Abu Dhabi government-owned Al Hilal Bank plans to issue a debut Islamic bond worth $500 million in the third quarter of this year to fund growth and diversify its balance sheet, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
“The sukuk was planned last year but we believe third quarter this year is the right time for our first Islamic bond,” Mohamed Berro told Reuters. “It’s a mix of getting some funding and benchmarking the bank in comparison to its peers on the debt market,” he said, adding that the bank expects to obtain a credit rating in the coming two or three months………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Egyptian lawmakers approved the country’s first sukuk law today, paving the way for the government to take part in a market that hit a record $46 billion of debt sales last year. The law allows the state and its related entities to issue Shariah-compliant debt locally and internationally. Capital gains and coupon payments will be exempt from tax.
Egypt is looking for ways to secure foreign currency as a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund remains stalled by political unrest. The country may raise as much as $1 billion by June from sale of its first Islamic bonds, Ahmed El- Naggar, adviser to Finance Minister El-Morsi El-Sayed Hegazi, said last month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Parliament approved a law Tuesday allowing the issuance of Islamic bonds, slated to provide the heavily-indebted government with a new form of finance. The Shura Council voted in favor of the law passed by the government at the end of February and sent it to President Mohamed Morsy for final approval.
Finance Minister Morsy Hegazy said last month that Egypt could raise around US$10 billion a year from the Islamic bond market — much more than some analysts expect — but added that it would take at least three months to push through necessary regulations………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Turkish Islamic bank Turkiye Finans is in the final stage of preparing a sukuk, or Islamic bond, issue which is planned to have a volume of around 100 million lira ($55 million), bankers said.
The bank, majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank, could make the issue within several weeks if market conditions are right, bankers said. Is Investment is mandated for the issue. ($1 = 1.8129 Turkish liras)……………………………………….Full Article: Source

RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the long-term rating of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC’s (TAQA) Sukuk Murabahah Programme of up to RM3.5 billion in nominal value (2012/2032) at AA1, with a stable outlook.
TAQA is a state-held vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi (GoAD), with a mandate to own the majority of the critical power and water (P&W) assets in Abu Dhabi. TAQA is also an international energy and oil and gas (O&G) player………………………………………..Full Article: Source

MARC has downgraded its ratings on Alam Maritim Resources’ (Alam Maritim) MYR 500 million Sukuk Ijarah Medium Term Notes (Sukuk Ijarah MTN) and MYR 100 million Murabahah Commercial Papers/Murabahah Medium Term Notes (MCP/MMTN) programmes to A+IS and MARC-2ID /A+ID from AA-IS and MARC-1ID /AA-ID respectively, and revised the outlook of both ratings to stable from negative; the rating action affects MYR 365 million of outstanding notes issued under the rated programmes.
MARC has downgraded its ratings on Alam Maritim Resources’ (Alam Maritim) MYR 500 million Sukuk Ijarah Medium Term Notes (Sukuk Ijarah MTN) and MYR 100 million Murabahah Commercial Papers/Murabahah Medium Term Notes (MCP/MMTN) programmes to A+IS and MARC-2ID /A+ID from AA-IS and MARC-1ID /AA-ID respectively, and revised the outlook of both ratings to stable from negative; the rating action affects MYR 365 million of outstanding notes issued under the rated programmes………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic banking system in Oman will be one of the most successful contemporary applications in recent times due to the nature of the Omani Muslim society, the existence of a central bank to provide the necessary technical and legislative environment for the growth of Islamic banking in the country and the capability of banks to restructure and raise financial products and services that are efficient and of good quality, the just concluded Islamic Finance and Banking conference affirmed.
Oman’s second Islamic Finance and Banking Conference called upon Islamic banks to play an important and vital role, especially in supporting productive areas through enhancing growth opportunities, particularly the small and medium enterprises and helping to stimulate capitals………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Indonesia and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group have signed an agreement for the establishment of the IDB Group Country Gateway Office in Indonesia as continuous strategic partnership between the bank and Indonesia.
The strategic bilateral relations have been transformed into actions through the signing of agreements between IDB Group private sector arm, The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), with Indonesia’s private sectors on power and energy industry and micro, small and medium enterprises. Agus Martowardojo, Indonesian finance minister, and Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of the IDB Group, signed the agreement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

International investment firm Franklin Templeton has launched one debt market fund and two equity market funds, which are all Shariah-compliant, media reports said on Tuesday. “Look, there’s a chance for you to invest in ways you think is proper,” said Templeton Emerging Markets Group Executive Chairman Mark Mobius in Dubai on March 17.
“Looking at the potential size of the market at about $500 billion, you’ve got about 1.3 billion Muslim investors and you have to attract them. It’s a matter of taking the message to [them],” the newspaper quoted Mobius as saying………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait’s parliament on Tuesday passed in principle a bill that requires the government to buy billions of dollars of bank loans owed by citizens and reschedule them after waiving interest. Thirty-three MPs voted for the law, three opposed it while 20 members including all cabinet ministers present abstained.
To become effective, the law must pass another round of voting in parliament in the coming few weeks, approved by the government and then signed into legislation by the ruler of the oil-rich Gulf state………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Russell Indexes and IdealRatings introduce the Russell-IdealRatings Islamic Index Series, a newly enhanced index series for Shariah investors. These new indexes benefit Shariah multi-asset investors by combining the deep experience and leading methodology of the Russell Global Indexes with the Shariah oversight of IdealRatings.
Furthermore, they represent another way that Russell is demonstrating its more than 35 year commitment to helping investors in the Middle East with its unique mix of multi-asset investment consulting, investment management and fiduciary services and tools………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Leading industry players in the international takaful industry will take part in the 8th Annual World Takaful Conference (WTC 2013), which is set to be held on April 15 and 16 at the Dusit Thani, Dubai. The event, co-located with the 3rd Annual Middle East Islamic Finance and Investment Conference (MEIFIC 2013), will feature high-profile discussions that will focus on ’sustaining growth and boosting profitability’ in the global takaful industry.
“The global takaful industry continued to show double-digit growth last year, with recent reports indicating an exciting, if slightly slowing, average growth rate of around 19 per cent for global takaful contributions,” said conference chief executive David McLean. (Press Release)

Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb-” to National Takaful Company (Watania) PJSC (Watania) (United Arab Emirates).
The ratings for Watania reflect its strong prospective risk-adjusted capitalisation, supported by strong reinsurance protection, a conservative investment strategy and its sound business plan. Offsetting rating factors are below target results in 2012 and the execution risk Watania faces in the competitive UAE insurance market………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The lack of awareness and the transient nature of expatriates are key factors linked to the very low levels of insurance penetration in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), experts told Gulf News.
The Ernst & Young’s Global Insurance Consumer Survey 2012 reported that insurance across the region remains underdeveloped, with penetration rates pegged below 2 per cent in almost all GCC countries. Life insurance, in particular, is nascent, accounting for less than 20 per cent………………………………………..Full Article: Source