The rise of Asian ship finance gets ever more sophisticated in its offerings. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking have organized a syndicated loan of $184m for Brunei Gas Carriers (BGC). The loan complies with Sharia law, which prohibits the charging of interest. The loan is being paid to a special-purpose company that will buy LNG ships and lease them to BGC. Instead of interest, the Japanese banks will receive charter fees.
This is the second loan the two banks have made to BGC following a $170m syndicated loan from a year ago. The Nikkei newspaper reports that Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ has set up a section specializing in Islamic financing at a local unit in Malaysia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

With credit rating downgrades raising the interest rates that have to be paid on bonds, banks should look at Islamic financing to meet the added capital requirements of new regulations, professional services company Ernst & Young recommended in a report released last week.
According to Ernst & Young’s World Islamic Banking Competitiveness Report 2013, Islamic banking assets held by commercial banks worldwide are expected to exceed $1.8-trillion this year, a 38% increase compared with $1.3-trillion in 2011………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ernst and Young (E&Y) said that Islamic financial institutions in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region are boosting their investments that are carried out in line with Shari’ah, as these economies have surpassed the global economic expansion since the start of the new millennium, and developed their regulatory system to stimulate Islamic banking.
However, financial institutions and banks in the US and Europe have trimmed their exposure in banking in line with Islamic law, due to the financial crisis that forced them to return to their roots by lowering their exposure in foreign fields, including Islamic finance, and by limiting their investments in emerging markets………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Department of Economic Development in Dubai (DED) is developing the Islamic-compliant standard to classify or categorise the registered businesses in Dubai, Mohammad Al Shael, CEO of Business Registration & Licensing Sector at DED, said.
“The department is developing an official standard for Islamic-complaint companies as part of the required infrastructure to make Dubai the world’s Islamic-complaint economic capital.” Earlier this month, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, launched a new initiative that would make Dubai a global capital for the Islamic economy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The private sector in the Kingdom has been spurred into action, giving a major boost particularly to real estate, construction, health care, education, financial services and a host of other activities, thus offsetting some of the global economic gloom, according to Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group.
“However, financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is not yet developed in most of the member-countries,” Al-Aboodi said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Shariah-compliant small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Financing Scheme (SSFS) and Commercialisation Innovation Fund (CIF) are set to provide further aid to the growing SME sector in Malaysia.
To note, in an effort to provide further support to SMEs, the Malaysian government in its 2012 budget, allocated RM2 billion for the establishment of SSFS and RM500 million for CIF. According to Oxford Business Group (OBG) in its Malaysia Report 2012, SMEs represent a significant part of the economy, a fact acknowledged early on by the government………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar’s Masraf Al Rayan is seeking permission from its shareholders to buy a stake in a Libyan commercial bank, the Islamic lender said in a statement. Rayan says plans to finance the acquisition through a capital increase, Reuters said.
On Sunday, Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar’s fourth-largest bank by market value, posted a 16.3 percent increase in full-year net profit………………………………………..Full Article: Source

QIB - the leading Islamic bank in Qatar - has unveiled its new look Mobile Banking application which enables customers to access a wide range of services via their smartphones. QIB Mobile Banking is available on the iPhone, BlackBerry and smartphones using the ‘Android’ operating system. QIB Customers now have access to an extensive array of services that can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
QIB Mobile banking application is secure and easy to install and once installed will enable customers to conduct most of their banking transactions using their smartphones anytime, anywhere. (Press Release)

