Oman plans to issue a total of about 200 million rials ($520 million) of conventional bonds and sukuk in line with its budget financing needs, central bank chief Hamood Sangour al-Zadjali said on Wednesday.
He did not specify the timing or other details, beyond saying that the sukuk, denominated in rials, were likely to be issued towards the end of 2013 or at the start of next year. It would be Oman’s first sovereign sukuk issue, as the country is now launching an Islamic finance industry…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, (DIB) the United Arab Emirates’ biggest Shariah-compliant lender, will pay a profit rate of 6.25 percent on a $1 billion Islamic bond it plans to sell, said a banker familiar with the matter.
The profit rate per year is payable semi-annually in arrear until the first call date in 2019, two bankers familiar with the details said separately yesterday, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The rate will be reset on the first call date and every six years thereafter to a new fixed rate, they said…………………………………….Full Article: Source

BLME’s Global Sukuk Fund, rated by Zawya as the top performing Sukuk fund of 2012, has moved to daily dealing. The fund is an unregulated collective investment scheme and is only available to professional clients or eligible counterparties. Shares in the fund should only be purchased by persons with experience of participating in unregulated schemes or through a qualified professional adviser.
Nigel Denison, Head of Wealth Management and Treasury, BLME, said, “This top performing Sukuk fund provides investors with access to the buoyant Sukuk market. We expect that 2013 will be another milestone year for the Islamic finance industry and in particular the Sukuk market. ……………………………………Full Article: Source

The new issuance of sukuk worldwide could top well above $100 billion again this year, Standard & Poor’s said its recent report “Investor Appetite Is Pushing Sukuk Into The Mainstream”, amid current investment spending and economic growth, along with its forecast of continued high oil prices and low bond yields.
In addition, jumbo issuance may pick up further, mainly on the back of huge infrastructure projects from sovereigns. Turkey, Qatar, and Malaysia issued more than $1 billion over the past two years. Sustained investment spending and ample domestic liquidity are likely to support sukuk issuance, especially in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE…………………………………….Full Article: Source

A strong performance from Turkey’s banks last year produced a significant rise in total assets and an increase in equity capital, generating impressive growth across the industry. Turkish banks also continued to strengthen their position on the international stage by further diversifying their services, with a number of financial institutions extending their reach into the growing Islamic financial services segment.
The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (Bankacılık Düzenleme ve Denetleme Kurumu, BDDK) announced on February 13 that the sector grew 12.6% in 2012. Total assets reached TL1.3bn ($0.72bn), driven largely by growth in the second half of the year, according to Mükim Öztekin, president of the BDDK…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Mashreq Al Islami , the Islamic banking division of Mashreq, one of the UAE’s leading financial institutions announced the official launch of Islamic Gold proposition. The new product underlines the Bank’s commitment towards its customers and continuous product innovation. The Premium banking segment can now avail Sharia’h Compliant Islamic Gold offering with customized financial solutions.
The launch event was attended by customers and senior officials from the Bank to engage in an informative session. Mashreq representatives comprised Tooran Asif - Head of Personal Banking, Momin Hyat - Manager, Sharia’h Covernance & Compliance, Caetano Fernandes - Head of Mashreq Gold and Ali Moosa - Regional Manager Distribution…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Expert advice from our recent live debate on how the Qu’ran’s teachings chime with the objectives of the worldwide social enterprise movement. Driving force for business should be social impact: Although wealth creation is necessary for a successful business, the core driving force should be to serve as a socially responsible enterprise that can bring about change with its business model.
This is rooted in the teachings of the Islamic economic system which strongly encourages the creation of positive businesses that are ethical for society and aim to equalise the division between the wealthy and those less fortunate…………………………………….Full Article: Source

The UK’s first Islamic Finance Task Force will be led by Greg Clark, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi. The co-chairs will be supported by experts from the banking industry and UK Islamic Finance Secretariat.
“We expect the global market for Islamic financial services to experience significant growth over the coming years, but feedback from decision-makers in the Middle East and South East Asia suggests there is a lack of awareness of the UK industry and that we should be doing more to promote the sector,” Baroness Warsi said. “There are also major opportunities to attract investment into the UK as demand for Islamic finance increases from private investors and sovereign wealth funds.”……………………………………Full Article: Source

Global Forum on Islamic Finance (GFIF) Wednesday recommended that governments of OIC countries should set up funds for curriculum and infrastructure development of Islamic financial education at under-graduate and graduate level to cater needs of this emerging area.
The recommendation was passed in a resolution on the last day of the GFIF 2013 organised by COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) in collaboration with the Lancaster University. Former Governor State Bank Dr Ishrat Hussain was the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the GFIF. The resolution said that Islamic finance education is pivotal for the stability and growth of Islamic Finance industry…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House (M) Bhd (KFH) is mulling over a restructuring exercise that will entail a change of chief executive and the creation of a separate investment banking division, sources said. The sources told StarBiz that KFH’s existing chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Jamelah Jamaluddin had been chosen to head this new investment banking subsidiary, and thus, the search for a new CEO had been ongoing.
According to the sources, Datuk Seri Abdul Hamidy Abdul Hafiz, the chairman of Danajamin Nasional Bhd and Credit Guarantee Corp (M) Bhd, is a likely replacement. He is also a board member of KFH…………………………………….Full Article: Source