Banks are expected to continue tapping Islamic debt facilities to keep sukuk markets active in the year ahead, according to a new report from Standard & Poor’s, amid mounting cynicism that the asset class is falling out of favour with investors. But the credit ratings agency warned that the pipeline of new bond sales could become jammed if investors’ demands for higher yields on sukuk and longer-dated debts head too high.
“In view of supportive debt capital market conditions, we forecast banks’ issuance levels to remain elevated in 2013,” the report said. “We expect most of the impetus to come from banks in the United Arab Emirates, the largest issuers in 2012, and Qatar, where issuance has been steadily increasing.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

While Malaysia continues powering ahead in Islamic finance, which is based on ethical principles and bans interest, Singapore seems to have given up the ghost.
At least one leading player has already exited the retail Islamic finance market here to focus on Malaysia. Even headhunters have been relocating from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to help international banks set up Islamic finance teams there. And now a key tax incentive for the business in Singapore has been allowed to lapse………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank, or DIB, has confirmed the 100 per cent acquisition of Islamic housing finance provider Tamweel and said it will unlock new opportunities for both entities.
The bank is the majority shareholder in Tamweel with 58.2 per cent of issued equity. Monday’s extraordinary general assembly meeting voted in favour of DIB’s formal offer to acquire the remaining 41.8 per cent of the issued shares in Tamweel it does not currently own………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The MoU was signed by Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, IDB’s president in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The deal seeks to boost trade and investment between Turkey and and the members of the Islamic Development Bank. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Finance Minister al-Morsi Hegazi said the Sukuk bill was referred on Sunday 3/3/2013 to the Shura Council for discussion, noting that the bill has been probed by the Cabinet’s the legislative and economic committee where a detailed memo was drafted on the draft law.
He asserted that the bill entails all guarantees that safeguard the state’s rights and the Sukuk holders. The Minister’s statements came during the press conference he held for expounding the importance of Sukuk for the Egyptian economy during the current stage………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Agaoglu Group, a Turkish company with interests in the building industry, energy and tourism, plans to raise $2 billion in Islamic debt to finance the construction of Istanbul’s financial district.
The company hired investment bank Aktif Bank to manage the sale in April, Agaoglu Chairman Ali Agaoglu said in an interview yesterday in Dubai, where he opened an office to lure Persian Gulf wealth to Turkey’s construction industry. The fundraising would also include Murabaha facilities, he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Almarai, the Saudi Arabian company that operates a venture with PepsiCo, plans to sell a second tranche of Islamic sukuk for 2.3 billion Saudi riyals. Proceeds from the sale will help finance a capital investment program of 15.7bn riyals, according to a statement by the company on the Saudi stock exchange. Almarai, the biggest food producer in the Arabian Gulf by market value, issued 1bn riyals of sukuk in March 2012, according to the statement.
In May, Almarai approved a 15.7bn-riyal, five-year investment program to boost output and develop products. The company posted a 29 per cent increase in fourth-quarter earnings in January to 369 million riyals driven by a strong performance in bakery and poultry, as well as the consolidation of International Dairy & Juice……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Saudi Stock Exchange’s benchmark index Tasi closed 0.45% lower at 6,956.53 points. While market bellwether SABIC added 0.27% to reach SR92. Dairy food giant Almarai ended unchanged at SR66.00.
Earlier in the day, Almarai said it plans to issue its second tranche of an SR-denominated Islamic bond (sukuk) under its sukuk programme, totaling SR2.3bn ($613m), in line with the approval of the extraordinary general assembly held on Nov. 19 2011. This second tranche of Sukuk will be a private offering to sophisticated investors resident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Banks in Qatar, along with those in the UAE, will provide the impetus for debt issue this year in view of high macroeconomic and credit growth as well as low interest rates, according to global credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P).
“We expect most of the impetus to come from banks in the UAE, the largest issuers in 2012, and Qatar, where issuance has been steadily increasing,” S&P said in its latest report………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Often times, when a general election draws near, I usually get a bit nostalgic and proud of what my country has achieved within 56 short years as an independent and sovereign nation. It also gets me excited about what else we, as Malaysians, can do to better ourselves as a nation of dreamers and builders.
Naturally, as a Malaysian who has been involved in the Islamic finance industry globally, I am especially proud of what my country has achieved in this field over the years. The industry’s humble beginning in Malaysia started formally in 1963 when Lembaga Tabung Haji was established by the government to facilitate savings among Muslims in a syariah-compliant manner to prepare for their haj………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The governments of the world lurch from crisis to crisis as they try to prop up the corrupt, debt-based money system, but there is a positive alternative if they have the courage to take it. PAY THE BANK TO HOLD YOUR CASH was the headline in the February 27 issue of City A.M. That may not sound like an attractive proposition, nor may the suggestion that we should adopt negative interest rates, but there is a positive side to it.
On page 17, the overpaid so-called experts disagreed: Ross Walker, an economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland voted yes; Philip Booth of the Institute of Economic Affairs voted no. We’ve been here before, but imagine you were diagnosed with a serious illness and half the doctors recommended antibiotics while the other half said you needed no treatment at all. What would that do for your opinion of the medical profession?……………………………………….Full Article: Source

AmInvest, the new brand for the funds management business of AMMB Holdings Bhd, aims to grow its assets under management (AUM) by 20% this year on the back of sound funds performance, innovative products and recovering global economic outlook.
AmInvestment Services Bhd director of retail funds Ng Chze How said AmInvest has RM32.6 billion AUM as at Jan 31, 2013, a 19% increase from its AUM of RM27.4 billion a year ago. To date, AmInvest markets 81 unit trust funds emcompassing both conventional funds and Shariah-compliant funds………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Safa Investment Services, a Swiss-based Islamic asset management business, this week received its official certification for Shari’a compliance from the Bahrain-based Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB). It makes Safa Investment Services the first Islamic global asset management business in the world, a statement from SRB said.
Safa’s founder John A Sandwick, said: “While many banks create and manage individual Shari’a-compliant investment products, there is no other global asset manager in the world with Shari’a certification for all elements of asset management.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Al Jaber Group, a family-owned industrial group in Abu Dhabi, reached a deal with creditors including HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) to restructure about $4 billion of debt, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The company agreed with its five main lenders on terms, including loan repayments over five years, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The debt, which includes both conventional and Islamic facilities, will pay annual interest of between 300 basis points, or 3 percentage points, to 400 basis points over the London Interbank Offered Rate, one of the people said………………………………………..Full Article: Source