Aljazira Takaful Ta`awuni has entered into a new agreement with both Aljazira Capital and Albilad Investment. Aljazira Capital becomes the underwriting manager for the company’s IPO under this deal signed in Jeddah. It also paves the way for Albilad Investment Company to become the underwriter.
A press release said 10,500,000 shares, representing 30 percent of the company’s capital, will be on offer. After the completion of the IPO, this will amount to SR 350 million divided into 35 million ordinary shares with a nominal value of SR 10 per share………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has launched an Islamic equity index based on the wide-measure S&P BSE 500 index, providing a new benchmark for Islamic investors in one of the world’s largest stock exchanges.
The new index comprises the largest 500 companies in the BSE, out of more than 5,000 listed, which fit Islamic finance principles such as bans on investing in alcohol, tobacco and gambling-related businesses………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Many global leaders in securities and finance have gathered in Tehran to exchange ideas on the Islamic financial markets, find methods to enhance sustainable growth in Islamic financial markets and strengthen Islamic capital markets. These were the focal points discussed at the 5th International Orientation Course on Islamic Capital Markets held in the Tehran.
Financial experts from 16 countries such as Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Austria attended the event. Many are resorting to Iran’s financial and energy exchanges since the country is the 4th largest producer of petroleum and oil worldwide and is the 2nd largest exporter to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

While continuing to focus on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, as markets for growth and more recently, Oman as one which offers big opportunities, the key focus for HSBC’s regional strategy going forward would be in the areas of infrastructure finance and Islamic debt capital market, according to Simon Cooper, chief executive officer of HSBC Middle East.
“The continued growth in infrastructure investment is going to be the key theme in the region and that theme is going to be developed further as well into being an enabler… of capital markets,” said Cooper during the annual company presentation……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experienced a slow start to the year with two initial public offerings (IPOs) in Q1 2013, a pattern similar to the previous quarter which saw the same number of listings. The sukuk market in the GCC continued the upward trajectory in Q1 2013, reinforcing growing demand for Islamic debt instruments in the region.
The growth was primarily driven by the UAE, which saw some big-ticket corporate sukuk issuances during this quarter with the likes of DEWA, Emirates Airlines and Dubai Islamic Bank, each issuing sukuk worth $1 billion. ……………………………………Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House in Turkey (KFH-Turkey) CEO Ufuk Iwan announced that the bank will gradually increase its capital by TRY 960 million to reach TRY 2.06 billion over two phases.
The first phase ends in May (TRY 600 million), while the second phase will end in May 2014 (TRY 360 million), according to a media statement. He added that the goal of increasing the capital is to support expansion plans and “establish a robust financial status, in addition to expanding in Turkey and overseas markets”………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has hosted the first transaction on its new sharia-compliant commodity trading platform, a deal done between two local banks, company officials told Reuters on Monday.
The Dh50 million ($13.6 million) facility signed by Noor Islamic Bank, the lending agent, and Commercial Bank of Dubai will be priced on Tuesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Muscat shareholders yesterday granted approval for raising the authorised capital of the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate from RO 250 million to RO 350 million, with a nominal value of 100 Baisa each.
The extra-ordinary general meeting of shareholders also approved to increase the issued share capital from RO 203,851,068 divided into (2,038,510,684) shares to RO 215,226,068 divided into (2,152,260,684) shares with a nominal value of 100 Baisa each………………………………………..Full Article: Source

CIMB Equities Research is maintaining its Outperform recommendation on Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) based on the positive growth prospects in the region. It said on Wednesday despite being one of the largest Islamic banking players, Maybank Islamic still sees ample opportunities for growth locally and abroad.
Indonesia is still underpenetrated and there are opportunities to expand into South Asia or even Hong Kong and China………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said Islamic finance and sukuk bond would be part of the new products to be introduced into the Nigerian capital market. Director General of the commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh who stated this recently in Lagos during the 2013 maiden media briefing said the product would help improve the capital market.
She said the SEC will build 2013 strategic focus around three themes which include financial inclusion, innovation and effectiveness. According to her, “We need to reach out to the large numbers of Nigerians who have yet to take advantage of the opportunities in the capital market, through collective investment schemes and new products such as Islamic finance and sukuk bond, while supporting SMEs.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The GCC debt capital market should score another positive year this year as fundamentals favoring the market are expected to continue, said Sameh Al Qubaisi, General Manager of Corporate Coverage Group at National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s (NBAD) Global Financial Markets.
Speaking at the 2013 Global Financial Markets Forum (GFMF) in Abu Dhabi Wednesday, he said “2012 was a stellar year for capital debt markets and we expect a continued growth and maturing of this sector which will fuel accelerated growth across the economy.” Issuances in the first month and half of 2013 has surpassed $3 billion (AED11 billion), with a number of issuers looking closely to tapping the market at the right window of opportunity………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bank Muscat agreed on an equity investment worth OMR75.1 (US$195.1m) from the International Finance Corp, it said on Wednesday, a move which will bolster the capital base of Oman’s largest lender.
The World Bank unit will buy into the bank through a private share placement which will represent 5.28 percent of Bank Muscat’s capital following the investment, a statement to the Oman stock exchange said………………………………….Full Article: Source

