The Finance Ministry’s debt management failed to meet its target in the offering of Islamic bonds (sukuk) on Tuesday, the second time since mid February, as investors demanded yields higher than the government’s offer due to accelerating inflation.
The government raised only Rp 760 billion (US$78.4 million) in the auction, half of its indicative target of Rp 1.5 trillion, although total incoming bids topped Rp 3.38 trillion. It was the second consecutive time the government has failed to meet its sukuk issuance target this year after raising only Rp 1.05 trillion during an auction on Feb. 19………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The wave of sukuk issuance continued to wash over the Dubai financial markets, even as some experts warned that future global demand for Islamic bonds might be limited. Dewa, the Dubai utilities company owned by Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), listed a US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) sukuk on the Nasdaq Dubai market, while Emirates Airline set off on an investor roadshow ahead of what is expected to be another big sukuk issue later this month.
That follows the news that Dubai Islamic Bank had hired banks to prepare for a high yield sukuk to raise in the region of $500 million………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates Airline has authorized banks to arrange a dollar-denominated Sukuk sale this year. This would be the airline’s second bond sale in 2013.
A statement by the airline, issued to the Gulf News, reads that “Emirates has mandated Citigroup and Standard Chartered Bank as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Lead Managers, together with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank and Emirates NBD Capital as Joint Lead Managers, to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings in the UAE and Europe commencing on March 7”………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Emirates, the world’s biggest airline by international traffic, will start meetings with investors tomorrow for a possible sale of Islamic bonds, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The Dubai government-owned carrier hired Citigroup Inc., Standard Chartered Plc (STAN), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB), Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (ADIB), Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB) and Emirates NBD Capital Ltd. to arrange the meetings, said the bankers, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public. The sukuk will be denominated in dollars, they said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egypt is pinning its hopes for a return to the international capital markets on Islamic bonds. It is likely to be successful, provided it can hold parliamentary elections and resolve domestic legal wrangling over how to structure the bonds.
Struggling to narrow a big budget deficit and boost foreign currency reserves that are at critically low levels, President Mohamed Mursi’s government last week approved a draft law that would allow the state to issue sukuk for the first time. With its credit rating repeatedly downgraded to junk status by international rating agencies over the past year, and its economy undermined by political instability, Egypt might seem an unlikely borrower………………………………………..Full Article: Source

President of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) Ashraf Al-Sharqawi warned that sukuk could be used to launder money, during a meeting of the Shura Council’s Economic Committee. “Islamic Bonds and certificates which are issued must be nominal and not specific to the bearer, so as to prevent acts of money laundering,” he said.
Sharqawi called for Article 25 of the country’s proposed sukuk law to be dropped. The article stipulates that a maximum fine of EGP 20m should be imposed on those who violate the law. “People can reap huge profits from money laundering, far greater than that of the maximum fine imposed by this law,” he said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Falcon Private Bank plans to launch an open-ended global Sukuk fund in April. “We are in the process of launching a fund … a global Sukuk fund – the fund will only invest in Sukuk that are issued from basically anywhere in the world – that will be launched early next month (April); it’s an open ended fund, Zafar Khan, CEO MENA at Falcon Private Bank, told CPI Financial.
Khan explained that the demand for Sukuk is greater than for conventional bonds in the region. “There is a huge demand for bonds but more of this demand is coming from Islamic bonds,” he said. “Where the debt market is concerned, I think that in last year the emerging market debt market performed very well. I think there is still a lot of value in the debt market in this region.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Hwang Investment Management has launched he latest addition to their in-house managed, income series of funds, the Hwang AIIMAN Select Income Fund. The firm seeks to tap into the Shariah-compliant equity market, fast growing sukuk and Islamic money market instruments.
“HwangIM has been building up our offerings and performance track record in the income fund space since 2004, following the launch of our first Shariah income fund, Hwang AIIMAN Income Plus Fund. Since the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC), the demand for simpler, stable, income-type funds grew in prominence and it was obvious that investors were not keen on taking excessive risks………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A financial system based on principles of trust, ethics and partnership can become a partner in the development of your business. The Islamic banking and finance industry has developed from what was once a niche exotic product to take its place as part of the mainstream in a matter of just 40 years. Naturally the curiosity associated with this alternative financial system has also intensified. In this article, we explain its basics.
Islamic banking and finance is intended to serve the same underlying purpose as any other conventional bank or financial institution: to intermediate funds from those who have capital (capital rich) to those who need it (capital deficient). However, as the saying goes, ‘God is in the details’………………………………………..Full Article: Source

After the successful launch of five branches of Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services from Ahlibank, the leading Islamic Banking services provider in the Sultanate, recently announced the launch of its Sharia Compliant term deposit account.
Abdullah Al Jabry, Head of Al Hilal Islamic Banking Services, highlighted the characteristics of the product “The Term Deposit Account makes both long term and short term investment opportunities available to our clients. By Investing funds with Al Hilal Term Deposit account our customers can benefit from attractive Sharia permissible returns.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a top-tier Islamic Finance institution, announced today that it had signed an agreement to provide financing facilities for AED 500 million to Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA). The financing will be used to expand DAFZA’s key offices buildings, business centre and food court which are due to be completed in 2015.
The agreement was signed at DAFZA’s headquarters by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General of DAFZA and Tirad- Al Mahmoud, CEO of ADIB………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A company is sharia-compliant if it conducts its business according to sharia stipulations, and accommodates Islamic principles and disciplines in its business structures, setups, and operations. To achieve sharia-compliance the company must follow certain rules throughout the life span of its business.
Islamic finance is underpinned by ethics-oriented principles, and these have been broken down into clear and practical actionable units for companies to follow. However achieving sharia-compliance also requires attention to details………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Trading houses across the globe are tapping the DME Oman benchmark to offer to hedge funds and other sophisticated investors, accelerating a push to put Dubai on the map as a trading hub for world oil markets.
There has been demand on Dubai’s oil exchange for new trading instruments during the past few months, as three firms announced the first financial products making use of the DME Oman contract………………………………………..Full Article: Source