Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the country’s first retail Exchange-Traded Bonds and Sukuk (ETBS). It is the first infrastructure bond issuance to be opened to the public. Najib said the ETBS, with a maiden issuance by DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, would enable the people to have a stake in the country’s success.
DanaInfra is allocating RM300 million under this issuance for retail investors, the initial tranche of RM1.5 billion to fund the first phase of the Kajang-Sungai Buloh MRT line………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The challenge for Malaysia, which now accounts for three-quarters of the global sukuk market, is to make sukuk part of the global investment mainstream. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said to continue to be the leader in capital markets, Malaysia has to develop and maintain the market infrastructure and widen the investment base.
Najib said for investors who have been buffeted by the financial crisis in western markets, Islamic bonds were an alternative growth model………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Capital Market Authority (CMA), which is now seeking feedback on its draft sukuk regulation, said that a joint stock company or a special purpose vehicle (SPV) can float Islamic debt instrument or sukuk.
The draft regulation made it clear that the SPV will not be subject to taxation. “This has alleviated a major misconception in the market,” said Khalid Yousaf, Director-Islamic Finance Advisory Services, KPMG in Oman………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is planning to issue an Islamic bond worth around $1 billion during the first quarter of 2013, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
The proceeds of the sukuk would be used to refinance existing debt and to invest in the company’s projects, Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in the Qatari capital. “It will be used for both – mainly for refinance, but also for investment,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

DanaInfra Nasional Bhd, a unit owned by Malaysia’s Finance Ministry, yesterday launched a 10-year Islamic bond worth RM300 million aimed at retail investors to raise funds for the country’s largest infrastructure project.
DanaInfra, which was created last year to facilitate funding for large infrastructure projects, will draw the amount from an RM8 billion bond programme established to cover costs for the planned Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) rail system………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Danainfra Nasional Bhd’s exchange traded sukuk, the latest asset class that has been just launched, is expected to attract strong demand from investors who want exposure to infrastructure-based bonds.
According to analysts, this is because it is the single asset class in its category that allowed retail investors to diversify their investment portfolio from the usual opportunities available on the market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Malaysia’s first exchange-traded bonds and Sukuk (ETBS)is expected to offer an annual return of about 3.7 per cent. Chief operating officer of Danainfra Nasional Bhd Datuk Kamal Mohd Ali said they are confident that the retail sukuk will be able to offer a better return than fixed deposits.
He said the offer will be from Jan 8 until Jan 18 and the profit rate will be determined at the close of the book building of the institutional offering. “We are optimistic that the retail sukuk will be able to offer about 3.7 per cent of return per annum,” he told reporters. He added that the profit rate will be based on the demand and the prevailing market interest rate………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Eversendai Corp Bhd’s proposed issuance of Islamic commercial papers and/or Islamic medium-term notes (sukuk musharakah) under a sukuk musharakah programme of up to RM500mil in nominal value has been approved by the Securities Commission.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Eversendai said the tenure of the sukuk programme would be for seven years from the date of the first issue………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) has announced the successful closing of the merger between three Bahrain-based Islamic banks Elaf Bank, Capital Management House and Capivest.
This created a strengthened financial institution with a total equity of about US$340mil and total assets in excess of US$400mil spanning the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Asia, said Kuwait Finance House in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House-Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) announced this week that the new year heralded the successful closing of the merger between three Bahrain-based Islamic banks, Elaf Bank, Capital Management House and Capivest, creating a strengthened financial institution with a total equity of approximately $340 million and total assets in excess of $400 million spanning the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Asia.
As transaction and lead adviser, KFH-Bahrain, after having initiated discussions with the three banks in late 2011, worked closely with them to create a robust merged entity that is able to better compete in the dynamic and growing global Islamic banking and investment industry………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The consolidated balance sheet of the banking system in Bahrain, comprising retail and wholesale banks, stood at $201.1 billion at the end of September this year, up 1.3 per cent over the same time last year, said a report.
This was an increase of 4.6 per cent over the consolidated balance sheet of $192.2 billion at the end of June 2012, according to the latest issue of the Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) quarterly bulletin………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Shariah-compliant banks, according to the LCR document, face a religious prohibition on holding certain types of assets, such as interest-bearing debt securities.
Even in jurisdictions that have a sufficient supply of HQLA, an insurmountable impediment to the ability of Shariah-compliant banks to meet the LCR requirement may still exist………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Omantel welcomed Bank Nizwa, the Sultanate’s first Islamic bank to its network. Bank Nizwa, the first bank to be granted a licence to provide non-conventional banking services in the Sultanate, announced recently the launch of its services catering to the needs of important segment of the Omani market.
Relying on Omantel services, the bank has connected its two branches located in Nizwa and Sohar with the bank’s headquarters in Muscat through Omantel’s advanced IPMPLS service in addition to leased lines with disaster recovery centres………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Alfalah, has surpassed the centennial branch mark with the opening of its 100th branch at Bokhari Commercial, DHA Phase VI, Karachi. Today, the Bank boasts a nation-wide network of 110 Islamic banking branches and is ranked the no.2 Islamic Bank in Pakistan.
Bank Alfalah’s Chief Executive Officer, Atif Bajwa said, ‘We are pleased to cross the century mark for our Islamic Banking branches - this is a major milestone for the Bank. Since inception in 2003, Bank Alfalah’s Islamic banking has evolved into a vibrant entity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation is keen to explore potential collaboration in various sectors with Malaysia, especially the halal industry and Islamic banking, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said.
He said Tatarstan, a semi-autonomous region within the Russian Federation and one of Russia’s biggest Muslim regions with about 18 million population, had great potential for the halal industry. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd has appointed Ab Latiff Abu Bakar as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the general and family takaful company .
Latiff, who holds a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Portland, US, brings with him over 20 years of experience including senior management positions in insurance and takaful companies………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index finished 2012 up 10.74 per cent, according to data compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index, which rose 0.55 per cent in December, measures the performance of 100 of the world’s leading Shari’ah-compliant stocks.
In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the world’s 50 largest companies, posted a 2012 gain of 11.75 per cent; it registered a gain of 0.70 per cent in December. (Press Release)

It’s true. Outside of oil and gas projects and a few specific infrastructure projects (ports like Jebel Ali and airports like Dubai), far less real economic development has happened in the oil-rich parts of the Arab world than would be expected based on their great endowment of human and natural resources.
The Islamic world isn’t monolithic, and it’s probably worthwhile to address relatively stable oil-rich states separately from Iraq, Iran, and Libya, again separately from other Islamic states without much oil separately from Asian Islamic countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Let’s look specifically at the stable oil rich Arab Islamic states for now………………………………………..Full Article: Source