Plans to boost capital in the Islamic Bank of Thailand will hinge on the bank’s success in rehabilitating its finances and addressing its ongoing bad loans, says Somchai Sujjapongse, the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office. “Before the ministry approves a capital increase … we need to see success in the restructuring plan,” Mr Somchai said following a meeting with bank executives.
The Islamic Bank of Thailand, or IBank, currently has capital funds at 4.6% of risk assets, well below the 8.5% minimum set by the Bank of Thailand for commercial banks, and the 12% to 15% levels currently maintained by the country’s largest banks. The global Basel III standard does not apply to state-owned financial institutions such as the IBank, which is under the supervision of the Finance Ministry………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud issued a royal order relieving Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri, President of Capital Market Authority (CMA), of his post on Tuesday.

The king went on to appoint Mohammed bin Abdulmalik bin Abdullah al-Shiekh as CMA President at the rank of Minister, reported the Saudi Press Agency. The king instructed the appropriate authorities to carry out the order immediately. The move comes in tandem with other new appointments in the Kingdom………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic banking market is growing in Indonesia, where 11 banks offer Shariah-compliant financial services. The market reached a combined total of Rp 199.7 trillion by the end of 2012, according to central bank data.
But Indonesia’s Shariah banking market still lags behind Malaysia, where Islamic lenders hold 23.1 percent of the assets deposited in Malaysian banks. In Indonesia, Shariah banking only totals 4.7 percent of the Rp 4,000 trillion market……………………………………Full Article: Source

Bank Mandiri will channel an additional Rp 800 billion ($83 million) in funds to its Shariah banking arm as the unit prepares to expand its services after next year’s initial public offering, a bank official said on Monday.
The bank, Indonesia’s largest lender by assets, will inject a total of Rp 1.1 trillion in capital to Bank Syariah Mandiri ahead of the Islamic finance unit’s listing on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)……………………………………Full Article: Source

Bank Syariah Mandiri, the Islamic unit of Bank Mandiri, is set to sell shares in an initial public offering next year, with aims to raise more than Rp 1 trillion ($103 million). BSM’s capital debut next year would make it the first Islamic lender to list on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).
“We are still working on it. More Islamic banks will undergo IPOs next year, and BSM is too,” chief executive Yuslam Fauzi said in Jakarta………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai is striving hard to become the global centre of Islamic Finance and taking bold steps by introducing initiatives in the industry to give it a tremendous boost. In latest of the initiatives, Bourse Dubai is all set to kick off a new wave of Sukuk activity.
The Chairman of Bourse Dubai, Essa Kazim, who owns the UAE’s biggest financial markets, is looking forward to a wave in sukuk activity as Dubai seeks to become a global centre for Islamic business………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Dubai is shifting focus to Islamic finance, an industry whose assets may double by 2015, as a drought in initial share sales prompts banks such as Credit Suisse Group AG to cut jobs.
The Persian Gulf emirate plans to create an Islamic finance council to regulate equity and fixed-income products as it seeks to become a hub for the industry, taking on centres such as Malaysia, home to the world’s biggest sukuk market, and Bahrain. Islamic finance will become one of the economy’s “core” industries, the government said last week………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has witnessed a number of stimulating initiatives in 2012, initiatives designed to encourage growth in capital market activities and give the market depth. For instance, market makers were finally introduced early in the year to provide liquidity, following on the heels of an exchange traded fund, ABSA NewGold, introduced late last year as “cost-effective diversification opportunities for investors”.
In April 2012, The stock exchange signed on with NASDAQ OMX to upgrade its trading platform early in 2013, The NSE Lotus Islamic Index was launched to track Shariah-compliant stocks, listing rules were revised, and recently, the central government stopped value added tax (VAT) and stamp duties charged on market transactions……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB), the world’s oldest Shariah-compliant lender, may need to boost capital to absorb bad loans stemming from a real estate slump to avert a possible ratings downgrade.
The biggest the United Arab Emirates lender complying with Muslim banking rules was placed on ratings watch because loan quality “remains very weak compared to peers” and it hasn’t set aside enough money to cover losses, Moody’s Investors Service said Dec. 6………………………………………..Full Article: Source

