Opalesque Islamic Finance Briefing

Oman's first Mena-focused Islamic fund to be launched next week

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:06:17 +0200

Al Hilal Mena Fund (AHMF), an open-ended fund based on Mudaraba structure, operating in accordance to the principals of Sharia is set to be launched on May 22, 2013. The initial subscription period will continue up to June 20, 2013. Al Hilal Mena Fund (AHMF) will be the first Sharia complaint fund to be launched by an Omani bank and ahlibank is the sponsor of the fund, said a bank release. With t...
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Bankers urge Islamic banks to develop their own financial reporting standard

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:04:54 +0200

Central banks of the Islamic countries have been urged to adopt a separate set of regulation including a complete new Islamic Financial Reporting Standard to reduce confusion among Muslim scholars, Islamic bankers said. They have also urged the regulators to develop an Islamic Inter-bank offered profit rate � to benchmark their rates and reduce dependence of the conventional interbank offered in...
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Sharjah Islamic Bank launches 'Zone' package for companies in Al Hamriya Free Zone

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:04:39 +0200

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB), in collaboration with the Al Hamriyah Free Zone Authority-Sharjah, has launched its latest banking programme, the 'Zone' package for companies registered in Al Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah, to facilitate and further ease banking procedures and transactions for companies and investors while enabling them to access exceptional services. The new package enables new custo...
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Noor Islamic Bank launches reality mobile banking app

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:04:23 +0200

Noor Islamic Bank (Noor)�s augmented reality �Bank in Your Hand� smartphone and tablet application is now available for download from Apple�s App Store, the banks announced in a press reealse. Work is also in progress on adapting the app to other smart phone platforms, it said. �A first-of-its-kind in the Middle East,Noor Appenables customers to access Noor�s full range of products and services, ...
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Japan: Food producers eye Islamic market

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:04:06 +0200

Japanese food-makers are increasingly seeking halal certification for their products, with the global Islamic population forecast to grow from 1.6 billion at present to more than 2 billion by 2030. Halal, an Arabic word meaning �permissible,� is used to designate foods that comply with Islamic law. Halal foods do not use pork and alcohol, while the use of poultry and other ingredients is permitt...
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MMC gets nod for RM470mln sukuk wakalah

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:03:36 +0200

MMC Corp Bhd has received nod from the Securities Commission (SC) to issue up to RM470 million of sukuk wakalah to part-finance the acquisition of operations and maintenance business of Hicom Power Sdn Bhd, for working capital and to help defray any expenses. The approval was received on Monday via MMC's unit Tanjung Bin O&M Bhd. MMC has within one year to issue the sukuk wakalah, in which e...
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CBB's monthly Sukuk Al-Ijara oversubscribed by 220pct

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:03:24 +0200

The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announced today that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 220%. Subscriptions worth BD 43.9 million received for the BD 20 million issue carries a maturity of 182 days. The expected return on the issue, which begins on 16 May 2013 and matures on 14 November 2013, is 0.85% equivalent to 0.85% for th...
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UM gets RM239,000 cash rebate from Takaful Malaysia

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:02:30 +0200

Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd (Takaful Malaysia) has given a 'No Claim Rebate' payment of RM239,281 to Universiti Malaya. Takaful Malaysia Corporate Direct Assistant General Manager Noraini Mohd Yusof said the university has been its client for the last two years and has been enjoying the benefits since then. "Last year we paid out a record amount of RM31 million as our 15 per cent No Claim...
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Financial market will grow strong with strong govt: CIMB Islamic

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:02:13 +0200

The financial market, whether Islamic or conventional, will always grow with a strong government and will not be affected by the ongoing protest by the opposition over the 13th general election results, said CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd executive director/chief executive director Badlisyah Abdul Ghani. "The election result has shown that we have a strong government in the country, and we definitel...
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Egypt: New sukuk projects awaiting bids

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:11:55 +0200

The Egyptian government expects $10bn to $15bn annual investments from projects financed by sukuk said Ahmed El Naggar, an Islamic finance advisor to the minister of finance. �We expect to receive the first bids for projects using sukuk after the holy month of Ramadan in July,� he said during a conference on the practical application of sukuk, jointly organised by the Ministry of Finance and the ...
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Puncak Niaga seeks approval for warrants, sukuk

