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) from a group of nearly a dozen banks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Capital Market Authority (CMA) completed the initial draft of the regulatory bylaw of the Islamic Sukuk. CMA started getting feedbacks from the respective stakeholders at the public sector, the companies operating in stocks, audit office, legal consultancy firms, experts, academics and public on the provision of the draft regulations, which were drafted by CMA after His Majesty Sultan Qaboos issued his Royal Directives, which allow the introduction of Islamic banking at the Omani banking sector.
The regulatory bylaw was issued after CMA had studied the legislative, audit and procedural areas related to financial tools that are in line with the Islamic sharia rules………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The UAE’s economic growth may slow slightly in 2012 to three per cent due to lower growth in the oil sector but the non-oil sector GDP growth rate is expected to strengthen to 3.5 per cent on the back of buoyancy in the trade, travel and tourism sectors as well as some growth in the manufacturing sector.
The increase in the absolute number of UAE’s largest bank, Emirates NBD (ENBD)’s NPL ratio during Q3 2012 of about Dhs900 million was primarily driven by the recognition of new NPL of around Dhs600 million in its conventional corporate portfolio and another Dhs200 million in its Islamic corporate portfolio………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Meezan Bank conducted a comprehensive 3 day training on Islamic Banking products for the management team of Amana Bank, Sri Lanka. The training session held at the Amana Bank head office in Colombo, covered 24 products for financing, liability, treasury, trade finance as well as other Shariah-compliant products.
Meezan Bank’s representatives, Mr. Ahmed Ali Siddiqui – Head of Product Development and Shariah Compliance and Mr. Asim Hameed Khan- Islamic Advisory, conducted the trainings which were attended by the Senior management, middle management and nationwide branch staff of Amana Bank, Sri Lanka………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Finance Minister, Zakhelwal left Tuesday for Sudan attend Islamic Development Bank (IDB) 37th annual meeting of the board of governors, the ministry said. “The participation of Islamic countries in the development projects of Afghanistan was not so tangible in the past one decade, but with attention of IDB leadership and continually struggle of Dr. Zakhilwal it became better since two years, a statement issued by the ministry, said.
Zakhilwal will meet during his visit with Ministers of Finance, Economy and Planning of Islamic Countries and will try to take their assistance to Afghanistan for investments, according to the statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Established in 1999 and listed on the London, Kuwait, and Bahrain stock exchanges and Dubai Financial Market, GFH claims to have raised more than $5bn to invest in Islamic financial institutions and infrastructure projects over the past 13 years.
Its projects have included First Energy Bank, the world’s first Islamic investment bank focused exclusively on the energy sector; the Khaleeji Commercial Bank in Bahrain; QInvest in Qatar; Arab Finance House in Lebanon; First Leasing Bank in Bahrain; and the Asia Finance Bank in Malaysia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar Exchange (QE) and Al Rayan Investment announced the launch of the QE Al Rayan Islamic index. The index, the first of its kind in the region, is based on QE listed stocks of minimum free float size and liquidity that are Shariah compliant.
Set to debut on January 7, 2013, the index is intended to support the creation of Shariah-compliant exchange traded fund (ETF) by Al Rayan Investment and has been issued with a fatwa by its Shariah Board………………………………………..Full Article: Source