After years of lagging behind other markets in the region, Islamic finance is gaining traction in Egypt. The latest addition to the scene is a company aiming to lure investors to the country’s capital market.
Ridge Islamic Capital is offering sharia-compliant investment banking, asset management and wealth management services………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Local banks are turning to the capital markets to finance expansion as they set their sights on growth both in the domestic market and overseas. On November 9, Qatar National Bank (QNB), the country’s largest bank by assets, announced that it had successfully completed a $1bn bond issue on the international markets, through its Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme.
While QNB has turned to conventional debt markets to bolster its capital, counterparts have turned to the sharia-compliant (Islamic) instruments – particularly, of course, Islamic institutions. In October, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), the country’s largest sharia-compliant bank, issued a $750m five-year sukuk (Islamic bond) aiming to leverage high levels of liquidity and demand for issues in the region………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Alkhabeer Capital, a Saudi Arabia-based investment advisory firm, plans to offer new shares worth about 30 percent of its capital in an initial public offering (IPO) on the local bourse by early 2014, its CEO said.
Alkhabeer, in which conglomerate Saudi Binladin Group is a top shareholder, is awaiting the regulatory nod to initiate the IPO process, CEO Ammar Shata said in Dubai………………………………………..Full Article: Source

NCB Capital, Saudi Arabia’s largest asset manager, is launching a range of Irish-domiciled Islamic mutual funds, as it seeks to broaden its investor base and appeal to emerging market investors, according to senior executives.
The Jeddah-based firm, which manages $12.1 billion in assets, has launched two funds which invest in Saudi Arabian and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) equities, with plans to launch other funds including one that will invest in sukuk, or Islamic bonds………………………………………..Full Article: Source

London-based QIB UK, a subsidiary of Qatar Islamic Bank, has closed its seventh Islamic capital-protected note with plans to roll out similar products every year, its head of asset management said.
QIB UK has now raised over US$190m since it launched its “Hemaya” structured note programme in 2010, having raised US$153m through the first six tranches. “We are looking to launch several tranches every year,” Anouar Adham told Reuters. “The idea is to offer different vehicles to [investors with] different risk profiles to match their requirements.”……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The much-awaited listing of alizz islamic bank yesterday did not enthuse investors as the share closed trading with a marginal gain of 0.98 per cent at 103 basias on the Muscat Securities Market (MSM).
Market analysts cited lack of clarity on the much-awaited Islamic banking regulation and the long gap between the bank’s share offer and listing as major reasons for the listless activity. The RO40 million IPO of the bank closed one-month subscription on October 21, but the shares were listed only on December 02………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The issue of the country’s Islamic banking system being in conflict with Syariah (Islamic law) requirements does not arise as any decision made has been referred to the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Syariah Advisory Council.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said this advisory council had high powers to ensure that the country’s Islamic banking system adhered to Syariah requirements, specifically over issues involving BNM’s financial system. “Members of the advisory council include the Penang mufti, three members of the National Fatwa Council, a former chief justice, local ulama and one from the Indonesian Council of Ulama………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A ground-breaking $1 billion Tier 1 hybrid sukuk from ADIB, sold in early November, opened the way for banks to use Islamic bonds to boost core capital. The sukuk was described as “hybrid” because it had equity-like characteristics; it was perpetual, meaning it had no maturity date.
The sukuk attracted about $15 billion of investor bids, a massive oversubscription, and ADIB was able to price it at a 6.375 percent profit rate, raising money very cheaply compared to conventional hybrid bonds issued by Western banks over the past year. The sukuk’s price has continued to rise in the secondary market since issue, showing very strong investor demand for it………………………………………..Full Article: Source