Net government bond supply as a percentage of the total outstanding is slightly higher versus 2012 in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, but is expected to be more moderate in Indonesia, India, Thailand, the Philippines and South Korea. The Philippines has raised more than it needed and is able to reduce its financing needs.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore sets supply according to demand by surveying primary dealers, so demand always slightly exceeds supply. Malaysia is keeping issuance of Malaysian government securities light as it shifts to more government Islamic issues (GIIs) and offers guarantees on other debt………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank , the United Arab Emirates’ third largest lender by market value, has picked five banks for a conventional bond issue, two sources familiar with the matter said, tapping into strong investor interest for regional debt.
The lender has chosen itself, J.P. Morgan Chase, ING, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered to arrange the offering, the sources said on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information is not public………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Dubai property developer Nakheel dismissed concerns over its debt burden as it unveiled a Dh2.02 billion (US$549 million) profit for last year. The company, which restructured debt and received financial assistance from the Dubai Government following the property crash four years ago, said profits were 57 per cent higher than the previous year.
Revenues stood at Dh7.8bn, up 91 per cent on the previous year. The developer disclosed its financial results the day after Exotix, a boutique investment bank with offices in Dubai, cut its rating on Nakheel’s sukuk bonds to “sell”. It warned in an advisory note that the bond was no longer pricing in the risk of a default………………………………………..Full Article: Source

JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (JCR-VIS) has upgraded the medium to long term rating of the Sukuk issue of Rs. 950m of Engro Foods Limited (EFoods) to ‘A+’ (Single A Plus) from ‘A’ (Single A). Outlook on the assigned rating is ‘Stable.’
The rating incorporates the strong growth potential in the sector in which EFoods operates; the company has posted considerable growth in sales since inception. Within the sales mix, there is strong reliance on a single product, namely, Tarang. The dairy drinking segment, contributes around one-third to total sales. Within this segment, the company has launched ‘Dairy Omung’, which is positioned at a relatively lower sales price point vis-à-vis that of its established product in the segment i.e. ‘Olpers’. (Press Release)

Fitch Ratings has assigned Sime Darby Berhad’s (Sime Darby) first tranche of US$800 million (RM2.4 billion) Sukuk notes issued under its US$1.5 billion Sukuk programme a final ‘A’ rating. The final rating is in line with the expected rating assigned on 22 January 2013.
On 15 January 2013, Fitch rated the Sukuk programme set up through a special purpose vehicle, Sime Darby Global Berhad, at the same level as Sime Darby’s senior unsecured rating in accordance with the agency’s “Rating Sukuk” criteria. Sime Darby’s obligations to the Sukuk programme rank equally with its senior unsecured debt obligations and the programme is exposed to low structural subordination risk on account of Sime Darby’s majority stake in and management control of key operating entities. (Press Release)

While the takaful industry has been developing rapidly in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the development of takaful regulation varies significantly country by country, according to a new special report featured in BestWeek Asia-Pacific. As a result, the levels of policyholder protection differ from one state to another, which has created opportunities for takaful operators to pursue regulatory arbitrage.
Indeed, there is significant debate as to the right level of regulation. Market participants in some of the more demanding regimes consider the regulations to be stifling their companies. A.M. Best believes the solution is not less regulation but more consistent application of regulation throughout the region, which has the potential to provide sufficient policyholder protection, and thus safeguard the long-term viability of the takaful industry. (Press Release)

Bahrain insurance market registered solid growth during the third quarter of 2012, with its gross premiums increasing to BD184.11 million ($480.6 million) by the end of September 2012, up 9 per cent over the same period a year ago.
Announcing this on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) attributed a significant part of the increase to a surge in long-term insurance (Life & Savings Products), registering around 17 per cent increase in gross premiums to reach BD42.34 million in September 2012 compared to BD36.06 million the previous year, representing almost 23 per cent of the gross premiums written in September 2012………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Many were surprised at the response of the American people to 9/11. I wasn’t. After living among them for five years, I realized how much Americans love their country. True they originally came from different parts of the world, with diverse and colorful backgrounds, but the governance system managed to build a strong allegiance to the novel idea of the United States of America.
The European Union is a newer idea. It should have a good chance of success because the people there are mostly European in origin. Unlike the immigrants to the New World, they are rooted in their older continent. However, Europeans may not have reached the US level of integration, and countries like Britain and Greece may leave the EU. But Europe has make great strides in economic unification………………………………………..Full Article: Source