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:11:06 +0200

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd is seeking shareholders� approval for its proposed issuance of 40.91 million free warrants on the basis of one free warrant for every ten shares and a five-year redeemable convertible secured sukuk ijarah of up to RM165mil in nominal value during its EGM set on May 28. Meanwhile, the announcement of the entitlement date for the proposed free warrants and issuance of the...
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Khazanah gearing for global sukuk expansion

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:07:46 +0200

State investment company Khazanah Nasional Bhd is gearing for more innovative investment options to follow its landmark portfolios in the sukuk marketplace. Khazanah has made it its mission to succeed in dealing with the challenging sukuk market, said Khazanah CFO Mohd Izani Ghani. It plans to publish a coffee table book to share its success stories thus far. �This will be about the successes and...
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Sukuk�s success is a matter of maturity

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:06:15 +0200

The suggestion can easily be made these days that sukuk as a borrowing and investing instrument is well and truly coming of age. Certainly, there are many voices denoting that the Islamic variant on conventional fixed-income is establishing itself in the financial marketplace, tapping not only into the supposed relative safe-haven appeal of bond-related assets but also the regional and demographic...
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RAM Ratings ups Menara ABS�s Sukuk outlook to stable

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:05:57 +0200

RAM Rating Services Bhd has reaffirmed the ratings of Menara ABS Bhd's Sukuk and revises the outlook on Tranche A from negative to stable. The ratings agency said on Monday it had reaffirmed the long-term ratings of its Tranche A1, Tranche A2, Tranche A3, Tranche A4 (Tranche A Sukuk) and Tranche B Sukuk Ijarah at AAA, AA2, A1, A2 and AAA, respectively................................................
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Malaysian bond yields likely to spike

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:05:45 +0200

Malaysia's bond yields, which have been near record low of late, could see a slight spike in the second half of this year, according to analysts. They reckoned the improvement in the global economy would trigger some inflationary pressure resulting in possible monetary intervention that could push bond yields higher...............................................Full Article: Source ...
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Dubai Investments to complete $300bln sukuk soon

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:05:27 +0200

Dubai Investments Company, the quoted investment firm whose portfolio includes the Dubai Investments Park and private equity investor Masharie, has said that the $300m (AED: 1.1bn) sukuk it is planning to raise should be finalised "in the coming quarter". The firm's CEO, Khalid Kalban, said that it expected to finalise the deal after announcing a 97% increase in first qoarter profits t...
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Global Islamic banking valued at US$1.5 trillion at end-March: El-Beltagy

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:05:09 +0200

The Chairman of Egyptian Islamic Finance Association, Dr. Mohamed El-Beltagy, has revealed that the volume of global Islamic banking has reached US$ 1.500 trillion at the end of last March, citing statistics from international financial institutions. El-Beltagy expected Islamic banking to significantly grow in the upcoming period as many countries have started to invest in Sharia-compliant financ...
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Ahlibank to launch Sharia compliant MENA fund

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:04:47 +0200

Ahlibank will launch Sharia-compliant Al Hilal MENA Fund (AHMF), an open-ended fund based on Mudaraba structure, on May 22. The initial subscription period will continue up to June 20. AHMF will be the first Sharia complaint fund to be launched by an Omani bank. With the launch of this fund, investors will be provided with an opportunity to participate in the economic growth and prosperity of th...
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Elixir real estate funds follow back to basics fixed income philosophy

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:04:33 +0200

Here is a small niche asset backed, unlevered real estate fund that provides fixed income without the implied complications of debt or derivatives. Its manager explains how the fund can return double digits yearly. Elixir Capital, based in Palo Alto, CA, runs an onshore fund called the Elixir PURE Fund. But there is to be a second one, called the PURE Fund II, which will be launched in the coming ...
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Turkey: New Islamic banks ready to open soon

Tue, 14 May 2013 03:04:17 +0200

Turkey has begun to open the doors to giving new banking licenses after the 2001 banking crisis, with no exception for interest-free Islamic banks, called participation banks. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said at the Turkish Participation Banks Union�s annual meeting that it appeared the format of two participation banks would be clearer in a few months. The state-run banks, Ziraat B...
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