As banks in much of the rest of the world struggle to shore up balance sheets ravaged by weak economies, banks in the Gulf are sucking in capital for a very different reason: To fund expansion plans. The contrast means the Gulf banks are likely to be able to raise money cheaply and relatively easily, helping them compete as they move into markets overseas and challenge some of the big international institutions.
“Our growth rates have been phenomenal in the last few years and because of that growth, we needed to refuel after a certain stage,” Tirad Mahmoud, chief executive of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), said after his bank raised $1bn of capital this month………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Gulf state’s largest Islamic lender, will recommend a 20 percent capital hike to shareholders, the company said in a bourse filing on Tuesday, which will help boost capital ratios and fund expansion.
The company’s board of directors decided on Monday to make the recommendation when it holds its annual general meeting, with proceeds to fund the bank’s expansion both at home and internationally, KFH said. Any capital issue also requires approval from the country’s regulator. A potential capital increase will boost KFH’s paid-up capital to 348.5 million dinars ($1.24 billion) from 290.4 million dinars, Al Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Alizz islamic bank, one of Oman’s first Islamic banks, recently hosted its Constitutive General Meeting, where the Bank’s first board of directors was elected. The board constitutes experienced directors with extensive expertise in financial services. Trading of the Bank’s shares on the Muscat Securities Market is expected to commence on December 3, 2012.
More than 87 per cent of shareholders voted in person or by proxy at the CGM to elect the first board, which includes His Highness Sayyid Taimur bin Asaad bin Tareq al Said, Ahmed al Khonji, Shabib Mohamed al Darmaki, Mohamed Badawy al Husseiny, Mohammed al Fahim, Mohamed Ghanem and Khalifa al Mehairi………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bahrain’s central bank (CBB) plans steps to encourage securities issuance and lure foreign investors who have been deterred by the global financial crisis and political unrest in the Gulf island kingdom.
The CBB will soon issue a directive on the offering of securities covering both Islamic and conventional paper, governor Rasheed al-Maraj said. Bahrain, a regional financial hub and a major centre for Islamic finance, has been hit by unrest that followed Arab Spring uprisings elsewhere in the Middle East……………………………………….Full Article: Source

Al Ramz Securities, one of the UAE’s leading brokerage houses, has once again reaffirmed its pioneering role in local industry by introducing the country’s first-ever Islamic Margin Trading service.
The service is patterned after the ‘Murabaha’ type of Shariah-compliant ‘cost-plus’ financing, where a fund purchases goods and resells them to a third party at an agreed-upon price. The price includes the cost of the goods plus a profit margin, with the cost and margin predetermined by the parties involved in advance……………………………………….Full Article: Source

alizz islamic bank SAOG announced that the Initial Public Offering of RO 40.8 million was successful and oversubscribed. Category 1 investors who had applied for up to 100,000 shares have been allotted 100 per cent of their application amounts.
Category 2 investors who had applied for more than 100,100 shares have been allotted 83.95 per cent of their application amounts. Category 2 investors have had their respective refunds processed on 25 October 2012. The constitutive general meeting of the bank is planned to be held on November 20, 2012.Trading of the bank’s shares on the Muscat Securities Market is expected to commence by December 3, 2012………………………………………..Full Article: Source

A new web portal launched in Egypt says it is the first crowd funding service in the country that obeys the principles of Islamic finance. Crowd funding allows large numbers of investors to become shareholders in a project by contributing very small amounts of money, without going through a stock exchange.
“There are banks and financial institutions funding micro-projects and other large projects with more than a million dollars…but the projects that need between $50,000 and $300,000 do not find it,” said Shehab Marzban, one of the founders of shekra.com………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An indepth study, carried out by Ratings Intelligence, an organization that provides quality research resources for Islamic investors, has examined the quality of Shariah equity screening.
Authored jointly by CEO Dr. Mushtaq Shah, chairman Dr. Nabhan Al-Nabhan, and head of equity screening and audit Abdul Hadi Shaikh, the paper talks about how different results are obtained for a company under review by adopting different research approaches and how quality of Shariah screening can be improved………………………………………..Full Article: Source

National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) has launched Shariah compliant E-series products like E-Gold and E-Silver. Under this the retail investors can buy a minimum of 1 unit of gold equivalent to 1 gram of gold and 1 unit of silver equivalent to 100 grams of silver in demat form at real-time Indian prices.
TASIS (Taqwaa Advisory and Shariah Investment Solutions (P) Ltd), the premier Shariah Advisory Institution in the field of finance in India, granted Shariah certification to NSEL?s commodity investment products in gold, silver and copper called e-Series after a thorough study and scrutiny of NSEL systems and procedures. Thus NSEL is the first from India to offer e trading in compliance of Shariah………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman’s Al Izz Islamic Bank, the sultanate’s second Islamic bank, attracted bids worth 46 million rials ($119.5 million) for its initial public share offer, 1.15 times the sum which it was raising, a source close to the offering said .
The bank, which counts Abu Dhabi state-fund Aabar Investments as a founding shareholder, will be listed on the Muscat Securities Market on December 3, the source said. Al Izz looked to raise 40 million rials ($104 million) by selling 40 percent of its capital through a month-long initial public offering, which ended on October 21 and was managed by Bank Muscat………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Maldives Capital Market Development Authority (CDMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry for Islamic Affairs to further develop an Islamic capital market in the country.
Among the most prominent details of the agreement was a joint commitment to establish the ‘Maldives Centre for Islamic Capital Market and Finance’. “This is going to help in promoting the various services available in Islamic financial services under one organisation,” the CDMA said in a statement………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The initial public offering (IPO) of alizz islamic bank, which closed one-month subscription on October 21, raised RO46 million from investing public. Although the issue manager is yet to announce the subscription figure, it was reliably learnt that the issue was subscribed to the extent of 1.15 times, against an offer of RO40 million.
The retail investors might have subscribed to the tune of RO8-10 million, against their reservation of RO24 million or 60 per cent of the issue amount. As a result, the remaining portion must have been allotted to institutions or the second category of large investors………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Oman’s Al Izz Islamic Bank, the sultanate’s second Islamic bank, attracted bids worth 46 million rials ($119.5 million) for its initial public share offer, 1.15 times the sum which it was raising, a source close to the offering said on Thursday.
The bank, which counts Abu Dhabi state-fund Aabar Investments as a founding shareholder, will be listed on the Muscat Securities Market on December 3, the source said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is planning to boost its capital through the sale of a Shariah-compliant debt instrument, in what would be a rare method by a regional lender to boost its core capital ratios.
ADIB, the largest Shariah-compliant lender by market value in Abu Dhabi, will start investor meetings today ahead of a potential Islamic bond, or sukuk, sale, a statement from the arranging banks said……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The Philippine Stock Exchange hopes to complete a list of Shariah-compliant stocks by next year, as this is expected to attract local and foreign Muslim investors. “We’re hoping that we can actually have an index sometime next year,” PSE President Hans Sicat said.
“We’re working with the NCMF (National Commission for Muslim Filipinos) essentially to help with this project … [and] over the last few weeks, we have invited experts or those who are already participating in these Shariah-compliant boards to talk about the processes and [act] as advisers,” he added………………………………………..Full Article: Source

An Egyptian association plans to launch a list of sharia-compliant equities next week as part of its efforts to raise awareness of Islamic finance in the country.
The list will filter out companies which fail to meet religious guidelines, such as avoiding excessive levels of debt and steering clear of industries that are deemed unethical, including alcohol and gambling………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Three leading brokerage houses have recommended investors to subscribe to the RO40 million initial public offering (IPO) of alizz islamic bank, which will close subscription on October 21. These are United Securities, the Financial Corporation (FinCorp) and Vision Securities.
United Securities believes that the issue is an attractive opportunity for investors to participate in the Islamic banking growth story in the Sultanate of Oman………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Investor for Securities Company launched Safa Investment Services, the first global Islamic asset manager in the GCC, in Riyadh on Monday. Safa Investment Services is the world’s first independent Islamic wealth and asset management brand. It insures an independent selection of “best of class” Sharia-compliant assets.
“Professionally managed assets worldwide are now worth around 80 trillion (SR 300 trillion), of which Muslims own at least 3 trillion (SR 11.25 trillion). What is striking is that almost none of that is invested with any respect for Sharia. A lot is invested in the type of securities that accelerated the global financial crisis,” said John Sandwick, manager at Safa Investment Services, during the launch. ……………………………………….Full Article: Source

The long-awaited opening of Saudi Arabia’s equity market to direct ownership by foreigners may take time as regulators sort out what conditions and qualifications should apply to people who are allowed to invest, according to a senior executive at Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia — the largest, most liquid and yet least accessible stock market in the Arab world — is considering opening its stock market to foreign investors in a move that could help turn the local market into a regional trading hub. But when the kingdom will make its final decision on this proposal, which could earn Saudi Arabia the much-coveted MSCI emerging market status, remains uncertain………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Islamic capital market remains promising as the current growth momentum is expected to sustain moving forward, supported by investment in the key drivers for growth, Securities Commission (SC) deputy chief executive Datuk Dr Nik Ramlah Mahmood said.
She said as the industry progressed, it must continue to overcome the challenges, build scale and reach critical mass in order to sustain growth and put the industry in a position of strength………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Bursa Malaysia Bhd (Bursa Malaysia) expects the newly-introduced exchange-traded bonds and sukuks (ETBS) to rapidly gain momentum and attract foreign issuances out of Malaysia under 2013 Budget.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Tajuddin Atan, said this followed the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that the expenses incurred in the issuance of ETBS would get double deduction for four years. “The DanaInfra Nasional Bhd issuance of retail bonds worth RM300 million by year-end to finance the mass rapid transit development projects will spearhead the listing of ETBS on Bursa Malaysia………………………………………..Full Article: Source